Inspiring Futures for European Local Governments!

Since 1994, more than 2000 European local governments have adopted the principles of the Aalborg Charter as a basis for local sustainability action. Now, ten years later in June 2004, these local governments will gather once again in Aalborg, Denmark at the Fourth European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in Europe, Inspiring Futures—Aalborg+10. The Aalborg+10 event will celebrate a decade of European local sustainability action, evaluate progress and stagnation, and, more importantly, will adopt new commitments to move from Agenda to Action. The conference will be crucial for accelerating local sustainability in Europe and to move towards Local Action. Here an overview is provided on the context against which this important conference is set and its expected outcomes.     

Vulnerability and resilience to climate change in Sorsogon City,the Philippines: learning from an ordinary city?

Sorsogon City is a rapidly urbanising coastal area in the Philippines. Its location, combined with a rapidly changing and growing urban fabric, leaves it vulnerable to both incremental climate change and associated extreme weather events. In this paper, UN-HABITAT data are used to draw out the climate change vulnerabilities and policy responses in Sorsogon City. Vulnerability “hotspots” highlight the spatial intersection of socio-economic justice concerns, particularly in terms of vulnerability to increased cyclone activity. We discuss vulnerabilities of Sorsogon City and its citizens to climate change and measures undertaken through various social, environmental and technical systems and interventions to increase resilience. The paper also attempts to unpick the relationship between the neat, concise reported city and the complexities of urban life using the Sorsogon experiment to consider the limitations of such approaches to governing climate change. We group these under four headings: social simplification in the absence of data; over-governance (and under-representation); quick wins versus strategic investment; and stretching the ecological and vulnerability footprints of the city. The experience of Sorsogon City is then extended to reflect on issues of governance and planning in other Asian coastal cities.     

西部小城镇生活垃圾处理方案的优选

根据中国西部小城镇生活垃圾的特点,以选择经济适用的处理方案为目标层,构建层次结构模型,显示出层次分析法（AHP）作为一种系统工程的理论工具在环境领域里具有一定的客观性、准确性和有效性,是一种简易而且可行的理论方法和手段。其中以西部有代表性的小城镇生活垃圾为例进行了探讨,对焚烧、卫生填埋和堆肥三种处理方案进行综合比较分析,探讨出了与当前该地相适应的城市生活垃圾处理模式,并对其发展前景进行了预测和分析。     

省辖市辐射事故应急预警机制之我见

目前放射性同位素在我国各领域广泛应用,为及时有效的控制放射性事故,保障公众身体健康和生命安全．避免发生群体性恐慌事件,省辖市环保部门应制定完善的辐射事故应急预譬机制。     

广东省低碳城市评价体系研究

以广东省21个地级市为研究对象,根据低碳发展理念与目标,结合广东省的低碳发展路径,选取与低碳城市发展密切相关的14个基础指标,构建广东省低碳城市评价指标体系进行综合评价。结果表明:(1)广东省低碳城市评价较好的城市主要有广州、深圳、珠海、佛山、惠州等。(2)参与评价的城市得分均较高,整体上具备良好发展势头。(3)排名越靠后的城市,制约指标越多,新能源与可再生能源比例是广东省低碳发展最受制约的指标。(4)单位土地面积碳排放量指标各城市间的反差最大,主要是由于各城市的市域面积不一,能源消费与经济发展不平均而造成的。     

京津冀及周边地区“2+26”城市结构性调整政策的CO2协同减排效益评估

《打赢蓝天保卫战三年行动计划》（"三年行动计划"）明确提出,产业结构调整、能源结构调整、交通结构调整和用地结构调整是大幅减少大气污染物和CO₂排放的重要抓手,这种协同效应非常明显,但在城市群层面还未被量化研究.为此,采用京津冀温室气体-空气污染物协同控制综合评估模型（GAINS-JJJ）,构建了2017年京津冀及周边地区"2+26"城市群基础排放清单,定量分析了"三年行动计划"的实施带来的CO₂和主要大气污染物的排放变化情况.结果表明,与2017年相比,2020年政策情景下"2+26"城市的CO₂、一次PM_2.5、SO₂、NO_x和NH₃的减排量分别为29.1 Mt （相当于2017年排放量的2%）、203.8（21%）、281.8（27%）、485.5（17%）和34.3 kt （3%）,排放量较大的城市或部门都实现了较为明显的减排.碳协同减排效益结果显示,产业结构调整的一系列重大举措（淘汰落后产能、工业锅炉升级改造和散乱污企业综合整治等）取得了良好的CO₂和大气污染物协同减排效应,而不同污染物中NO_x的碳协同减排效应最高.     

