Recent urban policy and development in China: a reversal of "anti-urbanism".

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Kwok, R Y

1987-10-01

The nature of and reasons for China's urban distribution policy adopted in 1982 are examined. The influence of socialist planning ideology on urban policy is noted. Contradictions between economic reform and urban policies are identified.

Governing urban water flows in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhong, L.

2007-01-01

China has been witnessing an unprecedented period of continuous high economic growth during the past three decades. But this has been paralleled by severe environmental challenges, of which water problems are of key importance. This thesis addresses the urban water challenges of contemporary China,

Urbanization, economic development and health: evidence from China's labor-force dynamic survey.

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Chen, Hongsheng; Liu, Ye; Li, Zhigang; Xue, Desheng

2017-11-29

The frequent outbreak of environmental threats in China has resulted in increased criticism regarding the health effects of China's urbanization. Urbanization is a double-edged sword with regard to health in China. Although great efforts have been made to investigate the mechanisms through which urbanization influences health, the effect of both economic development and urbanization on health in China is still unclear, and how urbanization-health (or development-health) relationships vary among different income groups remain poorly understood. To bridge these gaps, the present study investigates the impact of both urbanization and economic development on individuals' self-rated health and its underlying mechanisms in China. We use data from the national scale of the 2014 China Labor-force Dynamics Survey to analyze the impact of China's urbanization and economic development on health. A total of 14,791 individuals were sampled from 401 neighborhoods within 124 prefecture-level cities. Multilevel ordered logistic models were applied. Model results showed an inverted U-shaped relationship between individuals' self-rated health and urbanization rates (with a turning point of urbanization rate at 42.0%) and a positive linear relationship between their self-rated health and economic development. Model results also suggested that the urbanization-health relationship was inverted U-shaped for high- and middle-income people (with a turning point of urbanization rate at 0.0% and 49.2%, respectively), and the development-health relationship was inverted U-shaped for high- and low-income people (with turning points of GDP per capita at 93,462 yuan and 71,333 yuan, respectively) and linear for middle-income people. The impact of urbanization and economic development on health in China is complicated. Careful assessments are needed to understand the health impact of China's rapid urbanization. Social and environmental problems arising from rapid urbanization and economic growth

Accounting for the Gender Income Gap in Urban China

OpenAIRE

Sun, Zizhuo

2000-01-01

Accounting for the Gender Income Gap in Urban China Zizhuo Sun (ABSTRACT) Using data from the China Housing Survey, that was conducted in 1993, the present study attempts to learn whether and how specific factors--human capital (including education and health), guanxi (social connections), housework, and employment in different sectors of the economy influence the income gap between men and women in urban China when traditional, soc...

Measuring urban sprawl in China by night time light images

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Liu, Lu; Tang, Lin

2017-01-01

In the process of urbanization, a phenomenon called “urban sprawl” usually occurs. This phenomenon may exaggerated the negative effects of urbanization on environment, public and social health, energy efficiency, and maintenance of farmland. Therefore, the understanding of this phenomenon is urgently required for us to achieve sustainable development. This study proposed a group of night time lights (NTL) indicators of urban sprawl, which intend to use the distribution of lightness to quantify urban sprawl. These measures are proved to be efficient in describing urban sprawl. In addition, they are consistent and easy calculating, making comparison analysis easy to be done. These indicators are used to study urban sprawl in China during the year 2000 to 2010, the results show that in the last ten years, metropolitan areas in the northern part of China have undergone a more sprawl-like urban growth compared with other parts of China.

Evaluation of Factors Affecting E-Bike Involved Crash and E-Bike License Plate Use in China Using a Bivariate Probit Model

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Yanyong Guo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The primary objective of this study is to evaluate factors affecting e-bike involved crash and license plate use in China. E-bike crashes data were collected from police database and completed through a telephone interview. Noncrash samples were collected by a questionnaire survey. A bivariate probit (BP model was developed to simultaneously examine the significant factors associated with e-bike involved crash and e-bike license plate and to account for the correlations between them. Marginal effects for contributory factors were calculated to quantify their impacts on the outcomes. The results show that several contributory factors, including gender, age, education level, driver license, car in household, experiences in using e-bike, law compliance, and aggressive driving behaviors, are found to have significant impacts on both e-bike involved crash and license plate use. Moreover, type of e-bike, frequency of using e-bike, impulse behavior, degree of riding experience, and risk perception scale are found to be associated with e-bike involved crash. It is also found that e-bike involved crash and e-bike license plate use are strongly correlated and are negative in direction. The result enhanced our comprehension of the factors related to e-bike involved crash and e-bike license plate use.

Urban Land Use Efficiency and Coordination in China

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Xiaodong Yang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Due to the focused pursuit of economic growth in the process of the large-scale urban development of China, the phenomena of low land use efficiency and discordance of land use induce unwanted economic, social, and environmental costs. This paper presents a comprehensive study of urban land use efficiency and of the degree of land use coordination of 33 cities in China, using theoretical analysis, data envelopment analysis, principal component analysis, the coordination coefficient method, and four-quadrant analysis. The findings of this study suggest a gradually increasing proportion of land use efficiency from eastern to central and western regions of China, coinciding with China’s pattern of socioeconomic development. No correlation was found between high levels of urban land use efficiency and the degree of land use coordination; however, a significant correlation was found between low land use efficiency and low degrees of land use coordination. Rational land use planning and policy design can effectively improve both urban land use efficiency and coordination.

An Evaluation of Urban Renewal Policies of Shenzhen, China

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Guiwen Liu

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Urban renewal is a pragmatic approach in the sustainable urban development of urban areas, and has now become an essential strategy for most metropolises in China. The question of how urban renewal can best be realized has gained the attention of urban planning researchers looking to formulate practical evidence-based urban renewal policies through policy instruments. This paper analyzes the urban renewal policies of Shenzhen, a pioneer city in China in the promulgation of urban renewal legislation. In doing so, an analytical framework is established by focusing on three main policy instruments, along with several sub-instruments within them. Shenzhen’s five main urban renewal policies, issued between 2009 and 2016, are analyzed through this framework. Content analysis and pattern-matching is used in the review and analysis of the data. The results show that “Environment” side policies tend to be the most widely applied by the Shenzhen municipal government. Additionally, “Regulation Control” and “Goal-planning” policies are the two instruments most frequently adopted as sub-instruments. Moreover, it is found that the application of “Supply” side polices and “Demand” side polices needs be strengthened. These findings identify the types of urban renewal policies currently employed in China and provide a clear understanding of the current policy priorities, with suggestions and insight into further urban renewal policy initiatives for Shenzhen and beyond.

A real-time crash prediction model for the ramp vicinities of urban expressways

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Moinul Hossain

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Ramp vicinities are arguably the known black-spots on urban expressways. There, while maintaining high speed, drivers need to respond to several complex events such as maneuvering, reading road signs, route planning and maintaining safe distance from other maneuvering vehicles simultaneously which demand higher level of cognitive response to ensure safety. Therefore, any additional discomfort caused by traffic dynamics may induce driving error resulting in a crash. This manuscript presents a methodology for identifying these dynamically forming hazardous traffic conditions near the ramp vicinities with high resolution real-time traffic flow data. It separates the ramp vicinities into four zones – upstream and downstream of entrance and exit ramps, and builds four separate real-time crash prediction models. Around two year (December 2007 to October 2009 crash data as well as their matching traffic sensor data from Shibuya 3 and Shinjuku 4 expressways under the jurisdiction of Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited have been utilized for this research. Random multinomial logit, a forest of multinomial logit models, has been used to identify the most important variables. Finally, a real-time modeling method, Bayesian belief net (BBN, has been employed to build the four models using ramp flow, flow and congestion index in the upstream and flow and speed in the downstream of the ramp location as variables. The newly proposed models could predict 50%, 42%, 43% and 55% of the future crashes with around 10% false alarm for the downstream of entrance, downstream of exit, upstream of entrance and upstream of exit ramps respectively. The models can be utilized in combination with various traffic smoothing measures such as ramp metering, variable speed limit, warning messages through variable message signs, etc. to enhance safety near the ramp vicinities.

Mining the Urban Sprawl Pattern: A Case Study on Sunan, China.

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Ma, Ronghua; Gu, Chaolin; Pu, Yingxia; Ma, Xiaodong

2008-10-14

China's urbanization is going into a fast development stage. This paper focuses on the recent evolution of an urbanized area - Sunan, the southern part of Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta in China - by means of complementary approaches, especially different fractal and autocorrelation measures. The research shows that Sunan's urban clusters are becoming more and more homogenous and compact and are growing up along the important transportation axes. The enriching discussion of the findings establishes the links between the morphology of urban sprawl and recent socio-economic changes in China.

The impact of urbanization on the community food environment in China.

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Wu, Yang; Xue, Hong; Wang, Huijun; Su, Chang; Du, Shufa; Wang, Youfa

2017-05-01

Research on how urbanization has influenced the food environment in China is limited. The study aimed to examine the impact of urbanization on the food environment in China. Longitudinal data collected during 1989-2009 from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were used, which covered 9 provinces in China. Urbanicity index (0-10) was assessed using an urbanicity scale. Final analyses included 216 communities. Random-effect models were used in analyses. Urbanization (higher urbanicity index) increased the odds of having fast food restaurants (OR=2.78, 95% CI: 2.18-3.54) and other indoor restaurants (OR=2.93, 95% CI: 2.28-3.76) within the community, the odds of having supermarkets (OR=2.43, 95% CI: 2.04-2.89) and free markets (OR=2.56, 95% CI: 1.77-3.70) within 30 minutes' bus ride from the community. Food prices for apples (β=0.06, 95% CI: 0.04-0.08) and lean pork (β =0.02, 95% CI: 0.01-0.03) increased with urbanicity, while prices for other food did not. Urbanicity was positively associated with community norms for fast food consumption (RR=1.28, 95% CI: 1.22-1.33), fast food preferences (RR=1.09, 95% CI: 1.06-1.12) and nutrition knowledge (RR=1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.03). Urbanization is associated with food environment in China. The findings provide insight for future economic development and public health efforts related to urbanization.

