Urban planning at the turn of the 21st century

Contemporary urban planning is characterised by the following: (a) a large amount of specific research gives a large quantity of facts, but like stones of the mosaic do hot make an entire picture; (b) in the basis of these researches no one finds entire creative conceptions; (c) the theories lose touch with practical design matter; (d) in contradiction to the classical architectural epoch, urban planning loses touch with the construction of buildings; (e) the practice of urban planning and the construction of buildings lose touch with historical traditions. The corollary of these academic and unnatural specialisations is a break not only from “the tie of times” but also from the ties inside the profession. This situation has an effect on the practice of urban planning and architecture; society returns to destructive criticism. It is impossible to get away from this fact. The author makes an attempt to change this situation for the better — at least in some measures. On the basis of many years study of the results of research this paper presents a concept of contemporary urban planning. This concept is not in the form of hard recommendations, but expedient methods for the solution of problems. It is proved by the author's projects.     

Structural-temporal organization of a rodent community in the Teletskaya Taiga,Altai Mountains

The structural-temporal organization of a murine rodent community in the taiga has been studied near Lake Teletskoe, Mountain Altai. The results show that the long-term dynamics of indices characterizing community diversity depend mainly on changes in the structure of dominance rather than on the population dynamics of species. The distribution of species in the factor space corresponds to their preference for certain biotopes, from dry to relatively moist. An analysis of relationships within the rodent community has revealed the synchronous dynamics of species abundance and antiphase pattern of changes in the structural indices of dominant species.     

中国县域资源组合结构的分类研究

按区域经济的发展，遵循资源分布的地域分异规律，论述了中国县域资源的地域组合结构的分类问题。首先对采用多因素综合作用、自然资源与经济资源兼容组合、资源优势、资源系统良性循环等原则进行了必要性的论证；在此基础上重点对其分类方法进行了具体说明，其主要步骤是在确定10种主要的县域资源，建立相关在指标体系的前提下，鉴于威弗组合指数对于划分县域资源组合结构类型的可行性，运用改造过的,角立县域资源地域组合结构类型的划分程序与计算方法。最后，按此分类法，把我国县域资源地域组合结构类型划分为自然资源型、自然资源主导型、自然资源与经济资源混合型、经济资源主导型、经济资源密集类等5个一级类型及其下属的8个二级类型。     

基于灰色-马尔科夫模型的我国能源消费结构优化调整

本文以我国1997—2010年的消费结构数据为基础,运用灰色-马尔科夫链模型对数据进行了分析和预测,然后通过MATLAB预测了我国未来十年的能源消费结构,结合我国政府承诺的非化石能源目标对模型预测结果做了进一步的修正,最后根据能源发展趋势给出了能源消费结构的优化策略。     

构造煤孔隙结构与瓦斯耦合特性研究

利用压汞法、低温氮吸附法、瓦斯等温吸附和解吸试验对平煤八矿构造煤和共生原生结构煤进行综合分析,探讨了构造煤孔隙结构与瓦斯耦合特性.结果表明,构造煤以微孔为主,中孔和大孔相对发育且含较多细颈瓶孔,孔隙连通性差.与共生原生结构煤相比,构造煤各孔径阶段的孔容和孔比表面积都有所增加.构造煤比表面积的增加具有阶段性,即孔径＜ 1.2 nm时为慢增加阶段,孔径=1.2 ～ 4.9nm时为快增加阶段,孔径＞4.9 nm时为稳定阶段.构造煤极限瓦斯吸附量a的增大与比表面积快增加阶段关系密切,但小于其BET比表面积的增幅.瓦斯解吸初期0～2 min内构造煤瓦斯解吸速度和解吸量明显大于共生原生结构煤,与中孔和大孔的变化一致,2 min以后瓦斯解吸迅速衰减.低煤体强度、高瓦斯含量的构造煤以气-煤共溶体形式储集更多弹性潜能,突然卸压时瓦斯膨胀能迅速释放,煤层中发育的构造煤增加了煤与瓦斯突出的危险性.     

