Developing an Environmental Indicator System for Sustainable Development in China: Two Case Studies of Selected Indicators

Environmental indicator systems are a fundamental tool in quantifying the environmental component of sustainable development. They are useful because they quantify the status and trends of key environmental parameters and provide information on the environment that allows authorities and communities to make informed decisions. This article analyzes the basic framework for Chinese environmental indicator systems and presents a “core” set of environmental indicators. In our research, we used a theme approach to develop the environmental indicator systems. We performed two case studies of selected indicators. In the first, we used an urban ambient air pollution composite index and an urban ambient air pollution indicator for three main pollutants to examine trends in urban air pollution in China from 1990 to 2000 at regional and national levels. The results indicate that China has made some progress towards controlling urban air pollution, but must do more in order to reach acceptable pollution levels. We think that an aggregated index and disaggregated indicators have important complementary roles in the policy-making processes. In the second case study, we developed and constructed a grassland degradation index that aggregates information on the extent and severity of grassland degradation. Taking the Xilinhaote region of Inner Mongolia as the study area, we calculated this index by combining remote-sensing data, a geographical information system (GIS), and field investigation. Based on these results, we provide recommendations regarding further development and measurement of environmental indicators in China.     

The effect of urban quality improvements on economic activity

This paper is concerned with the link between urban quality improvements and economic activity. A key question is whether improvements in the urban environment which might be achieved, for instance, through pedestrianisation, will affect business location choices - for example, are office or retail businesses particularly keen to locate in more pleasant urban places? The paper outlines the current state of development of the literature with respect to the influence of urban quality on economic activity, and proposes a framework for forecasting economic impacts based on three communities of reference: customers, employees, and the businesses themselves. The results from original modelling of a case study area in Manchester, England are reported and suggest that the positive uplifts that may be expected from environmental improvement programmes may well be on a scale which is significant. The research is obviously important for the urban regeneration and renaissance agendas which posit attractive and well-designed environments as a way to create the right conditions for promoting economic growth.     

Performance Evaluation of the SLEUTH Model in the Shenyang Metropolitan Area of Northeastern China

Performance evaluation is crucial for the development and improvement of an urban cellular automata model, such as SLEUTH. In this paper, we employed multiple methods for map comparison and model validation to evaluate the simulation performance of the SLEUTH urban growth model in the Shenyang metropolitan area of China. These multiple methods included the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curve statistic, multiple-resolutions error budget, and landscape metrics. They were used to quantitatively examine model performance in terms of the amount and spatial location of urban development, urban spatial pattern and prediction ability. The assessment results showed that SLEUTH performed well in the way of the quantitative simulation of urban growth for this case study. Similar to other urban growth models, however, the simulation accuracy for spatial location of new development at the pixel scale and urban spatial pattern still needs to be improved greatly. These inaccuracies might be attributed to the structure and nature of SLEUTH, local urban development characteristics, and the temporal and spatial scale of its application. Finally, many valuable suggestions had been put forward to improve simulation performance of SLEUTH model for spatial location of urban development in the Shenyang metropolitan area.     

南京市城区环境空气中总悬浮颗粒物的源解析

应用受体模式的化学质量平衡法（ＣＭＢ）,对南京市城区７个环境监测点环境空气中的总悬浮颗粒物（ＴＳＰ）进行污染源的源解析,得出４类主要污染源对ＴＳＰ的平均贡献率,建筑尘３９．８％、煤烟尘２５．７％,土壤尘１９．２％,冶炼尘１．８％,同时,对该市城区的地面尘也进行了源解析,表明地面尘与环境中ＴＳＰ的构成相近。     

Multi-criteria assessment of socio-environmental aspects in shrinking cities. Experiences from eastern Germany

Demographic change and economic decline produce modified urban land use pattern and densities. Compared to the beginning of the 90s after the German reunification, nowadays massive housing and commercial vacancies followed by demolition and perforation come to pass in many cities of the former GDR. In consequence, a considerable surplus of urban brownfields has been created. Furthermore, the decline in the urban fabric affects social infrastructure and urban greenery of local neighbourhoods. Here, urban planning enters into ‘uncharted territory’ since it needs to assess the socio-environmental impact of shrinkage.In order to carry out such an evaluation quantitatively, a multi-criteria assessment scheme (MCA) was developed and applied. Firstly, we identified infrastructure and land use changes related to vacancy and demolition. Secondly, demolition scenarios for the coming 20 years were applied in order to give an idea for a long-term monitoring approach at the local district level. A multi-criteria indicator matrix quantifies the socio-environmental impact on both urban greenery and residents. Using it, we set demolition scenarios against urban ‘quality of life’ targets. Empirical evidence comes from Leipzig, in eastern Germany, a representative case study for urban shrinkage processes.The results show that shrinkage implies socio-environmental changes of residential livelihoods, however, does not simply increase or decrease the overall urban quality of life. The integrated assessment of all indicators identifies environmental and social opportunities, as well as the challenges a shrinking city is faced with.     