Alternative approaches to food : Community supported agriculture in urban China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krul, K.; Ho, P.P.S.

2017-01-01

One of the most remarkable features of China's development path is its large-scale and fast-paced urbanization. As cities already accommodate more than half of China's population, new challenges to urban food systems have emerged concurrently. Concerns over environmental degradation and food

Rural-Urban Migration in China: Temporary Migrants in Search of Permanent Settlement

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Beatriz Carrillo

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Massive population flows from rural to urban areas since the start of economic reform have had consequences on almost every social, economic and political issue in the People's Republic of China. This paper maps the developments of rural to urban migration in reform era China, explaining the repercussions of the household registration system on migration patterns, the economic and social inclusion of rural migrant workers into urban communities, and the formation of migrant communities based on ethnic ties in some of China's major cities. The paper ends with a discussion of the consequences of both regional and rural-urban inequalities on future population flows, and on the possibilities of social tensions brought by the increasing presence of rural migrants in urban China.

The nexus between urbanization and PM2.5 related mortality in China.

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Liu, Miaomiao; Huang, Yining; Jin, Zhou; Ma, Zongwei; Liu, Xingyu; Zhang, Bing; Liu, Yang; Yu, Yang; Wang, Jinnan; Bi, Jun; Kinney, Patrick L

2017-08-01

The launch of China's new national urbanization plan, coupled with increasing concerns about air pollution, calls for better understandings of the nexus between urbanization and the air pollution-related health. Based on refined estimates of PM 2.5 related mortality in China, we developed an Urbanization-Excess Deaths Elasticity (U-EDE) indicator to measure the marginal PM 2.5 related mortality caused by urbanization. We then applied statistical models to estimate U-EDE and examined the modification effects of income on U-EDE. Urbanization in China between 2004 and 2012 led to increased PM 2.5 related mortality. A 1% increase in urbanization was associated with a 0.32%, 0.14%, and 0.50% increase in PM 2.5 related mortality of lung cancer, stroke, and ischemic heart disease. U-EDEs were modified by income with an inverted U curve, i.e., lower marginal impacts at the lowest and highest income levels. In addition, we projected the future U-EDE trend of China as a whole and found that China had experienced the peak of U-EDE and entered the second half of the inverted U-shaped curve. In the near future, national average U-EDE in China will decline along with the improvement of income level if no dramatic changes happen. However, the decreased U-EDE only implies that marginal PM 2.5 -related mortality brought by urbanization would decrease in China. Total health damage of urbanization will keep going up in the predictable future because the U-EDE is always positive. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analyzing the causes of urban waterlogging and sponge city technology in China

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Ning, Yun-Fang; Dong, Wen-Yi; Lin, Lu-Sheng; Zhang, Qian

2017-03-01

With the rapid development of social economy in China, increased urban population, and rapid urbanization cause serious problems, for example, a heavy rain in the city inevitably leads to waterlogging, which poses a great threat to the livelihood and property security. Disaster due to urban flood is a key problem that restricts the development of urban ecology in China. The reason is the sharp increase of impermeable surface ratio in urban areas, leading to a decrease in rainfall infiltration and increase in surface runoff. To effectively solve the urban waterlogging, China proposed the construction of sponge city. This paper analyzes and summarizes the reasons for the formation of urban waterlogging, and introduces the concept of the sponge city technology to prevent waterlogging.

A study of best practices in promoting sustainable urbanization in China.

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Tan, Yongtao; Xu, Hui; Jiao, Liudan; Ochoa, J Jorge; Shen, Liyin

2017-05-15

In the past twenty years, various sustainable urban development policies and methods had been implemented within China, such that sustainable urbanization is now more widely accepted. Some of these policies and methods have been found to be successful in improving the sustainability of cities in China. Those practices can be defined as the best practices of sustainable urbanization, which can provide useful references for future urban developments. However, few existing studies examine how to learn from these best practices. Combining the methods of content analysis and social network analysis, this paper conducts a comprehensive study on 150 best practices of sustainable urbanization in China. The methods and outcomes of the 150 best practices are identified. The research findings demonstrate the statistics of categories, methods and outcomes of the 150 best practices and the main adopted methods. The achieved outcomes in different regions of China are also presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential associations of urbanicity and income with physical activity in adults in urbanizing China: findings from the population-based China Health and Nutrition Survey 1991-2009.

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Attard, Samantha M; Howard, Annie-Green; Herring, Amy H; Zhang, Bing; Du, Shufa; Aiello, Allison E; Popkin, Barry M; Gordon-Larsen, Penny

2015-12-12

High urbanicity and income are risk factors for cardiovascular-related chronic diseases in low- and middle-income countries, perhaps due to low physical activity (PA) in urban, high income areas. Few studies have examined differences in PA over time according to income and urbanicity in a country experiencing rapid urbanization. We used data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, a population-based cohort of Chinese adults (n = 20,083; ages 18-75y) seen a maximum of 7 times from 1991-2009. We used sex-stratified, zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to examine occupational, domestic, leisure, travel, and total PA in Chinese adults according to year, urbanicity, income, and the interactions among urbanicity, income, and year, controlling for age and region of China. We showed larger mean temporal PA declines for individuals living in relatively low urbanicity areas (1991: 500 MET-hours/week; 2009: 300 MET-hours/week) compared to high urbanicity areas (1991: 200 MET-hours/week; 2009: 125 MET-hours/week). In low urbanicity areas, the association between income and total PA went from negative in 1991 (p Leisure PA was the only domain of PA that increased over time, but >95% of individuals in low urbanicity areas reported zero leisure PA at each time point. Our findings show changing associations for income and urbanicity with PA over 18 years of urbanization. Total PA was lower for individuals living in more versus less urban areas at all time points. However, these differences narrowed over time, which may relate to increases in individual-level income in less urban areas of China with urbanization. Low-income individuals in higher urbanicity areas are a particularly critical group to target to increase PA in China.

Tuberculosis in an urban area in China: differences between urban migrants and local residents.

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Xin Shen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The increase in urban migrants is one of major challenges for tuberculosis control in China. The different characteristics of tuberculosis cases between urban migrants and local residents in China have not been investigated before. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed a retrospective study of all pulmonary tuberculosis patients reported in Songjiang district, Shanghai, to determine the demographic, clinical and microbiological characteristics of tuberculosis cases between urban migrants and local residents. We calculated the odds ratios (OR and performed multivariate logistic regression to identify the characteristics that were independently associated with tuberculosis among urban migrants. A total of 1,348 pulmonary tuberculosis cases were reported during 2006-2008, among whom 440 (32.6% were local residents and 908 (67.4% were urban migrants. Urban migrant (38.9/100,000 population had higher tuberculosis rates than local residents (27.8/100,000 population, and the rates among persons younger than age 35 years were 3 times higher among urban migrants than among local residents. Younger age (adjusted OR per additional year at risk = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.91-0.94, p<0.001, poor treatment outcome (adjusted OR = 4.12, 95% CI: 2.65-5.72, p<0.001, and lower frequency of any comorbidity at diagnosis (adjusted OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.13-0.26, p = 0.013 were significantly associated with tuberculosis patients among urban migrants. There were poor treatment outcomes among urban migrants, mainly from transfers to another jurisdiction (19.3% of all tuberculosis patients among urban migrants. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: A considerable proportion of tuberculosis cases in Songjiang district, China, during 2006-2008 occurred among urban migrants. Our findings highlight the need to develop and implement specific tuberculosis control strategies for urban migrants, such as more exhaustive case finding, improved case management and follow-up, and use of

Urbanization eases water crisis in China

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Wu, Yiping; Liu, Shu-Guang; Ji, Chen

2012-01-01

Socioeconomic development in China has resulted in rapid urbanization, which includes a large amount of people making the transition from rural areas to cities. Many have speculated that this mass migration may have worsened the water crisis in many parts of the country. However, this study shows that the water crisis would be more severe if the rural-to-urban migration did not occur.

Alternative approaches to food: Community supported agriculture in urban China

OpenAIRE

Krul, K.; Ho, P.P.S.

2017-01-01

One of the most remarkable features of China's development path is its large-scale and fast-paced urbanization. As cities already accommodate more than half of China's population, new challenges to urban food systems have emerged concurrently. Concerns over environmental degradation and food safety have provoked growing dissatisfaction with China's food regime. Amidst these concerns, the aim of this paper is to study the role of new and alternative approaches to food, focusing in on the quest...

Urbanization effect on trends in sunshine duration in China

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Y. Wang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available There is an ongoing debate on whether the observed decadal variations in surface solar radiation, known as dimming and brightening periods, are a large-scale or solely local phenomenon. We investigated this issue using long-term sunshine duration records from China, which experienced a rapid increase in urbanization during the past decades. Over the period 1960–2013, 172 pairs of urban and nearby rural stations were analyzed. Urban and rural sunshine duration trends show similar spatial patterns during a dimming phase (1960–1989 and a subsequent period during which trends were leveling off (1990–2013. This indicates that rather than local effects, the trends in sunshine duration are on more of a national or regional scale in China. Nevertheless, in the dimming phase, the declining rate of sunshine duration in rural areas is around two-thirds of that in urban areas. The ratio of rural to urban dimming generally increases from a minimum of 0.39 to a maximum of 0.87 with increasing indices of urbanization calculated based on the year 2013. It reaches a maximum when the urbanization level exceeds 50 %, the urban population exceeds 20 million, or the population density becomes higher than 250 person km−2. After the transition into the leveling-off period, sunshine duration trends are no longer significantly affected by urbanization. Meanwhile, the number of laws and regulations related to air pollution and investment in pollution treatment have been increasing in China.

