The unsustainability of exurban development in London and New York: calculating transport CO2 emissions

London and New York have often been hailed for their sustainable planning practices. However, when one focuses on the entire city region, there is ever-increasing car-dependent development. This paper focuses on the exurban region of the two cities investigating transport-created CO₂ emissions. The research is based on the analysis of data of the National Travel Surveys of Great Britain and the USA through a quantification of personal travel and a top-down estimation of CO₂ emissions. It is the exurban region that accounts for the vast majority of CO₂ emissions: 77% for London and 87% for New York. In the wider region for both cities there is a policy vacuum and dearth of regional planning mechanisms to deliver policies to reduce CO₂ emissions. The paper argues that transport needs to be planned at the city-regional scale.     

Historic preservation,significance, and age value: A comparative phenomenology of historic Charleston and the nearby new-urbanist community of I'On

While the age of physical environments is the central tenet of historic preservation, there is a lack of empirical evidence about how everyday people actually value, perceive, and experience age as an intrinsic part of an urban environment. In order to ameliorate this knowledge deficit, this study employs phenomenology to understand the lived experience of being in a “new” versus an “old” or “historic” urban residential environment. The new environment is the I'On new urbanist development in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and the old environment is the location of the United States' first historic district in Charleston, South Carolina. These locations are approximately within five miles of each other. In both places, the physical characteristics of the built environment are remarkably similar in density, form, layout, and design, but the age is dramatically different. Through photo elicitation techniques and interviews, the results of this study reveal that residents of historic Charleston and I'On value their built environments in remarkably similar ways. Surprisingly, elements that evoke a strong sense of attachment tend to be landscape features, such as gates, fountains, trees, and gardens rather than buildings. The informants valued the “mystery” that they felt was part of the landscape and which consisted of layered elements such as fences, gates, and paths, such that these features (including buildings) had to be “discovered.” Lastly, the informants strongly valued landscapes that showed “people care” through regular maintenance. The essential difference in people's experience and valuation of the new environment (I'On) and the old environment (historic Charleston) is in the older environment's ability to instill creative fantasies in the minds of the informants based on a hypothetical past of their own creation. The informants in I'On did not share these kinds of meanings.     

Volatile organic compound concentrations, emission rates, and source apportionment in newly-built apartments at pre-occupancy stage

The present study investigated the indoor concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde and their indoor emission characteristics in newly-built apartments at the pre-occupancy stage. In total, 107 apartments were surveyed for indoor and outdoor VOC concentrations in two metropolitan cities and one rural area in Korea. A mass balanced model was used to estimate surface area-specific emission rates of individual VOCs and formaldehyde. Seven (benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, m,p-xylene, o-xylene, n-hexane, and n-heptane) of 40 target compounds were detectable in all indoor air samples, whereas the first five were detected in all outdoor air samples. Formaldehyde was also predominant in the indoor air samples, with a high detection frequency of 96%. The indoor concentrations were significantly higher than the outdoor concentrations for aromatics, alcohols, terpenes, and ketones. However, six halogenated VOCs exhibited similar concentrations for indoor and outdoor air samples, suggesting that they are not major components emitted from building materials. It was also suggested that a certain portion of the apartments surveyed were constructed by not following the Korean Ministry of Environment guidelines for formaldehyde emissions. Toluene exhibited the highest emission rate with a median value of 138 μg m⁻² h⁻¹. The target compounds with median emission rates greater than 20 μg m⁻² h⁻¹ were toluene, 1-propanol, formaldehyde, and 2-butanone. The wood panels/vinyl floor coverings were the largest indoor pollutant source, followed by floorings, wall coverings, adhesives, and paints. The wood panels/vinyl floor coverings contributed nearly three times more to indoor VOC concentrations than paints.     

Sustainability in the USA and New Zealand: explaining and addressing the implementation gap in local government

This paper describes the frustrating reality of sustainability implementation in the USA and New Zealand (NZ), an early adopter of sustainability mandates. Local government has a key role in implementation, but has been slow to uptake sustainable practices. We surveyed senior planners in small to medium-sized local government agencies in both countries to identify which features of local government support (or hinder) sustainability in practice.

Environmentally sustainable practices are not well entrenched in either country. In the USA, the framing of sustainability and public support are significant predictors of implementation. However, sustainability is rarely a priority. In NZ, local government capacity is the main driver of implementation. We recommend that planners promote sustainability values, reconcile economic development goals with sustainability (e.g., green economy model), and translate public support for sustainability into institutional priorities. NZ localities also need increased capacity and US localities need continued Federal and State support.     

