“Alternative futures”: a methodology for integrated sustainability considerations,the case of Nuremberg West,Germany

In the context of the desire to steer urban transformation towards sustainability transition, the development of proposals for alternative futures assists policy-makers and practitioners in focusing on impact by organising the various drivers, particularly spatial ones that cause an interactive urban system to transit. This paper presents the methodology that has been developed by the Chair for Urban Development, Munich University of Technology (TUM) as it was working within an inter-disciplinary research team on a project commissioned by the municipality of Nuremberg. The objective of this project was to develop ideas for regenerating the formerly industrial area of Nuremberg West (NW) under the guiding theme of sustainable urban development. This methodology focuses on the development of proposals of positive and possible transformations of NW in the year 2050 based on the analysis of economy, housing and space at various scales and a systematic assessment of trends. These alternative futures became framing and guiding narratives to internalise and anchor the debate in-between the various disciplines involved in this project.     

Gathering “wild” food in the city: rethinking the role of foraging in urban ecosystem planning and management

Recent “green” planning initiatives envision food production, including urban agriculture and livestock production, as desirable elements of sustainable cities. We use an integrated urban political ecology and human–plant geographies framework to explore how foraging for “wild” foods in cities, a subversive practice that challenges prevailing views about the roles of humans in urban green spaces, has potential to also support sustainability goals. Drawing on research from Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle, we show that foraging is a vibrant and ongoing practice among diverse urban residents in the USA. At the same time, as reflected in regulations, planning practices, and attitudes of conservation practitioners, it is conceptualised as out of place in urban landscapes and an activity to be discouraged. We discuss how paying attention to urban foraging spaces and practices can strengthen green space planning and summarise opportunities for and challenges associated with including foragers and their concerns.     

Radical,reformist, and garden-variety neoliberal: coming to terms with urban agriculture's contradictions

For many activists and scholars, urban agriculture in the Global North has become synonymous with sustainable food systems, standing in opposition to the dominant industrial agri-food system. At the same time, critical social scientists increasingly argue that urban agriculture programmes, by filling the void left by the “rolling back” of the social safety net, underwrite neoliberalisation. I argue that such contradictions are central to urban agriculture. Drawing on existing literature and fieldwork in Oakland, CA, I explain how urban agriculture arises from a protective counter-movement, while at the same time entrenching the neoliberal organisation of contemporary urban political economies through its entanglement with multiple processes of neoliberalisation. By focusing on one function or the other, however, rather than understanding such contradictions as internal and inherent, we risk undermining urban agriculture's transformative potential. Coming to terms with its internal contradictions can help activists, policy-makers and practitioners better position urban agriculture within coordinated efforts for structural change, one of many means to an end rather than an end unto itself.     

Characterizing a Major Urban Stream Restoration Project: Nine Mile Run (Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, USA)

Urban stream restoration continues to be used as an ecological management tool, despite uncertainty about the long‐term sustainability and resilience of restored systems. Evaluations of restoration success often focus on specific instream indicators, with limited attention to the wider basin or parallel hydrologic and geomorphic process. A comprehensive understanding of urban stream restoration progress is particularly important for comparisons with nonurban sites as urban streams can provide substantial secondary benefits to urban residents. Here, we utilize a wide range of indicators to retrospectively examine the restoration of Nine Mile Run, a multi‐million dollar stream restoration project in eastern Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania, USA). Examination of available continuous hydrological data illustrates the high cost of failures to incorporate the data into planning and adaptive management. For example, persistent extreme flows drive geomorphic degradation threatening to reverse hydrologic connections created by the restoration and impact the improved instream biotic communities. In addition, human activities associated with restoration efforts suggest a positive feedback as the stream restoration has focused effort on the basin beyond the reach. Ultimately, urban stream restoration remains a potentially useful management tool, but continued improvements in post‐project assessment should include examination of a wider range of indicators.     