Landscape urbanization and economic growth in China: positive feedbacks and sustainability dilemmas.

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Bai, Xuemei; Chen, Jing; Shi, Peijun

2012-01-03

Accelerating urbanization has been viewed as an important instrument for economic development and reducing regional income disparity in some developing countries, including China. Recent studies (Bloom et al. 2008) indicate that demographic urbanization level has no causal effect on economic growth. However, due to the varying and changing definition of urban population, the use of demographic indicators as a sole representing indicator for urbanization might be misleading. Here, we re-examine the causal relationship between urbanization and economic growth in Chinese cities and provinces in recent decades, using built-up areas as a landscape urbanization indicator. Our analysis shows that (1) larger cities, both in terms of population size and built-up area, and richer cities tend to gain more income, have larger built-up area expansion, and attract more population, than poorer cities or smaller cities; and (2) that there is a long-term bidirectional causality between urban built-up area expansion and GDP per capita at both city and provincial level, and a short-term bidirectional causality at provincial level, revealing a positive feedback between landscape urbanization and urban and regional economic growth in China. Our results suggest that urbanization, if measured by a landscape indicator, does have causal effect on economic growth in China, both within the city and with spillover effect to the region, and that urban land expansion is not only the consequences of economic growth in cities, but also drivers of such growth. The results also suggest that under its current economic growth model, it might be difficult for China to control urban expansion without sacrificing economic growth, and China's policy to stop the loss of agricultural land, for food security, might be challenged by its policy to promote economic growth through urbanization.

Generalized anxiety disorder in urban China: Prevalence, awareness, and disease burden.

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Yu, Wei; Singh, Shikha Satendra; Calhoun, Shawna; Zhang, Hui; Zhao, Xiahong; Yang, Fengchi

2018-07-01

Limited published research has quantified the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) prevalence and its burden in China. This study aimed to fill in the knowledge gap and to evaluate the burden of GAD among adults in urban China. This study utilized existing data from the China National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS) 2012-2013. Prevalence of self-reported diagnosed and undiagnosed GAD was estimated. Diagnosed and undiagnosed GAD respondents were compared with non-anxious respondents in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), resource utilization, and work productivity and activity impairment using multivariate generalized linear models. A multivariate logistic model assessed the risk factors for GAD. The prevalence of undiagnosed/diagnosed GAD was 5.3% in urban China with only 0.5% of GAD respondents reporting a diagnosis. Compared with non-anxious respondents, both diagnosed and undiagnosed GAD respondents had significantly lower HRQoL, more work productivity and activity impairment, and greater healthcare resource utilization in the past six months. Age, gender, marital status, income level, insurance status, smoking, drinking and exercise behaviors, and comorbidity burdens were significantly associated with GAD. This was a patient-reported study; data are therefore subject to recall bias. The survey was limited to respondents in urban China; therefore, these results focused on urban China and may be under- or over-estimating GAD prevalence in China. Causal inferences cannot be made given the cross-sectional nature of the study. GAD may be substantially under-diagnosed in urban China. More healthcare resources should be invested to alleviate the burden of GAD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban sprawl as a risk factor in motor vehicle crashes

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Reid; Hamidi, Shima; Grace, James B.

2016-01-01

A decade ago, compactness/sprawl indices were developed for metropolitan areas and counties which have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we first update the original county index to 2010, then develop a refined index that accounts for more relevant factors, and finally seek to test the relationship between sprawl and traffic crash rates using structural equation modelling. Controlling for covariates, we find that sprawl is associated with significantly higher direct and indirect effects on fatal crash rates. The direct effect is likely due to the higher traffic speeds in sprawling areas, and the indirect effect is due to greater vehicle miles driven in such areas. Conversely, sprawl has negative direct relationships with total crashes and non-fatal injury crashes, and these offset (and sometimes overwhelm) the positive indirect effects of sprawl on both types of crashes through the mediating effect of increased vehicle miles driven. The most likely explanation is the greater prevalence of fender benders and other minor accidents in the low speed, high conflict traffic environments of compact areas, negating the lower vehicle miles travelled per capita in such areas.

Liberalizing rural-to-urban construction land transfers in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, Rong; Wang, Rongyu; Heerink, Nico

2018-01-01

China's land market is characterized by a dual urban-rural system, with the government in control of rural-urban land transfers. In recent years, different types of pilot projects have been implemented to experiment with liberalizing markets for rural-urban construction land transfers. The objective

Danwei Profitability and Earnings Inequality in Urban China*

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Yu; Wu, Xiaogang

2009-01-01

Prior research has debated the relative importance of such factors as human capital, political capital and region in determining workers’ earnings in reform-era urban China. This article argues that a main agent of social stratification in contemporary China continues to be the danwei, the work unit. Using data from a 1999 survey we conducted in three large Chinese cities, Wuhan, Shanghai and Xi’an, we assess the extent to which workers’ earnings (including regular wages, bonuses and subsidies) depend on the profitability of their danwei. Results show that the financial situation of the danwei is one of the most important determinants of earnings in today’s urban China. Furthermore, the importance of danwei profitability does not vary by city or by employment sector. PMID:20445771

Mining the Urban Sprawl Pattern: A Case Study on Sunan, China

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Xiaodong Ma

2008-10-01

Full Text Available China’s urbanization is going into a fast development stage. This paper focuses on the recent evolution of an urbanized area – Sunan, the southern part of Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta in China – by means of complementary approaches, especially different fractal and autocorrelation measures. The research shows that Sunan’s urban clusters are becoming more and more homogenous and compact and are growing up along the important transportation axes. The enriching discussion of the findings establishes the links between the morphology of urban sprawl and recent socio-economic changes in China.

The interaction between land subsidence and urban development in China

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Y. Yang

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Yangtze River Delta and North China Plain are experiencing serious land subsidence development and are also the areas that have undergone the fastest urbanization. Rapid urban development inevitably requires more water resources. However, China is a country with small per capita water resources, nonuniform distribution of water resources, and over-exploitation of groundwater – all of which are critical factors contributing to the potential for a land subsidence disaster. In addition, land subsidence has brought about elevation loss, damaged buildings, decreased safety of rail transit projects, lowered land value, and other huge economic losses and potential safety hazards in China. In this paper, Beijing, a typical northern Chinese city deficient in water, is taken as an example to explore (a the problems of urban development, utilization of water resources, and land subsidence development; (b the harm and influence of land subsidence hazards on urban construction; and (c the relationship between urban development and land subsidence. Based on the results, the author has predicted the trend of urban development and land subsidence in Beijing and puts forward her viewpoints and suggestions.

Rural Villagers and Urban Residents Exposure to Poultry in China

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Ying; Liao, Qiaohong; Zhou, Hang; Zhou, Lei; Li, Leilei; Wu, Jiabing; Zhang, Shunxiang; Yu, Zhangda; Wu, Xiaomin; Ma, Hanwu; Lu, Jianhua; Cowling, Benjamin J.; Yu, Hongjie

2014-01-01

Patterns of poultry exposure in rural and urban areas in China have not been systematically evaluated and compared. The objective of our study is to investigate patterns in human exposure to poultry in rural and urban China. We conducted a two-stage household-based clustered survey on population exposure to live/sick/dead poultry in Xiuning and Shenzhen. Half of the rural households (51%) in Xiuning raised poultry, mostly (78%) free-range. Around half of those households (40%) allowed poultry to stay in their living areas. One quarter of villagers reported having contact with sick or dead poultry. In Shenzhen, 37% urban residents visited live poultry markets. Among these, 40% purchased live poultry and 16% touched the poultry or cages during purchase. Our findings indicated that human exposure to poultry was different in rural and urban areas in China. This discrepancy could contribute to the observed differences in epidemiologic characteristics between urban and rural cases of influenza A(H7N9) and A(H5N1) virus infection. PMID:24769673

Microplastic in three urban estuaries, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Shiye; Zhu, Lixin; Li, Daoji

2015-01-01

Estuarine Microplastics (MPs) are limited to know globally. By filtering subsurface water through 330 μm nets, MPs in Jiaojiang, Oujiang Estuaries were quantified, as well as that in Minjiang Estuary responding to Typhoon Soulik. Polymer matrix was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. MP (<5 mm) comprised more than 90% of total number plastics. The highest MPs density was found in Minjiang, following Jiaojiang and Oujiang. Fibers and granules were the primary shapes, with no pellets found. Colored MPs were the majority. The concentrations of suspended microplastics determine their bioavailability to low trophic organisms, and then possibly promoting the transfer of microplastic to higher trophic levels. Polypropylene and polyethylene were the prevalent types of MPs analyzed. Economic structures in urban estuaries influenced on MPs contamination levels. Typhoon didn't influence the suspended MP densities significantly. Our results provide basic information for better understanding suspended microplastics within urban estuaries and for managerial actions. - Highlights: • Suspended microplastic were investigated within three densely populated/developed urban estuaries, China. • Economical structures may contribute to the abundances of microplastic particles within the studied estuaries. • Typhoon Soulik didn't influence microplastic densities in the water column of Minjiang Estuary. • Microplastics (<5 mm in diameter) dominated more than 90% of the total plastic by number. - Suspended microplastics (MPs) levels were quantified within three urban estuaries, China. MPs densities were consistent with the urban economical structure, and that in Minjiang were unaffected by Typhoon.