产业转型升级与绿色全要素生产率提升的互动关系——基于中国116个地级资源型城市的实证研究

促进产业转型升级,提升绿色全要素生产率是推进我国资源型城市高质量发展的关键。但是,产业转型升级能否提升绿色全要素生产率在学术界一直存在争论。以2003— 2018年中国116个地级资源型城市为对象,分析了产业转型升级与绿色全要素生产率提升的演化特征和互动关系。结果表明：（1）56.9%的资源型城市产业转型升级并不理想,处于产业结构高级化和合理化不同步或双低的状态;有57.8%的资源型城市绿色全要素生产率实现了正增长,但仍有一些资源型城市绿色全要素生产率增长缓慢,主要是因为技术效率未得到有效改善。（2）PVAR模型和脉冲响应估计结果表明,资源型城市绿色全要素生产率提升的滞后期对其自身的影响存在负向作用。同时,资源型城市长期的传导路径为绿色全要素生产率提升受到反映产业结构合理化的泰尔指数的负向冲击后,对产业结构高级化产生持续性的积极作用,之后,产业结构高级化不断对自身产生正向冲击作用。（3）通过方差分解预测可知,未来绿色全要素生产率提升、产业结构高级化与合理化仍主要依赖自身发展路径。产业结构高级化对绿色全要素生产率提升的解释力高于产业结构合理化的解释力。随着期数的增加,产业结构高级化与绿色全要素生产率提升的相互解释力逐渐上升。     

基于空间距离和时间成本的中小文化旅游城市可达性研究

在区域旅游发展中,中小文化旅游城市是其重要内容之一。除旅游景点本身的吸引力之外,旅游目的地的可达性及旅游景点基础设施的完善是其旅游发展的重要内容,因此中小文化旅游城市的可达性研究具有重要意义。基于GIS软件,论文从空间距离和时间成本角度对全国34个中小文化旅游城市的可达性进行研究。结果表明:我国中小文化旅游城市的可达性表现出非均衡的空间分布特征,其3 h可达服务范围(即游客市场)并未覆盖全国。其中,东北地区、华南地区、内蒙古高原、青藏高原等地区因中小文化旅游城市分布较少而出现可达服务范围的空白区域,而长江三角洲、成渝、鲁西南和海峡西岸等地区中小文化旅游城市的可达服务范围已绵延成片,具有较大的区域旅游合作潜力。此外,通过对中小文化旅游城市的旅游收入、旅游人数与可达范围内社会经济属性进行相关性分析,发现旅游收入与1 h可达范围内的GDP相关性最高,而旅游人数与50 km范围内的GDP相关性最高。     

A multilevel analysis of private-vehicle evacuation clearance times along the US Gulf Coast

This study uses multilevel regression analysis to examine the effect of social characteristics and the built environment on clearance time under an evacuation scenario. The primary unit of analysis is the US Census tract (N?=?1660), nested within 31 incorporated places spanning five US states. The dependent variable is an estimate of clearance time in hours derived using network analysis techniques within a geographic information system. We find that tracts with a more peripheral location, more female residents, a higher proportion of Hispanic residents, and higher median household incomes are associated with higher clearance times, on average. Our research suggests the relationship between suburbanization and clearance time is complex and evolving, mediated by past investments in the built environment and shifting social conditions. In addition to facilitating the evacuation of areas with low access to personal vehicles, urban planners and emergency management officials should also consider how the degree of connectivity in the street network impacts congestion and clearance time.     

Nexus security: governance, innovation and the resilient city

Nexus security is a compound mix of ideas: reconciling human needs and wants with access to multiple resources; diversity of access to those resources and services; resilience in the face of weather- and climaterelated variability; resilience likewise in the face of infrastructure failure; and the personal, individual sense of belonging. At the level of Systems Thinking there is a very close relationship between resilience in the behavior of natural (ecological) systems and resilience in the social dynamics of governance within communities, where such resilience establishes the viability of these communities over centuries, which in turn entails successful stewardship of the man-environment relationship. We use insights from this cross-system mapping — across natural, built, and human systems — to assess, first, the role of city governance in achieving nexus security (or not) and, second, the role of technological innovations in serving the same purpose. More specifically, eight principles, covering resilience and diversity of access to resources and services, are used to gauge security-enhancing features of city buildings and infrastructure. Case studies include new designs of resilient office blocks, nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) recovery systems for sanitation and wastewater treatment, and the reconstruction of urban parks for the provision of ecosystem services. Throughout the paper, matters of risk in the face of meteorological variability are prominent. We do not conclude, however, that the presence of risk implies nexus insecurity.