印制电路板项目竣工验收监测工作探讨

以福建省莆田市为例,研究分析了印制电路板项目竣工环境保护验收监测现场踏勘中存在的问题,提出要加强对项目的现场核查,以及对环保设施建设及运行、建设内容变更、环境风险、危险废物处理等的建议与对策。     

Daily Bank Erosion Rates in the Lower Yellow River Before and After Dam Construction

During the period of water impoundment and sediment detention of the Sanmenxia Reservoir, riverbank erosion processes played a key role in the channel evolution of the Lower Yellow River (LYR). However, research into bank erosion rates of the LYR has been neglected due to the lack of direct field monitoring. In this study, an indirect method is proposed to determine bank erosion rates at daily time scales by outlining a detailed calculation procedure using measured hydrological data. A total of 810 data points of daily bank erosion rates before and after the construction of Sanmenxia Dam was calculated at seven hydrometric sections along the LYR, with the corresponding values of the bank stability coefficient and the width‐to‐depth ratio also being calculated. Empirical relations were then developed to estimate the daily bank erosion rates, using these parameters at the sections. Temporal and spatial variability in daily bank erosion rates in the LYR before and after dam construction were also investigated, revealing that: (1) the bank erosion rates had a mean value of 16.7‐29.1 m/day in the braided reach, with a maximum value of 290.0 m/day, while they were relatively low in the meandering reach, with a mean value of 2.5 m/day; (2) the erosion rates before dam construction were slightly greater than those after dam construction, with the difference reaching 5‐10 m/day in the braided reach, decreasing in the transitional reach gradually, and being slight in the meandering reach.     

Creating False Images: Stream Restoration in an Urban Setting

Stream restoration has become a multibillion dollar business with mixed results as to its efficacy. This case study utilizes pre‐ and post‐monitoring data from restoration projects on an urban stream to assess how well stream conditions, publicly stated project goals, and project implementation align. Our research confirms previous studies showing little communication among academic researchers and restoration practitioners as well as provides further evidence that restoration efforts tend to focus on small‐scale, specific sites without considering broader land use patterns. This study advances our understanding of restoration by documenting that although improving ecological conditions is a stated goal for restoration projects, the implemented measures are not always focused on those issues that are the most ecologically salient. What these projects have accomplished is to protect the built environment and promote positive public perception. We argue that these disconnects among publicized goals for restoration, the implemented features, and actual stream conditions may create a false image of what an ecologically stable stream looks like and therefore perpetuate a false sense of optimism about the feasibility of restoring urban streams.     

遥感调查方法在河北省省级自然保护区生态环境变化评估方面的应用研究

河北省省级自然保护区以自然生态系统类型为主,人类活动较为频繁,将遥感评估方法应用于河北省省级自然保护区生态环境变化评估具有重要意义。本文通过分析高分辨率遥感卫星影像的特点,结合河北省省级自然保护区的实际情况,优先选取分辨率为2m的民用卫星,提出了遥感调查方法在自然保护区人类活动和开发建设活动中自动监测、生态系统格局变化、生态系统质量变化以及人类活动干扰程度四方面的评估应用。     

西藏环境信息化基础建设设计实践

描述了西藏环保厅“西藏自治区环境保护厅环境信息化能力建设项目”前期调研、设计的过程,总结在西藏信息化发展基础差、技术人才少、资金投入紧张、稳定性要求高、信息技术发展迅速等现实情况下基础信息化项目建设前期设计特点,为西藏或其他欠发达地区信息化基础建设项目设计提供参考。     

攀枝花市城市基础设施与土地收益关联度分析

以攀枝花市为例,综合运用GIS空间分析技术和变异系数权重分析、灰色关联度等方法建立了城市基础设施与土地收益的关联度模型,定量分析城市基础设施与土地收益的关联关系,揭示两者间的关联规律和作用机理.结果表明：①城市基础与土地收益存在较大关联性;②城市基础设施与土地收益关联度在时间序列上具有明显的波动性且呈周期性变化;③城市基础设施与土地收益关联度在空间上呈分异特征.