A critical and empirical analysis of the national-local ‘gap’ in public responses to large-scale energy infrastructures

A national-local ‘gap’ is often used as the starting point for analyses of public responses to large scale energy infrastructures. We critique three assumptions found in that literature: the public's positive attitudes, without further examining other type of perceptions at a national level; that local perceptions are best examined through a siting rather than place-based approach; that a gap exists between national and local responses, despite a non-correspondence in how these are examined. Survey research conducted at national and local levels about electricity transmission lines in the UK confirm these criticisms. Results do not support a gap between national and local levels; instead, both differences and similarities were found. Results show the value of adopting a place-based approach and the role of surveys to inform policy making are discussed.     

A dual-sensor-based method to recognize pipeline leakage and interference signals

During the detection of pipeline leakages, false alarms of leak detection could be markedly reduced if the interference signals resulting from pressure regulating, pump regulating or valve movements could be accurately distinguished. A digital recognition method for interference signals and leakage signals based on a dual-sensor system is proposed in this paper. It is demonstrated that the direction of the signal can be recognized by a cross-correlation calculation between two signals from the dual-sensor, one of which undergoes forward linear interpolation and backward linear interpolation. Based on this theory, the interference signal and the leak signal can be discriminated exactly, and the distance between the two sensors in the dual-sensor system can be considerably reduced without needing to increase the sampling frequency. The monotonicity of the cross-correlation function is demonstrated, and a fast discrimination algorithm based on a binary extreme search method, which decreases the computational load and maintains global optimization, is also proposed. A pre-processing method of the actual signal is proposed to decrease the identity requirement for the two sensors in a dual-sensor system. In the experiment based on artificial signals, the proposed discrimination algorithm could achieve accurate recognition of the abnormal signal, and as such, the theory and application of pipeline leak detection based on dual-sensor systems are extended.     

New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Waterfront Justice Project

This paper reviews key challenges and opportunities addressed by the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance's (NYC-EJA) Waterfront Justice Project, a citywide campaign to promote climate resilience and sustainability in urban industrial waterfront communities of New York City. NYC-EJA is a non-profit membership-driven network linking grassroots organisations from low-income neighbourhoods and communities of colour in their struggle for environmental justice. The Waterfront Justice Project is documenting community vulnerability in the context of climate change impacts, sources of industrial pollution, and demographic and socio-economic trends. This campaign is enabling community-based organisations, environmental justice communities, city planners, local and state government agencies, local business-owners, and other stakeholders to work in partnership to achieve community resilience while advocating for local jobs and promoting best practices in pollution prevention. New York City's waterfront policies ease the siting and clustering of public infrastructure, water pollution control plants, waste transfer stations, energy facilities, and heavy manufacturing uses in six areas designated as Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). The SMIAs are located in environmental justice communities, largely low-income communities and communities of colour, in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. New York City's local waterfront land use and zoning policies create cumulative risk exposure not only to residents and workers in the host waterfront communities, but also, in the event of storm surge or sea-level rise, to neighbouring, upland communities.     

The multiple communities of low-carbon transition: an assessment of communities involved in forest carbon measurement

In recent writing on sociotechnical transitions theory communities are mostly conceived of as being local and place-based (“grassroots”). In this paper the implications for sociotechnical transitions theory of having multiple communities operating at different geographical scales, and with different objectives, are examined through a case study of low-carbon innovation in forests. The focus of analysis is the communities promoting sociotechnical innovations in the measurement of forest carbon. Innovation is being driven by the international United Nations climate policy initiative “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation” (REDD+). The rise of REDD+ policy has prompted a flurry of activity in related scientific research, especially in the field of remote sensing. But other types of community are also actively positioning themselves as experts in forest carbon measurement: there are multiple communities at work, each with varying claims to innovation and expertise, from local (place-based) forest communities to international communities of foresters and forest ecologists. Recognition of the multiple communities operating within sociotechnical systems usefully draws our attention to the politics of innovation.