Predictability and interpretability of hybrid link-level crash frequency models for urban arterials compared to cluster-based and general negative binomial regression models.

Science.gov (United States)

Najaf, Pooya; Duddu, Venkata R; Pulugurtha, Srinivas S

2018-03-01

Machine learning (ML) techniques have higher prediction accuracy compared to conventional statistical methods for crash frequency modelling. However, their black-box nature limits the interpretability. The objective of this research is to combine both ML and statistical methods to develop hybrid link-level crash frequency models with high predictability and interpretability. For this purpose, M5' model trees method (M5') is introduced and applied to classify the crash data and then calibrate a model for each homogenous class. The data for 1134 and 345 randomly selected links on urban arterials in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina was used to develop and validate models, respectively. The outputs from the hybrid approach are compared with the outputs from cluster-based negative binomial regression (NBR) and general NBR models. Findings indicate that M5' has high predictability and is very reliable to interpret the role of different attributes on crash frequency compared to other developed models.

MOTORCYCLE CRASH PREDICTION MODEL FOR NON-SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. HARNEN

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This paper attempts to develop a prediction model for motorcycle crashes at non-signalized intersections on urban roads in Malaysia. The Generalized Linear Modeling approach was used to develop the model. The final model revealed that an increase in motorcycle and non-motorcycle flows entering an intersection is associated with an increase in motorcycle crashes. Non-motorcycle flow on major road had the greatest effect on the probability of motorcycle crashes. Approach speed, lane width, number of lanes, shoulder width and land use were also found to be significant in explaining motorcycle crashes. The model should assist traffic engineers to decide the need for appropriate intersection treatment that specifically designed for non-exclusive motorcycle lane facilities.

Public-private partnerships in China's urban water sector

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhong, L.; Mol, A.P.J.; Fu, T.

2008-01-01

During the past decades, the traditional state monopoly in urban water management has been debated heavily, resulting in different forms and degrees of private sector involvement across the globe. Since the 1990s, China has also started experiments with new modes of urban water service management

Environmental consequences of rapid urbanization in zhejiang province, East china.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xuchao; Yue, Wenze; Xu, Honghui; Wu, Jingsheng; He, Yue

2014-07-11

Since reforms carried out in the late 1970s, China has experienced unprecedented rates of urban growth. Remote sensing data and surface observational data are used to investigate the urbanization process and related environmental consequences, focusing on extreme heat events and air pollution, in Zhejiang Province (ZJP, East China). Examination of satellite-measured nighttime light data indicates rapid urbanization in ZJP during the past decade, initially forming three urban clusters. With rapid urban sprawl, a significant Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect has emerged. During extreme heat events in summer, the UHI effect significantly exacerbates nocturnal heat stress in highly urbanized areas. Taking a long-term view, urbanization also causes additional hot days and hot degree days in urban areas. Urbanization also imposes a heavy burden on local and regional air quality in ZJP. Degraded visibility and an increase in haze days are observed at most meteorological stations, especially in the three urban clusters. The results show that urbanization has led to serious environmental problems in ZJP, not only on the city scale, but also on the regional scale. Maintaining a balance between the continuing process of urbanization and environmental sustainability is a major issue facing the local government.

Urbanization Process Monitoring in Northwest China based on DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, K.; Bai, L. Y.; Feng, J. Z.

2017-02-01

In recent years, the DMSP/OLS nighttime light data have been widely applied to various fields such as monitoring and evaluation of urbanization, estimation of social economy, economical environment and health effects, hazards analysis, and fisheries research. The general urbanized level in China has rapidly developed since the 1990s, and the cities in northwest China, which were important population centres of the ancient silk road, have also been developed in a high speed thanks to China’s national strategy of Western Development. Given the Xinjiang autonomous region as a core area of One Belt and One Road, it is very necessary to study the urbanization processes and changes of its urban system and the whole northwest region of China. In this paper, we extracted built-up areas of the cities in northwest China in 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012, evaluated urban expansion and spatial pattern through appropriate indexes, and also quantitatively analyzed the urbanized level of each city. The results showed that the cities in northwest China generally presented high strong and rapid expansion, but there were some large differences among cities. Urban expansion forms alternate with exterior expansion and interior filling, in general, the cities externally expandedafter 2002 and internally filledbefore 2002, meanwhile, there were a high positive correlation between urban built-up areas and population growth in Xinjiang autonomous.

Panel estimation for urbanization, energy consumption and CO2 emissions: A regional analysis in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Chuanguo; Lin Yan

2012-01-01

As urbanization accelerates, urban areas play a leading role in energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in China. The existing research is extensively concerned with the relationships between urbanization, energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in recent years, but little attention has been paid to the regional differences. This paper is an analysis of the impact of urbanization on energy consumption and CO 2 emissions at the national and regional levels using the STIRPAT model and provincial panel data from 1995 to 2010 in China. The results showed that urbanization increases energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in China. The effects of urbanization on energy consumption vary across regions and decline continuously from the western region to the central and eastern regions. The impact of urbanization on CO 2 emissions in the central region is greater than that in the eastern region. The impact of urbanization on energy consumption is greater than the impact on CO 2 emissions in the eastern region. And some evidences support the argument of compact city theory. These results not only contribute to advancing the existing literature, but also merit particular attention from policy makers and urban planners in China. - Highlights: ► We analyze the impact of urbanization on energy use and CO 2 emissions in China. ► Urbanization increases energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in China. ► The effects of urbanization on energy use and CO 2 emissions vary across regions.

Urban Boundary Extraction and Urban Sprawl Measurement Using High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images: a Case Study of China's Provincial

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H.; Ning, X.; Zhang, H.; Liu, Y.; Yu, F.

2018-04-01

Urban boundary is an important indicator for urban sprawl analysis. However, methods of urban boundary extraction were inconsistent, and construction land or urban impervious surfaces was usually used to represent urban areas with coarse-resolution images, resulting in lower precision and incomparable urban boundary products. To solve above problems, a semi-automatic method of urban boundary extraction was proposed by using high-resolution image and geographic information data. Urban landscape and form characteristics, geographical knowledge were combined to generate a series of standardized rules for urban boundary extraction. Urban boundaries of China's 31 provincial capitals in year 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 were extracted with above-mentioned method. Compared with other two open urban boundary products, accuracy of urban boundary in this study was the highest. Urban boundary, together with other thematic data, were integrated to measure and analyse urban sprawl. Results showed that China's provincial capitals had undergone a rapid urbanization from year 2000 to 2015, with the area change from 6520 square kilometres to 12398 square kilometres. Urban area of provincial capital had a remarkable region difference and a high degree of concentration. Urban land became more intensive in general. Urban sprawl rate showed inharmonious with population growth rate. About sixty percent of the new urban areas came from cultivated land. The paper provided a consistent method of urban boundary extraction and urban sprawl measurement using high-resolution remote sensing images. The result of urban sprawl of China's provincial capital provided valuable urbanization information for government and public.

Urban-Rural and Provincial Disparities in Child Malnutrition in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yichao; Qi, Di

2016-10-01

This article investigates how the nutritional deprivation and inequality among children in China by provinces and urban/rural areas has changed over time from 1991 to 2009 using the China Health and Nutrition Survey data. The children who were undernourished in stunting and underweight have declined over years, but provincial disparities were significant and urban children performed better than the rural peers. The nutritional deprivation of children has been alleviated in China over time, but more efforts should be made by the government to improve the nutritional condition in less developed provinces and for those children who are severely undernourished.

An investigation of the role of China's urban population on coal consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michieka, Nyakundi M.; Fletcher, Jerald J.

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the causal relationship between urban population, real GDP, electricity production and coal consumption in China for the period 1971–2009. Using a vector autoregression framework and a modified version of the Granger (1969) causality test proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (J. Econ. 66 (1995) 225), the results suggest that there is causality running from GDP to coal consumption. The variance decomposition analysis report that urban population and coal affect electricity production variability over the forecast period. We also find that increasing urban population may negatively affect China's GDP over time. Policy measures aimed at influencing GDP could ultimately affect coal consumption. - Highlights: ► We find Granger Causality running from GDP to coal consumption. ► China can mitigate the adverse environmental effects of coal by altering GDP path. ► We find Granger Causality running from urbanization to electricity production. ► China needs to find other sources of energy to cater for growing electricity demand. ► Increasing urban population may slow economic growth due to overcrowding in cities.

Urban Development for Whom? Changing Forms of Urbanization in Chengdu, China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zeuthen, Jesper Willaing

is on the institutions regulating changed use of land when communities shift from rural to urban. In the current phase of urbanization far from the city centre, politically decided plans bargained far from rural communities play a much larger role than they did in earlier phases of urbanization closer to the city. China...... process means more formal regulations than in the past, it also means less credible institutions, because regulations may change almost over night as a result of political decisions on which local communities have no influence. In the current situation, the paper argues, the high degree of state control...