天津市节能减排绩效及经济效益协调性研究

利用节能绩效-减排绩效关系图,以及节能绩效、减排绩效与经济效益协调关系三角图,研究了2006-2008年天津市17个区县及滨海新区的节能减排绩效关系及其经济协调性状态和趋势.结果如下:①2006-2008年,天津市17个区县及滨海新区的节能减排绩效整体上较差,河西区、西青区、津南区、北辰区、宝坻区、静海县和蓟县的节能减排绩效呈现变差趋势,东丽区和滨海新区(塘沽区、汉沽区和大港区)节能减排绩效很差且无明显变好趋势;其他6个区县的节能减排绩效呈现变好趋势.②2008年,北辰区、武清区、静海县3个区县的经济协调性很强,河西区、河北区、汉沽区、蓟县处于强不经济协调性状态,滨海新区处于弱不协调性状态;2006年,大部分区县(包括滨海新区)处于弱不经济协调性状态,且按强协调趋势发展,其协调性增强主要来自经济效益驱动.③天津市17个区县及滨海新区的节能减排绩效及经济协调性评估权重选择较为合理,能准确地反映节能减排现状.     

基于机器学习的典型社会安全事件发生规律研究及对雄安新区的启示

针对雄安新区建设和发展过程中对社会安全事件的防控需求,以盗窃作为典型社会安全事件,提出基于机器学习模型的社会安全事件分析预测方法,并以A市2012—2016年的实际盗窃犯罪数据为基础,提取发案时间、发案地点、实施手段和损失金额作为分类特征,通过比较多种机器学习算法,研究盗窃前科人员的预测方法,并根据预测结果挖掘盗窃前科人员的作案规律。研究结果表明:随机森林算法表现最优,查准率、查全率和F1均达到了0.85以上;对于盗窃这一典型社会安全事件,其前科人员倾向于选择下午时段和人流量大的地区实施,盗窃金额明显高于初犯和惯犯。最后,基于前述研究,提出构建数据驱动的社会安全事件预测预警和综合研判系统,并针对该系统的前期建设和后期使用,给出“制定统一的数据格式”、“实现数据实时接入”的建议。相关研究成果可为雄安新区社会安全事件预测预警以及治安防控工作的开展提供参考和借鉴。     

产业园区环保管家专业服务新途径

阐述了环保管家提出的政策背景,详细阐述了环保管家的定义。以工业园区为例,提出以环保管家所提供的服务,并探讨环保管家服务模式的内容及意义。     

Greenhouse gas emissions along the rural-urban gradient

This paper investigates how land use relates to greenhouse gas emissions, using data sources that are readily available to municipal planners. It presents a causal framework linking settlement patterns to greenhouse gas emissions via landscape impacts (deforestation, carbon sequestration by soils and plants, urban heat island), infrastructure impacts (transportation-related emissions, waste management-related emissions, electric transmission and distribution losses) and buildings (residential, commercial). This is not a full accounting because it does not include impacts from industrial activities, agriculture and consumer behavior not related to land use, such as food consumption and air travel. Exploratory case studies of municipalities lying along a gradient of increasing population density suggest that per-capita carbon dioxide emissions vary widely, following an inverted ‘U’ shape, with post-war suburbs riding the pinnacle. Reflecting their central regional roles, municipalities with good jobs-to-housing ratios have higher per-capita emissions because they host both residential and commercial buildings. Buildings typically contribute more emissions than personal transportation. Vehicle-miles traveled per capita shrink most dramatically at very high population densities and where transit options exist. Changing land-use patterns is a political challenge because localism and outdated zoning ordinances subvert regional solutions. Technical fixes, especially green buildings, must be part of the solution.     

城市地域的可持续发展研究：以深圳市宝安区为例

本文对可持续发展,城市地域可持续发展的理论内涵和现实操作思路作了初步探讨,并以深圳市宝安区为例结合该地自然,经济和社会生产条件现状及存在问题的综合分析,提出了建宝区可持续发展基本框架的几点战略性措施。     

ADULT EDUCATION AND WATERSHED KNOWLEDGE IN UPSTATE NEW YORK1

ABSTRACT: Integrated watershed management encompasses complex physical and social issues that have impacts on environmental resources. A key aspect of this holistic effort is public education. Most researchers and practitioners agree that an informed public is a crucial part of the environmental management process. Yet, educational programs that provide stakeholders with information about physical processes in watersheds are often unavailable. This paper assesses the effect of an education program for residents of the New York City watershed. Surveys evaluated certain knowledge levels and attitudes of participants and compared three groups: individuals who utilized the educational materials completely (full users), those who received the materials but did not use them completely (partial users), and watershed residents who did not receive the educational program (nonrecipients). Full users displayed a higher level of knowledge concerning specific watershed processes than did partial users and nonrecipients. In terms of applying that knowledge across linked concepts, however, we observed no significant differences between the three readership levels. Furthermore, partial users engaged in less evaluation of issues that related to the broader watershed context. The findings from this project have implications for educational and regulatory institutions and program development relating to watershed protection.