Hot,Salty Water: A Confluence of Issues in Managing Stormwater Runoff for Urban Streams

Research increasingly highlights cause and effect relationships between urbanization and stream conditions are complex and highly variable across physical and biological regions. Research also demonstrates stormwater runoff is a key causal agent in altering stream conditions in urban settings. More specifically, thermal pollution and high salt levels are two consequences of urbanization and subsequent runoff. This study describes a demonstration model populated with data from a high gradient headwaters stream. The model was designed to explain surface water‐groundwater dynamics related to salinity and thermal pollution. Modeled scenarios show long‐term additive impacts from salt application and suggest reducing flow rates, as stormwater management practices are typically designed to do, have the potential to greatly reduce salt concentrations and simultaneously reduce thermal pollution. This demonstration model offers planners and managers reason to be confident that stormwater management efforts can have positive impacts.     

Designing and Implementing a Network for Sensing Water Quality and Hydrology across Mountain to Urban Transitions

Water resources are increasingly impacted by growing human populations, land use, and climate changes, and complex interactions among biophysical processes. In an effort to better understand these factors in semiarid northern Utah, United States, we created a real‐time observatory consisting of sensors deployed at aquatic and terrestrial stations to monitor water quality, water inputs, and outputs along mountain to urban gradients. The Gradients Along Mountain to Urban Transitions (GAMUT) monitoring network spans three watersheds with similar climates and streams fed by mountain winter‐derived precipitation, but that differ in urbanization level, land use, and biophysical characteristics. The aquatic monitoring stations in the GAMUT network include sensors to measure chemical (dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, pH, nitrate, and dissolved organic matter), physical (stage, temperature, and turbidity), and biological components (chlorophyll‐a and phycocyanin). We present the logistics of designing, implementing, and maintaining the network; quality assurance and control of numerous, large datasets; and data acquisition, dissemination, and visualization. Data from GAMUT reveal spatial differences in water quality due to urbanization and built infrastructure; capture rapid temporal changes in water quality due to anthropogenic activity; and identify changes in biological structure, each of which are demonstrated via case study datasets.     

Detention Outlet Retrofit Improves the Functionality of Existing Detention Basins by Reducing Erosive Flows in Receiving Channels

By discharging excess stormwater at rates that more frequently exceed the critical flow for stream erosion, conventional detention basins often contribute to increased channel instability in urban and suburban systems that can be detrimental to aquatic habitat and water quality, as well as adjacent property and infrastructure. However, these ubiquitous assets, valued at approximately $600,000 per km² in a representative suburban watershed, are ideal candidates to aid in reversing such cycles of channel degradation because improving their functionality would not necessarily require property acquisition or heavy construction. The objective of this research was to develop a simple, cost‐effective device that could be installed in detention basin outlets to reduce the erosive power of the relatively frequent storm events (~ < two‐year recurrence) and provide a passive bypass to maintain flood control performance during infrequent storms (such as the 100‐year recurrence). Results from a pilot installation show that the Detain H₂O device reduced the cumulative sediment transport capacity of the preretrofit condition by greater than 40%, and contributed to reduced flashiness and prolonged baseflows in receiving streams. When scaling the strategy across a watershed, these results suggest that potential gains in water quality and stream channel stability could be achieved at costs that are orders of magnitude less than comparable benefits from newly constructed stormwater control measures.     

福州市城市化进程与大气污染关系研究

以福州市为研究区域,选取福州市1996—2012年的时间序列数据,将大气污染物浓度作为被解释变量,城市化水平作为解释变量,分别设定二次曲线模型和三次曲线模型,通过比较PM10、SO2、NO2浓度与城市化水平的二次曲线和三次曲线模型的回归拟合效果,得出福州市大气污染与城市化水平之间的演化规律。结果表明,1996—2012年,福州市城市化水平平稳上升,城市的大气污染程度与城市化水平之间的关系并不完全符合"倒U型"的环境库兹涅茨曲线,不同的污染物类型具有不同的演化规律。PM10、SO2与城市化水平呈"倒N型"的曲线关系;NO2与城市化水平之间呈现"倒U型"曲线关系。由于研究的时间序列较短,因而研究结果可能只是真实曲线的一部分,福州市的大气污染与城市化水平之间的关系还有待进一步研究。     