Current research trend on urban sewerage system in China

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Yun-Fang; Dong, Wen-Yi; Lin, Lu-Sheng; Zhang, Qian

2017-03-01

The research emphasis has always been on sewerage treatment technology in China, though urban drainage system has gained little attention. In the context of urban drainage system and the problem associated with rain, the focus is still mainly toward the simple “emissions”. While the relationship between conservation and utilization of rainwater resources and urban ecology are popular, the relationship between rainwater discharge and non-point source pollution are often neglected. The reasonable choice of sewerage system is dependent on the collection and discharge of urban sewerage, the applicability and economic benefits, along with the ability to meet the water quality requirements and environmental protection. This paper analyzes and summarizes the development of urban drainage system in china, and introduces different drainage forms. The choice of drainage system should be based on the overall planning of the city, environmental protection requirements, the local natural conditions and water conditions, urban sewerage and water quality, the original drainage facilities, and local climatic conditions. It must be comprehensive to meet the environmental protection requirements, through technical and economic comparison.

Urban Mining's Potential to Relieve China's Coming Resource Crisis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wen, Zongguo; Zhang, Chenkai; Ji, Xiaoli; Xue, Yanyan

2015-01-01

China's mineral resource consumption has gone through multiple increases since 1980, resulting in the inadequacy of important strategic resources and a high level of external dependence. Some developed countries have already reduced primary resources consumption through urban mining. Can China also

Changing and Differentiated Urban Landscape in China: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Driving Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Chuanglin; Li, Guangdong; Wang, Shaojian

2016-03-01

Urban landscape spatiotemporal change patterns and their driving mechanisms in China are poorly understood at the national level. Here we used remote sensing data, landscape metrics, and a spatial econometric model to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of urban landscape change and investigate its driving forces in China between 1990 and 2005. The results showed that the urban landscape pattern has experienced drastic changes over the past 15 years. Total urban area has expanded approximately 1.61 times, with a 2.98% annual urban-growth rate. Compared to previous single-city studies, although urban areas are expanding rapidly, the overall fragmentation of the urban landscape is decreasing and is more irregular and complex at the national level. We also found a stair-stepping, urban-landscape changing pattern among eastern, central, and western counties. In addition, administrative level, urban size, and hierarchy have effects on the urban landscape pattern. We also found that a combination of landscape metrics can be used to supplement our understanding of the pattern of urbanization. The changes in these metrics are correlated with geographical indicators, socioeconomic factors, infrastructure variables, administrative level factors, policy factors, and historical factors. Our results indicate that the top priority should be strengthening the management of urban planning. A compact and congregate urban landscape may be a good choice of pattern for urban development in China.

Measuring directional urban spatial interaction in China: A migration perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fangzhou; Feng, Zhiming; Li, Peng; You, Zhen

2017-01-01

The study of urban spatial interaction is closely linked to that of economic geography, urban planning, regional development, and so on. Currently, this topic is generating a great deal of interest among researchers who are striving to find accurate ways to measure urban spatial interaction. Classical spatial interaction models lack theoretical guidance and require complicated parameter-adjusting processes. The radiation model, however, as proposed by Simini et al. with rigorous formula derivation, can simulate directional urban spatial interaction. We applied the radiation model in China to simulate the directional migration number among 337 nationwide research units, comprising 4 municipalities and 333 prefecture-level cities. We then analyzed the overall situation in Chinese cities, the interaction intensity hierarchy, and the prime urban agglomerations from the perspective of migration. This was done to ascertain China's urban spatial interaction and regional development from 2000 to 2010 to reveal ground realities.

How Can China Lighten Up? Urbanization, Industrialization and Energy Demand Scenarios

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aden, Nathaniel T.; Zheng, Nina; Fridley, David G.

2009-07-01

Urbanization has re-shaped China's economy, society, and energy system. Between 1990 and 2007 China added 290 million new urban residents, bringing the total urbanization rate to 45%. This population adjustment spurred energy demand for construction of new buildings and infrastructure, as well as additional residential use as rural biomass was replaced with urban commercial energy services. Primary energy demand grew at an average annual rate of 10% between 2000 and 2007. Urbanization's effect on energy demand was compounded by the boom in domestic infrastructure investment, and in the export trade following World Trade Organization (WTO) accession in 2001. Industry energy consumption was most directly affected by this acceleration. Whereas industry comprised 32% of 2007 U.S. energy use, it accounted for 75% of China's 2007 energy consumption. Five sub-sectors accounted for 78% of China's industry energy use in 2007: iron and steel, energy extraction and processing, chemicals, cement, and non-ferrous metals. Ferrous metals alone accounted for 25% of industry and 18% of total primary energy use. The rapid growth of heavy industry has led China to become by far the world's largest producer of steel, cement, aluminum, and other energy-intensive commodities. However, the energy efficiency of heavy industrial production continues to lag world best practice levels. This study uses scenario analysis to quantify the impact of urbanization and trade on industrial and residential energy consumption from 2000 to 2025. The BAU scenario assumed 67% urbanization, frozen export amounts of heavy industrial products, and achievement of world best practices by 2025. The China Lightens Up (CLU) scenario assumed 55% urbanization, zero net exports of heavy industrial products, and more aggressive efficiency improvements by 2025. The five dominant industry sub-sectors were modeled in both scenarios using a LEAP energy end-use accounting model. The results of

Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978 to 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, S.; Zhao, S.

2017-12-01

China has produced increasingly large quantities of waste associated with her accelerated urbanization and economic development and deposited these wastes into landfills potentially sequestering carbon. However, the magnitude of the carbon storage in China's urban landfills and its spatial and temporal change remain unclear. Here, we estimate the total amount of organic carbon (OC) stored in China's urban landfills between 1978 and 2014 using a first order organic matter decomposition model and data compiled from literature review and statistical yearbooks. Our results show that total OC stored in China's urban landfills increased nearly 68 folds from the 1970s to the 2010s, and reached 225.2 - 264.5 Tg C (95% confidence interval, hereafter) in 2014. Construction waste was the largest OC pool (128.4 - 157.5 Tg C) in 2014, followed by household waste (67.7 - 83.8 Tg C), and sewage sludge was the least (19.7 - 34.1 Tg C). Carbon stored in urban landfills accounts for more than 10% of the country's carbon stocks in urban ecosystems. The annual increase (i.e., sequestration rate) of OC in urban landfills in the 2010s (25.1 ± 4.3 Tg C yr-1, mean±2SD, hereafter) is equivalent to 1% of China's carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production during the same period, but represents about 9% of the total terrestrial carbon sequestration in the country. Our study clearly indicates that OC dynamics in landfills should not be neglected in regional to national carbon cycle studies as landfills not only account for a substantial part of the carbon stored in urban ecosystems but also contribute respectably to national carbon sequestration.

Environmental Consequences of Rapid Urbanization in Zhejiang Province, East China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuchao Yang

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Since reforms carried out in the late 1970s, China has experienced unprecedented rates of urban growth. Remote sensing data and surface observational data are used to investigate the urbanization process and related environmental consequences, focusing on extreme heat events and air pollution, in Zhejiang Province (ZJP, East China. Examination of satellite-measured nighttime light data indicates rapid urbanization in ZJP during the past decade, initially forming three urban clusters. With rapid urban sprawl, a significant Urban Heat Island (UHI effect has emerged. During extreme heat events in summer, the UHI effect significantly exacerbates nocturnal heat stress in highly urbanized areas. Taking a long-term view, urbanization also causes additional hot days and hot degree days in urban areas. Urbanization also imposes a heavy burden on local and regional air quality in ZJP. Degraded visibility and an increase in haze days are observed at most meteorological stations, especially in the three urban clusters. The results show that urbanization has led to serious environmental problems in ZJP, not only on the city scale, but also on the regional scale. Maintaining a balance between the continuing process of urbanization and environmental sustainability is a major issue facing the local government.

Understanding the health impacts of urbanization in China: A living laboratory for urban biogeochemistry research

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Y. G.

2015-12-01

China has the largest population in the world, and by 2011, more than 50% of its population are now living in cities. This ongoing societal change has profound impacts on environmental quality and population health. In addition to intensive discharges of waste, urbanization is not only changing the land use and land cover, but also inducing fundamental changes in biogeochemical processes. Unlike biogeochemistry in non-urban environment, the biological component of urban biogeochemistry is dominated by direct human activities, such as air pollution derived from transport, wastewater treatment, garbage disposal and increase in impervious surface etc. Managing urban biogeochemistry will include source control over waste discharge, eco-infrastructure (such as green space and eco-drainage), resource recovery from urban waste stream, and integration with peri-urban ecosystem, particularly with food production system. The overall goal of managing urban biogeochemistry is for human health and wellbeing, which is a global challenge. In this paper, the current status of urban biogeochemistry research in China will be briefly reviewed, and then it will focus on nutrient recycling and waste management, as these are the major driving forces of environmental quality changes in urban areas. This paper will take a holistic view on waste management, covering urban metabolism analysis, technological innovation and integration for resource recovery from urban waste stream, and risk management related to waste recycling and recovery.