Grouping and representativeness of monitoring stations based on wind speed and wind direction data in urban areas of Japan

Data on wind speed and wind direction from 27 air pollution monitoring stations in an urban area of Japan were analyzed and studied for the future assessment of the urban heat island phenomenon. A cluster analysis clarified the regionality of the wind speed and wind direction. In the study area, land and sea breeze developed and controlled the wind direction. On the other hand, the mountain and valley wind should be studied to determine their typical behavior.     

城镇污水处理厂TOC与COD相关性分析及应用

通过在线TOC水质自动分析仪方法与实验室COD方法比对,建立TOC-COD一元线性回归方程,且将其应用到上海市44家污水处理厂出水中TOC与COD值的转换,并在污水处理厂进行在线TOC水质自动分析仪及在线COD水质自动分析仪监测值比对实验。结果表明,TOC-COD一元线性回归方程相关系数r为 0.963,废水中TOC与COD值线性显著相关,通过上述回归方程将在线TOC水质自动分析仪监测值转化COD监测值与在线COD水质自动仪监测值进行相对误差比较,88.4％的数据满足《水污染源在线监测系统安装技术规范（试行）》（HJ/T 355－2007）规范要求;用上述转换方程换算上海市44家污水处理厂TOC值得到的COD值与实验室COD值进行误差计算, 87.3%的数据满足上述规范要求,验证了在线TOC值转换COD值在污水行业的适用性。     

城市绿色发展竞争力评价研究

提出城市绿色发展竞争力概念,探讨环境质量与经济社会发展水平之间的关系,从城市空气环境质量、地表水环境质量、声环境质量、集中式饮用水源地水质和生态环境质量等"硬环境"着手,结合衡量城市经济发展程度的工业GDP指标,构建评价指标体系,用单位工业GDP的环境代价来表征城市绿色发展竞争力水平,并以安徽省省辖市为例进行了实例研究。     

Design of an Air-Quality Surveillance System for Buenos Aires City Integrated by a NO x Monitoring Network and Atmospheric Dispersion Models

This paper presents an air-quality surveillance system designed to detect the occurrence of air pollutant concentrations greater than a reference level in an urban area. The system is integrated by an air-quality monitoring network and atmospheric dispersion models simulations. An objective methodology to design an urban air-quality monitoring network is proposed. This methodology is based on the analysis of air-quality modelling results. The procedure is applied to design an air-quality monitoring network to control NO _x concentration levels in Buenos Aires City. Results indicate that six monitors will detect the occurrence of concentration greater than the air-quality guidelines with an efficiency of about 67%. Once a violation is detected, results of atmospheric dispersion models will help in the determination of affected areas. Four possible examples are included to illustrate the assistance that the results of atmospheric dispersion models can bring to a better estimation of possible affected areas in the city. Combining these results with the last census data, an estimation of the inhabitants possibly exposed is obtained.     

An environmental pressure index proposal for urban development planning based on the analytic network process

This paper introduces a new approach to prioritize urban planning projects according to their environmental pressure in an efficient and reliable way. It is based on the combination of three procedures: (i) the use of environmental pressure indicators, (ii) the aggregation of the indicators in an Environmental Pressure Index by means of the Analytic Network Process method (ANP) and (iii) the interpretation of the information obtained from the experts during the decision-making process.The method has been applied to a proposal for urban development of La Carlota airport in Caracas (Venezuela). There are three options which are currently under evaluation. They include a Health Club, a Residential Area and a Theme Park. After a selection process the experts chose the following environmental pressure indicators as ANP criteria for the project life cycle: used land area, population density, energy consumption, water consumption and waste generation. By using goal-oriented questionnaires designed by the authors, the experts determined the importance of the criteria, the relationships among criteria, and the relationships between the criteria and the urban development alternatives.The resulting data showed that water consumption is the most important environmental pressure factor, and the Theme Park project is by far the urban development alternative which exerts the least environmental pressure on the area. The participating experts coincided in appreciating the technique proposed in this paper is useful and, for ranking ordering these alternatives, an improvement from traditional techniques such as environmental impact studies, life-cycle analysis, etc.