基于宜居视角的居住城市化水平测度——以大连市为例

从宜居的视角出发,结合大连市发展现状建立居住城市化水平测度指标体系,利用模糊层次分析法（AHP）确定指标权重,计算居住城市化水平测度综合指数。通过整理样本社区测度综合指数的数据,建立指标数据库,利用地理信息系统软件MapInfo 10进行格网赋值,构建基于空间插值法的居住城市化水平测度模型,绘制大连居住城市化水平测度专题图,直观展现大连市居住城市化水平发展的时空变化特征。结果表明,1995—2010年大连市居住城市化发展呈现出由整体发展水平低、内部差异小到发展速度提高、地域发展不均衡,再到发展速度减慢,日趋平衡,最后实现发展速度再次提高、均衡发展、差异减小的阶段特征。     

陕西省产业结构演变的城市化响应地域差异分析

将产业结构演变的城市化响应系数作为衡量区域产业结构演变城市化响应强度的变量指标,运用变异系数和离差分析方法对陕西省产业结构演变的城市化响应进行类型划分,可划分为强响应区、中等响应区、弱响应区三种类型区;运用广义脉冲响应法对三种类型区分别进行产业结构演变城市化响应系数与各影响因素之间相关性的动态研究,探讨陕西省产业结构演变的城市化响应时至差异性。     

中国城镇化道路的反思与对策

改革开放加速了我国的城镇化进程。从1978年至2010年,城镇化率由17.92%迅速提高到49.95%,形成了长三角、珠三角、京津冀三大城市群,一批区域性城市群正在加速形成。城镇化的快速发展特别是城市群的形成为推动我国经济社会发展和增强国际竞争力发挥了重要作用。但与此同时,城镇化也带来了突出的可持续发展问题。主要表现在:人口过度膨胀,城市病集中爆发,经济增长与宜居性背道而驰;城市面貌千篇一律,野蛮拆迁横行,土地型资本运作难以持续;进城易,定居难,城乡"二元社会"问题正演变为城市内定居群体与流动群体"二元社会"问题;城市间恶性竞争,产业同构,建立分工协作的机制任重道远。基于此,本文提出了未来10年推进我国城镇化的对策思路:坚持积极发展小城市和小城镇方针,缓解地域中心城市人口压力;创新农村居民点用地管理制度,实现城镇化与新农村建设有机统一;加强城市规划与管理的科学化,全力提升城市品位;建立跨区域城市协调机制,破解恶性竞争与产业同构困局;促进公共服务均等化,消除新老"二元社会"问题。     

中国城市化与能源强度关系的交互动态响应分析

基于1990-2009年的统计数据,建立城市化率和能源强度间的向量自回归模型,运用协整分析、脉冲响应函数和动态方差分解法,从不同视角对两组变量的交互动态响应关系进行分析和预测,旨在揭示我国城市化水平与能源利用效率的内在联系、互动机制与发展趋势。分析结果表明:尽管在短期内呈现波动态势,我国城市化水平与能源强度之间存在长期均衡关系;两组变量的动态脉冲响应为负,体现出城市化率和能源强度之间的反向变动走势;与城市化相比,能源强度的脉冲曲线波动剧烈,说明单纯依靠能源系统内部来改善能源效率缺乏可持续性;方差分解时序值显示,能源强度对城市化变动因素的累计贡献较低,而城市化水平对能源强度变动的影响显著且增长迅速,说明能源强度的降低并不是城市化率提高的主要动力,反之城市化水平的提高对能源强度的下降具有较强的促进作用。由此可见,通过城市的优化开发与系统建设,能够有效促进能源的可持续利用,实现能源消费与经济增长间的均衡发展。     

人力资本、社会资本与市民化抑制

新生代农民工问题的终结是市民化,但是目前许多新生代农民工存在市民化阻碍,这不利于我国城市化进程的推进和经济的持续健康发展。对沈阳和余姚两地区进行了案例调查,得到了两地区新生代农民工的调查数据。运用调查数据,首先采用需求可识别的biprobit模型对新生代的农民工市民化抑制程度进行了测度,并预测出新生代农民工个体的市民化抑制程度。在对新生代农民工个体的市民化抑制程度指标进行分位数回归分解的基础上,分析了人力资本和社会资本对新生代农民工市民化抑制程度的影响,以期促进新生代农民工的城市融入。研究发现:新生代农民工的社会资本水平是影响其市民化的关键因素,人力资本水平的提高只有在市民化抑制程度高于80%时才会使市民化抑制程度下降。因此,相应的政策建议为,政府应加强新生代农民工城市公共服务的享用水平;发展和健全农民工工会组织;在市民化抑制程度较高的地区应特别加强新生代农民工职业技能的培训。