Energy demand in China: Comparison of characteristics between the US and China in rapid urbanization stage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Boqiang; Ouyang, Xiaoling

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Energy demand characteristics of the US and China were compared. • Major factors affecting energy demand were examined based on the panel data and the cointegration models. • China’s energy demand would reach 5498.13 Mtce in 2020 and 6493.07 Mtce in 2030. • Urbanization can be an opportunity for low-carbon development in China. - Abstract: China’s energy demand has shown characteristics of rigid growth in the current urbanization stage. This paper applied the panel data model and the cointegration model to examine the determinants of energy demand in China, and then forecasts China’s energy demand based on the scenario analysis. Results demonstrate an inverted U-shaped relationship between energy demand and economic growth in the long term. In business as usual scenario, China’s energy consumption will reach 6493.07 million tons of coal equivalent in 2030. The conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the comparison of characteristics between the US and China. First, energy demand has rigid growth characteristics in the rapid urbanization stage. Second, coal-dominated energy structure of China will lead to the severe problems of CO 2 emissions. Third, rapid economic growth requires that energy prices should not rise substantially, so that energy conservation will be the major strategy for China’s low-carbon transition. Major policy implications are: first, urbanization can be used as an opportunity for low-carbon development; second, energy price reform is crucial for China’s energy sustainability

Urban underground logistics system in China: Opportunities or challenges?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhilong Chen

2017-09-01

Full Text Available An urban underground logistics system (ULS is one important means of solving urban traffic problems that has unique advantages. Freight transportation in China requires a new transportation mode. Therefore, ULS has garnered increasing attention. However, to date, few scholars and practitioners have investigated ULS in China. Although ULS shows good development opportunities, it also faces great challenges. Based on the Macro-environment and situation analysis (PEST-SWOT model, which is a strategic analysis method that combines both SWOT and PEST to effectively identify advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and threats, this paper first uses PEST to analyze the macro-environment of ULS in China and identify its internal factors (i.e., advantages and disadvantages and external factors (i.e., opportunities and threats. Next, based on the SWOT framework, this paper proposes several development strategies and recommendations that provide a comprehensive and novel perspective to the study of ULS in China.

Enabling sustainable urban road transport in China: A policy and institutional perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiliang; Hu, Xiaojun

2003-01-01

The paper is an effort to investigate the approach to sustainable urban road transport in Chinese mega cities with an emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. The study links the major ''unsustainabilities'' of China's urban road transport with those deficiencies in urban road transport planning and management and China's auto industry policy and gives some suggestions and recommendations for policy change and adjustment. The paper also provides some examples of successful experiences from foreign cities in urban road transport development from which Chinese cities can learn. (Author)

Urban CO2 emissions in China: Spatial boundary and performance comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai, Bofeng; Zhang, Lixiao

2014-01-01

Different names/concepts and therefore different spatial boundaries for cities in China are responsible for the conflicting and confusing results associated with urban CO 2 emissions accounting. In this study, four types of urban boundaries, i.e., city administrative boundary (UB 1 ), city district boundary (UB 2 ), city built-up area (UB 3 ) and urban proper (UB 4 ), were identified and defined. Tianjin was subsequently selected as the case city to illustrate the different performances of CO 2 emissions with respect to these four boundaries using a 1-km grid dataset built bottom-up by point-emission sources. Different urban boundaries can induce a difference in CO 2 emissions as large as 654%. UB 1 and UB 2 are not the appropriate proxies for urban boundaries in the analysis of urban CO 2 emissions, although UB 1 is a widely adopted boundary. UB 3 is a good representative of city clusters and urban sprawl in a certain region, whereas UB 4 is the appropriate system boundary for such issues as urban CO 2 emissions in light of landscape characteristics and pertinent human activities, as well as the comparability to counterparts in developed countries. These results provide sound policy implications for the improvement of urban energy management and carbon emission abatement in China. - highlights: • Four types of urban boundaries in China were clarified and defined. • Different urban boundaries will induce deviation in CO 2 emissions as large as 654%. • The UB 4 stands for appropriate urban boundary for urban CO 2 emissions analysis. • Gridded data proves to be supplementary tools for urban CO 2 emissions accounting

Enabling sustainable urban road transport in China: A policy and institutional perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xiliang; Hu, Xiaojun

2003-07-01

The paper is an effort to investigate the approach to sustainable urban road transport in Chinese mega cities with an emphasis on policy and institutional perspectives. The study links the major ''unsustainabilities'' of China's urban road transport with those deficiencies in urban road transport planning and management and China's auto industry policy and gives some suggestions and recommendations for policy change and adjustment. The paper also provides some examples of successful experiences from foreign cities in urban road transport development from which Chinese cities can learn. (Author)

Urban expansion dynamics and natural habitat loss in China: a multiscale landscape perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Chunyang; Liu, Zhifeng; Tian, Jie; Ma, Qun

2014-09-01

China's extensive urbanization has resulted in a massive loss of natural habitat, which is threatening the nation's biodiversity and socioeconomic sustainability. A timely and accurate understanding of natural habitat loss caused by urban expansion will allow more informed and effective measures to be taken for the conservation of biodiversity. However, the impact of urban expansion on natural habitats is not well-understood, primarily due to the lack of accurate spatial information regarding urban expansion across China. In this study, we proposed an approach that can be used to accurately summarize the dynamics of urban expansion in China over two recent decades (1992-2012), by integrating data on nighttime light levels, a vegetation index, and land surface temperature. The natural habitat loss during the time period was evaluated at the national, ecoregional, and local scales. The results revealed that China had experienced extremely rapid urban growth from 1992 to 2012 with an average annual growth rate of 8.74%, in contrast with the global average of 3.20%. The massive urban expansion has resulted in significant natural habitat loss in some areas in China. Special attention needs to be paid to the Pearl River Delta, where 25.79% or 1518 km(2) of the natural habitat and 41.99% or 760 km(2) of the local wetlands were lost during 1992-2012. This raises serious concerns about species viability and biodiversity. Effective policies and regulations must be implemented and enforced to sustain regional and national development in the context of rapid urbanization. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Urban industrial contaminated sites: a new issue in the field of environmental remediation in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Xiao-Yong; Chong, Zhong-Yi; Yan, Xiu-Lan; Zhao, Dan

2011-03-01

Contamination of urban industrial lands is a new environmental problem in China during the process of upgrade of industrial structure and adjustment of urban layout. It restricts the safe re-use of urban land resources, and threatens the health of surrounding inhabitants. In the paper, the market potential of contaminated-site remediation was known through analysis of spatial distribution of urban industrial sites in China. Remediation technologies in the Occident which were suitable for urban industrial contaminated sites were discussed and compared to evaluate their superiority and inferiority. And then, some advices of remediation technologies for urban industrial contaminated sites in China were proposed.

How Did Urban Land Expand in China between 1992 and 2015? A Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Min; He, Chunyang; Liu, Zhifeng; Dou, Yinyin

2016-01-01

Effective and timely quantification of the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion in China is important for the assessment of its environmental effects. However, the dynamics of the most recent urban expansions in China since 2012 have not yet been adequately explained due to a lack of current information. In this paper, our objective was to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015. First, we extracted information on urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015 by integrating nighttime light data, vegetation index data, and land surface temperature data. Then we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion at the national and regional scales, as well as at that of urban agglomerations. We found that China experienced a rapid and large-scale process of urban expansion between 1992 and 2015, with urban land increasing from 1.22 × 104 km2 to 7.29 × 104 km2, increasing in size nearly fivefold and with an average annual growth rate of 8.10%, almost 2.5 times as rapid as the global average. We also found that urban land in China expanded mainly by occupying 3.31 × 104 km2 of cropland, which comprised 54.67% of the total area of expanded urban land. Among the three modes of growth—infilling, edge expansion, and leapfrog—edge expansion was the main cause of cropland loss. Cropland loss resulting from edge expansion of urban land totalled 2.51 × 104 km2, accounting for over 75% of total cropland loss. We suggest that effective future management with respect to edge expansion of urban land is needed to protect cropland in China. PMID:27144589

How Did Urban Land Expand in China between 1992 and 2015? A Multi-Scale Landscape Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Min; He, Chunyang; Liu, Zhifeng; Dou, Yinyin

2016-01-01

Effective and timely quantification of the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion in China is important for the assessment of its environmental effects. However, the dynamics of the most recent urban expansions in China since 2012 have not yet been adequately explained due to a lack of current information. In this paper, our objective was to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015. First, we extracted information on urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015 by integrating nighttime light data, vegetation index data, and land surface temperature data. Then we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion at the national and regional scales, as well as at that of urban agglomerations. We found that China experienced a rapid and large-scale process of urban expansion between 1992 and 2015, with urban land increasing from 1.22 × 104 km2 to 7.29 × 104 km2, increasing in size nearly fivefold and with an average annual growth rate of 8.10%, almost 2.5 times as rapid as the global average. We also found that urban land in China expanded mainly by occupying 3.31 × 104 km2 of cropland, which comprised 54.67% of the total area of expanded urban land. Among the three modes of growth-infilling, edge expansion, and leapfrog-edge expansion was the main cause of cropland loss. Cropland loss resulting from edge expansion of urban land totalled 2.51 × 104 km2, accounting for over 75% of total cropland loss. We suggest that effective future management with respect to edge expansion of urban land is needed to protect cropland in China.

