Dynamics of household energy consumption in a traditional African city, Ibadan

In the last three decades the Nigerian environment has experienced rapid degradation. A major contributory factor of this phenomenon is the pattern of socioeconomic development in the country that gives little or no consideration to environmental outcomes. An aspect of this development is the economic policy of removal of subsidies on petroleum products initiated in 1986 as a result of the worsening economic situation in the country which begun in the early 1980s. The result of this is that prices of commercial fuels inclusive of kerosene and LPG (cooking gas) have continued to rise beyond the reach of majority of the Nigerian population. The paper examines the effect of increasing prices of petroleum-derived energy sources on the pattern of energy use for cooking in low and middle-income households and the environmental implication in Ibadan, the largest truly indigenous urban centre in sub-Saharan Africa. Results show that prior to the further subsidy removal of 1993, majority of households sampled used kerosene for cooking. Thereafter, a complete or partial switch in the pattern of domestic energy consumption ensued with more households using fuel wood and other more polluting and less efficient energy sources for cooking. The paper recommends a transition towards more environmental friendly energy sources for household use.     

Land Resource Sustainability for Urban Development: Spatial Decision Support System Prototype

Land resource sustainability for urban development characterizes the problem of decision-making with multiplicity and uncertainty. A decision support system prototype aids in the assessment of incremental land development plan proposals put forth within the long-term community priority of a sustainable growth. Facilitating this assessment is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multicriteria evaluation and decision support system. The decision support system incorporates multiple sustainability criteria, weighted strategically responsive to local public policy priorities and community–specific situations and values, while gauging and directing desirable future courses of development. Furthermore, the decision support system uses a GIS, which facilitates an assessment of urban form with multiple indicators of sustainability as spatial criteria thematically. The resultant land-use sustainability scores indicate, on the ratio-scale of AHP, whether or not a desirable urban form is likely in the long run, and if so, to what degree. The two alternative modes of synthesis in AHP—ideal and distributive—provide assessments of a land development plan incrementally (short-term) and city-wide pattern comprehensively (long-term), respectively. Thus, the spatial decision support system facilitates proactive and collective public policy determination of land resource for future sustainable urban development.     

Integrated Approaches in Urban Storm Drainage: Where Do We Stand?

Integrated approaches to urban stormwater drainage management are being increasingly advocated as necessary for advancing more sustainable and holistic management of urban water environments. In this paper, the status of integrated approaches in the management of urban stormwater discharges to receiving waterways is summarized. The starting point of the paper is with the recent scientific contributions, revealing that integration is being pursued and implemented predominantly at two conceptual levels. These include 1) integrating the technical system with the receiving waterway environment, and 2) considering the interaction and influence of the human system with the technical system through processes such as stakeholder and public participation. Additionally, it is argued that the evolving shift towards the implementation of water-quality-based strategies advances the need for further development and application of integrated models and approaches. The cases of online physically based models for predictive control and integrated source control and public participation are presented as examples of such ongoing developments in pursuit of integrated urban stormwater management.     

现代中式室内空问的意境美营造

欲营造现代中式室内空间的意境美，不是靠纯粹的中国古典元素的堆砌，而是通过对传统文化的认知，用现代人的审美需求来打造富有传统韵味的空间。意境的创造有“形”和“情”两大因素和一个审美想象空间构成，而“形”则起到至关重要的作用。通过对“形”的把握，在现代中式室内空间中营造意境美。     

城市地貌环境致灾性评价：—以重庆为例

以重庆为实例,探讨了评价城市地貌环境致灾性的意义和方法,包括评价目的、评价原则、评价参数的选取和量化、评价等级的划分等,并对重庆城市地貌环境的致灾性作了尝试性的评价和分析。     

Input of heavy metals to the forest floor as a result of Cracow urban pollution

The influence of Cracow's urban pollution on small forest ecosystems was studied during 1998-2000. Seven sites located at different distances from the Cracow conurbation and from busy road were selected. Two sites were situated 26 and 31 km from Cracow town along an eastern transect, the other five-3, 8, 14, 26 and 35 km respectively, from Cracow-along a southern transect. At the beginning of September, five litter traps were set at each site. The quantity of litter fall, along with percentage composition of each species, were estimated for an area of 1 m(2). The concentration of Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Fe in the litter fall and the input of these metals to the forest floor were determined. The input of cadmium ranged from 84 microg m(-2) at Kornatka in 1998 to 382 microg m(-2) at Bonarka in 2000. The input of lead was about 10 times higher than cadmium and varied from 406 microg m(-2) at Weglówka in 1998 to 3717 microg m(-2) at Bonarka in 2000. Input of Cu, Zn and Fe to the forest floor showed the similar tendency. During 1998-2000, the highest heavy metal concentrations in the litter fall and their impact on the forest floor were always found at sites close to the Cracow conurbation and, in the eastern transect, close to a steel works. Input of metals to the forest floor tended to decrease with increasing distance from the centre of Cracow.     

燃气泄漏风险评价中不确定性问题的探讨

讨论了燃气泄漏事故风险评价中泄漏的发生、泄漏源强度、扩散模式的不确定性问题。提供了确定瞬时泄漏和连续泄漏的方法 ,以及判定重气扩散时转变为中性阶段的准则。最后介绍了不确定性问题的研究方法。     

Urban waste recycling behavior: antecedents of participation in a selective collection program

ABSTRACT/ The aim of this study is to analyze the antecedents of urban waste recycling behavior. To achieve this goal, a concrete urban waste management program was chosen. The study focuses on the Selective Collection Program (SCP) in Zaragoza, a medium-sized city in northeastern Spain. The research starts with a conceptual model in which the variables that potentially affect recycling behavior can be classified into two groups: incentives and barriers. Moreover, the sociodemographic characteristics of the individuals are included in our study. Given that the proposed model requires specification of latent variables or constructs, the analysis is based on the Structural Equation Models (SEM) methodology. The results revealed that environmental awareness, knowledge of the environmental impact of urban waste, and the positive perception of management by local government exercise a positive effect on individual recycling behavior, while perceived personal difficulties (space and time availability) and distance to and from the container have a negative effect. As regards sociodemographic variables, this study found that annual family income sustains a negative relationship with recycling behavior, while age maintains a positive one. The results obtained clearly show the important role that the public authorities play, especially municipal governments, in achieving the waste recycling objectives established in accordance with international legislation.     

四川城市水灾的历史特征

本文以2000多年的历史资料为基础,对四川城市水灾的规律进行了考察分析,认为有着明显的特征。即普遍性、周期性、季节性和区域性。并指出上述特征对于防洪减灾工作的有利条件和不利影响。     

城市建设的环境破坏分析及对策框架

随着城市经济的飞速发展，城市建设对环境的破坏日趋严重，本文分析了城市建设中环境破坏的种种类型和环境破坏的根源，提出了以环境规划为先导，排污总量控制为目标，环境监督管理为重点，法律，行政，经济和教育手段的环境对策框架。