Urbanization and health in China, thinking at the national, local and individual levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinhu; Song, Jinchao; Lin, Tao; Dixon, Jane; Zhang, Guoqin; Ye, Hong

2016-03-08

China has the biggest population in the world, and has been experiencing the largest migration in history, and its rapid urbanization has profound and lasting impacts on local and national public health. Under these conditions, a systems understanding on the correlation among urbanization, environmental change and public health and to devise solutions at national, local and individual levels are in urgent need. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of recent studies which have examined the relationship between urbanization, urban environmental changes and human health in China. Based on the review, coupled with a systems understanding, we summarize the challenges and opportunities for promoting the health and wellbeing of the whole nation at national, local, and individual levels. Urbanization and urban expansion result in urban environmental changes, as well as residents' lifestyle change, which can lead independently and synergistically to human health problems. China has undergone an epidemiological transition, shifting from infectious to chronic diseases in a much shorter time frame than many other countries. Environmental risk factors, particularly air and water pollution, are a major contributing source of morbidity and mortality in China. Furthermore, aging population, food support system, and disparity of public service between the migrant worker and local residents are important contributions to China's urban health. At the national level, the central government could improve current environmental policies, food safety laws, and make adjustments to the health care system and to demographic policy. At the local level, local government could incorporate healthy life considerations in urban planning procedures, make improvements to the local food supply, and enforce environmental monitoring and management. At the individual level, urban residents can be exposed to education regarding health behaviour choices while being encouraged to take

Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Urban Systems in China during Rapid Urbanization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huan Li

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The structure of urban hierarchy and the role of cities of different sizes have drawn considerable scholarly interests and societal concerns. This paper analyzes the evolution and underlying mechanisms of urban hierarchy in China during the recent period of rapid urbanization. By comparing scale changes of seven types of cities (megacity, large city, Type I big city, Type II big city, medium-sized city, type I small city and type II small city, we find that allometry is the main characteristic of urban hierarchical evolution in China. We also test the validity of Zipf’s law and Gibrat’s law, which broaden the scope of existing studies by including county-level cities. We find that urban hierarchical distribution is lognormal, rather than Pareto. The result also shows that city size growth rates are constant across cities of different types. For better understanding of the mechanisms of urban hierarchical formation, we measure the optimal city size and resource allocation by the Pareto optimality criterion and non-parametric frontier method. The main findings are as follows: (1 scale efficiency is still at a relatively low level among the seven types of cities; (2 the economic efficiency of megacities and large cities is overestimated when compared to economic-environmental efficiency. Hence, this paper has two policy implications: (1 to correct factor market (land, labor and infrastructure investment distortions among different types of cities for the improvement of efficiency; (2 to strengthen rural property rights to improve social equity, as well as land use intensity.

Residential energy consumption in urban China: A decomposition analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Xiaoli; Li Na; Ma, Chunbo

2012-01-01

Residential energy consumption (REC) is the second largest energy use category (10%) in China and urban residents account for 63% of the REC. Understanding the underlying drivers of variations of urban REC thus helps to identify challenges and opportunities and provide advices for future policy measures. This paper applies the LMDI method to a decomposition of China's urban REC during the period of 1998–2007 at disaggregated product/activity level using data collected from a wide range of sources. Our results have shown an extensive structure change towards a more energy-intensive household consumption structure as well as an intensive structure change towards high-quality and cleaner energy such as electricity, oil, and natural gas, which reflects a changing lifestyle and consumption mode in pursuit of a higher level of comfort, convenience and environmental protection. We have also found that China's price reforms in the energy sector have contributed to a reduction of REC while scale factors including increased urban population and income levels have played a key role in the rapid growth of REC. We suggest that further deregulation in energy prices and regulatory as well as voluntary energy efficiency and conservation policies in the residential sector should be promoted. - Highlights: ► We examine china's residential energy consumption (REC) at detailed product level. ► Results show significant extensive and intensive structure changed. ► Price deregulation in the energy sector has contributed a reduction of REC. ► Growth of population and income played a key role in REC rapid growth. ► We provide policy suggestions to promote REC saving.

Urban-rural disparity in utilization of preventive care services in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiang; Li, Ningxiu; Liu, Chaojie; Ren, Xiaohui; Liu, Danping; Gao, Bo; Liu, Yuanyuan

2016-09-01

Preventive care service is considered pivotal on the background of demographic ageing and a rise in chronic diseases in China. The disparity in utilization of preventive care services between urban and rural in China is a serious issue. In this paper, we explored factors associated with urban-rural disparity in utilization of preventive care services in China, and determined how much of the urban-rural disparity was attributable to each determinant of utilization in preventive care services. Using representative sample data from China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2011 (N = 12,976), the present study performed multilevel logistic model to examine the factors that affected utilization of preventive care services in last 4 weeks. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method was applied to divide the utilization of preventive care disparity between urban and rural residents into a part that can be explained by differences in observed covariates and unobserved part. The percentage of rural residents utilizing preventive care service in last 4 weeks was lower than that of urban residents (5.1% vs 9.3%). Female, the aged, residents with higher education level and household income, residents reporting self-perceived illness in last 4 weeks and physician-diagnosed chronic disease had higher likelihood of utilizing preventive care services. Household income was the most important factor accounting for 26.6% of urban-rural disparities in utilization of preventive care services, followed by education (21.5%), self-perceived illness in last 4 weeks (7.8%), hypertension (4.4%), diabetes (3.3%), other chronic diseases (0.8%), and health insurance (-1.0%). Efforts to reduce financial barriers for low-income individuals who cannot afford preventive services, increasing awareness of the importance of obtaining preventive health services and providing more preventive health services covered by health insurance, may help to reduce the gap of preventive care services utilization between

Crash sequence based risk matrix for motorcycle crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Kun-Feng; Sasidharan, Lekshmi; Thor, Craig P; Chen, Sheng-Yin

2018-04-05

Considerable research has been conducted related to motorcycle and other powered-two-wheeler (PTW) crashes; however, it always has been controversial among practitioners concerning with types of crashes should be first targeted and how to prioritize resources for the implementation of mitigating actions. Therefore, there is a need to identify types of motorcycle crashes that constitute the greatest safety risk to riders - most frequent and most severe crashes. This pilot study seeks exhibit the efficacy of a new approach for prioritizing PTW crash causation sequences as they relate to injury severity to better inform the application of mitigating countermeasures. To accomplish this, the present study constructed a crash sequence-based risk matrix to identify most frequent and most severe motorcycle crashes in an attempt to better connect causes and countermeasures of PTW crashes. Although the frequency of each crash sequence can be computed from crash data, a crash severity model is needed to compare the levels of crash severity among different crash sequences, while controlling for other factors that also have effects on crash severity such drivers' age, use of helmet, etc. The construction of risk matrix based on crash sequences involve two tasks: formulation of crash sequence and the estimation of a mixed-effects (ME) model to adjust the levels of severities for each crash sequence to account for other crash contributing factors that would have an effect on the maximum level of crash severity in a crash. Three data elements from the National Automotive Sampling System - General Estimating System (NASS-GES) data were utilized to form a crash sequence: critical event, crash types, and sequence of events. A mixed-effects model was constructed to model the severity levels for each crash sequence while accounting for the effects of those crash contributing factors on crash severity. A total of 8039 crashes involving 8208 motorcycles occurred during 2011 and 2013 were

Energy saving and emission reduction of China's urban district heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xia; Wang, Li; Tong, Lige; Sun, Shufeng; Yue, Xianfang; Yin, Shaowu; Zheng, Lifang

2013-01-01

China's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission ranks highest in the world. China is committed to reduce its CO 2 emission by 40% to 45% from the 2005 levels by 2020. To fulfill the target, China's CO 2 emission reduction must exceed 6995 million tons. Energy consumption and CO 2 emission of China's urban district heating (UDH) are increasing. The current policy implemented to improve UDH focuses on replacing coal with natural gas to reduce energy consumption and CO 2 emission to some extent. This paper proposes that heat pump heating (HPH) could serve as a replacement for UDH to help realize energy-saving and emission-reduction goals to a greater extent. The paper also analyzes the impact of this replacement on the heating and power generation sectors. The results show that replacing coal-based UDH with HPH decreases energy consumption and CO 2 emission by 43% in the heating sector. In the power generation sector, the efficiency of power generation at the valley electricity time increases by 0.512%, and the ratio of peak–valley difference decreases by 16.5%. The decreases in CO 2 emission from the heating and power generation sectors cumulatively account for 5.55% of China's total CO 2 emission reduction target in 2020. - Highlights: ► Replacing urban district heating with heat pump heating. ► Impact of heat pump heating on heating and power generation sectors. ► Potential of energy saving and emission reduction for heat pump heating. ► China should adjust current urban heating strategy

Urbanization and Income Inequality in Post-Reform China: A Causal Analysis Based on Time Series Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Guo; Glasmeier, Amy K; Zhang, Min; Shao, Yang

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the potential causal relationship(s) between China's urbanization and income inequality since the start of the economic reform. Based on the economic theory of urbanization and income distribution, we analyze the annual time series of China's urbanization rate and Gini index from 1978 to 2014. The results show that urbanization has an immediate alleviating effect on income inequality, as indicated by the negative relationship between the two time series at the same year (lag = 0). However, urbanization also seems to have a lagged aggravating effect on income inequality, as indicated by positive relationship between urbanization and the Gini index series at lag 1. Although the link between urbanization and income inequality is not surprising, the lagged aggravating effect of urbanization on the Gini index challenges the popular belief that urbanization in post-reform China generally helps reduce income inequality. At deeper levels, our results suggest an urgent need to focus on the social dimension of urbanization as China transitions to the next stage of modernization. Comprehensive social reforms must be prioritized to avoid a long-term economic dichotomy and permanent social segregation.

Urbanization and Income Inequality in Post-Reform China: A Causal Analysis Based on Time Series Data.

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Guo Chen

Full Text Available This paper investigates the potential causal relationship(s between China's urbanization and income inequality since the start of the economic reform. Based on the economic theory of urbanization and income distribution, we analyze the annual time series of China's urbanization rate and Gini index from 1978 to 2014. The results show that urbanization has an immediate alleviating effect on income inequality, as indicated by the negative relationship between the two time series at the same year (lag = 0. However, urbanization also seems to have a lagged aggravating effect on income inequality, as indicated by positive relationship between urbanization and the Gini index series at lag 1. Although the link between urbanization and income inequality is not surprising, the lagged aggravating effect of urbanization on the Gini index challenges the popular belief that urbanization in post-reform China generally helps reduce income inequality. At deeper levels, our results suggest an urgent need to focus on the social dimension of urbanization as China transitions to the next stage of modernization. Comprehensive social reforms must be prioritized to avoid a long-term economic dichotomy and permanent social segregation.

Summer atmospheric polybrominated diphenyl ethers in urban and rural areas of northern China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Chen; Li Wei; Chen Jiwei; Wang Hongqijie; Li Tongchao; Shen Guofeng; Shen Huizhong; Huang Ye; Wang Rong; Wang Bin; Zhang Yanyan; Tang Jianhui; Liu Wenxin; Wang Xilong; Tao Shu

2012-01-01

High levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been extensively reported in urban areas and at e-waste recycling sites in coastal China. However, data are scarce in northern China and are not available in rural areas at all. In addition, it is often believed that air concentrations in rural areas are lower than those in urban areas without distinguishing rural residential areas and open fields. In this study, air samples were collected at 17 sites covering urban and rural (residential and open field) areas in northern China using active samplers. With BDE-209 dominated in all congeners, the average concentrations of BDE-209 (41 ± 72 pg/m 3 ) and other 13 PBDEs (16 ± 12 pg/m 3 ) were significantly lower than those found in south China, such as in Guangzhou or Hong Kong. On average, the total PBDE concentrations at the urban sites were 2.2 and 2.9 times of those at the rural residential and field sites, respectively. - Graphical abstract: Concentration of PBDEs at each site of the studied area. Highlights: ► High levels of PBDEs with BDE-209 domination were detected in air in northern China. ► PBDE concentrations in rural residential areas were significantly higher than those in rural open fields. ► Proportions of BDE-209 in urban areas were higher than those in rural areas. ► PBDE concentrations were correlated to local population density and Gross Domestic Production. - In northern China, PBDEs in air in rural residential areas were significantly higher than those in open fields.

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Michael Xiaoliang; Hansen, Alana; Hanson-Easey, Scott; Cameron, Scott; Xiang, Jianjun; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Weinstein, Philip; Han, Gil-Soo; Williams, Craig; Bi, Peng

2015-09-07

China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world's population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak. However, infectious diseases still remain a major population health issue and this may be exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unprecedented impacts of climate change. This commentary aims to explore China's current capacity to manage infectious diseases which impair population health. It discusses the existing disease surveillance system and underscores the critical importance of strengthening the system. It also explores how the growing migrant population, dramatic changes in the natural landscape following rapid urbanization, and changing climatic conditions can contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease. Continuing research on infectious diseases, urbanization and climate change may inform the country's capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Spatial Variation and Distribution of Urban Energy Consumptions from Cities in China

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Yanpeng Cai

2010-12-01

Full Text Available With support of GIS tools and Theil index, the spatial variance of urban energy consumption in China was discussed in this paper through the parallel comparison and quantitative analysis of the 30 provincial capital cities of mainland China in 2005, in terms of scale, efficiency and structure. The indicators associated with urban energy consumption show large spatial variance across regions, possibly due to diversities of geographic features, economic development levels and local energy source availability in China. In absolute terms, cities with the highest total energy consumption are mostly distributed in economic-developed regions as Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Area, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta of China, however, the per capita urban energy use is significantly higher in the Mid-and-Western regions. With regard to the energy mix, coal still plays the dominant role and cities in Mid-and-Western regions rely more on coal. In contrast, high quality energy carrier as electricity and oils are more used in southeast coastal zone and northern developed areas. The energy intensive cities are mainly located in the northwest, while the cities with higher efficiency are in southeast areas. The large spatial variance of urban energy consumption was also verified by the Theil indices. Considering the Chinese economy-zones of East, Middle and West, the within-group inequalities are the main factor contributing to overall difference, e.g., the Theil index for per capita energy consumption of within-group is 0.18, much higher than that of between group (0.07, and the same applies to other indicators. In light of the spatial variance of urban energy consumptions in China, therefore, regionalized and type-based management of urban energy systems is badly needed to effectively address the ongoing energy strategies and targets.

Migration, urban population growth and regional disparity in China

OpenAIRE

Renard, Mary-Françoise; Xu, Zelai; Zhu, Nong

2011-01-01

The main objective of this paper is to study the determinants of city population growth in China during the 1990s', as well as the determinants of migrations towards cities, which constitutes the main source of urban population growth in this period. A second objective is to identify regional differences in the urban growth and migrations, that is, whether urban growth and migration patterns are different between coastal and inland provinces. Additionally, we are interested in the differences...

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective

OpenAIRE

Chen, Xinguang; Stanton, Bonita; Kaljee, Linda M.; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Lin, Danhua; Zhang, Liying; Li, Xiaoming

2011-01-01

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced th...

Social support and depressive symptom disparity between urban and rural older adults in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Hongwei; Cao, Qi; Shi, Zhenzhen; Lin, Weixia; Jiang, Haixia; Hou, Yucheng

2018-09-01

Depressive symptom disparity between urban and rural older adults is an important public health issue in China. Social support is considered as an effective way to alleviate depression of older adults. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which social support could explain the depressive symptom disparity between urban and rural older adults in China. This study used data drawn from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study with 6,772 observations. Multiple data analysis strategies were adopted, including descriptive analyses, bivariate analyses, regression analyses and decomposition analyses. There were significant depressive symptom disparities between urban and rural older adults in China. Social support had significant association with depressive symptom of older adults while adjusting for covariates. About 25%-28% of the depressive symptom disparities could be attributed to urban-rural gaps in social support, in which community support contributed 21%-25%. Educational level and physical health status also contributed to the disparities. This study only established correlations between social support and depressive symptom disparity rather than casual relationships; and the self-reported measurement of depressive symptom and the unobservable cultural factors might cause limitations. The urban-rural gap in social support, especially community support was a prime explanation for depressive symptom disparities between urban and rural older adults in China. To reduce the depressive symptom disparities, effective community construction in rural China should be put into place, including improving the infrastructure construction, strengthening the role of social organizations, and encouraging community interpersonal interactions for older adults. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Economic Returns to Speaking "Standard Mandarin" among Migrants in China's Urban Labour Market

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wenshu; Smyth, Russell

2011-01-01

This article uses data from the China Urban Labour Survey administered across 12 cities in 2005 to estimate the economic returns to speaking standard Mandarin among internal migrants in China's urban labour market. The article builds on studies that estimate the economic returns to international immigrants of being fluent in the major language of…

Urbanization Level and Vulnerability to Heat-Related Mortality in Jiangsu Province, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kai; Zhou, Lian; Chen, Xiaodong; Ma, Zongwei; Liu, Yang; Huang, Lei; Bi, Jun; Kinney, Patrick L

2016-12-01

Although adverse effects of high temperature on mortality have been studied extensively in urban areas, little is known of the heat-mortality associations outside of cities. We investigated whether heat-mortality associations differed between urban and nonurban areas and how urbanicity affected the vulnerability to heat-related mortality. We first analyzed heat-related mortality risk in each of 102 counties in Jiangsu Province, China, during 2009-2013 using a distributed-lag nonlinear model. The county-specific estimates were then pooled for more urban (percentage of urban population ≥ 57.11%) and less urban (percentage of urban population risk comparing the 99th vs. 75th percentiles of temperature was 1.43 [95% posterior intervals (PI): 1.36, 1.50] in less urban counties and 1.26 (95% PI: 1.23, 1.30) in more urban counties. The heat effects on cardiorespiratory mortality followed a similar pattern. Higher education level and prevalence of air conditioning were significantly associated with counties having lower risks, whereas percentage of elderly people was significantly associated with increased risks. Our findings reveal that nonurban areas have significant heat-related mortality risks in Jiangsu, China. These results suggest the need for enhanced adaptation planning in Chinese nonurban areas under a changing climate. Citation: Chen K, Zhou L, Chen X, Ma Z, Liu Y, Huang L, Bi J, Kinney PL. 2016. Urbanization level and vulnerability to heat-related mortality in Jiangsu Province, China. Environ Health Perspect 124:1863-1869; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP204.

A study on sustainable urban water management in small and medium sized cities in China

OpenAIRE

Liu, Guang

2012-01-01

Along with the implementation of national urbanization and modernization strategy in China, the urban scale and quantity are increasing systematically. In this process, the role of water is irreplaceable. Urban water system is a multipurpose and integrated system. Considering China's economic and social development requirements, there are many rigorous problems in exploitation, utilization, operation and management of urban water resources comparing with some developed cities in the world. Cu...

Effects of Urbanization-Induced Cultivated Land Loss on Ecosystem Services in the North China Plain

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Wei Song

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since the implementation of market oriented economic reform in 1978, China has been on the track of rapid urbanization. The unprecedented urbanization in China has resulted in substantial cultivated land loss and rapid expansion of urban areas. The cultivated land loss due to urbanization not only threatens food security in China, but has also led to ecological system degradation to which close attention should be paid. Therefore, we examined the effects of the conversion from cultivated to urban areas on the ecosystem service in the North China Plain on the basis of a net primary productivity based ecosystem service model (NESM and a buffer comparison method. Cultivated land loss due to urbanization in the North China Plain led to a total loss of ecosystem service value of 34.66% during the period 1988–2008. Urban expansion significantly decreased the ecosystem service function of water conservation (–124.03%, nutrient cycling (–31.91%, gas regulation (−7.18%, and organic production (–7.18%, while it improved the soil conservation function (2.40%. Land use change accounted for 57.40% of the changes in ecosystem service and had a major influence on the changes in nutrient cycling and water conservation. However, climate change mainly determined the changes in gas regulation, organic production, and soil conservation.

Urban social assistance in China : Transnational diffusion and national interpretation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Tao; Sun, L.

2016-01-01

In 1999 the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) introduced the Regulation on the Minimum Living Standard Scheme (MLSS, or dibao) for urban residents in China. Policy learning from different parts of the world significantly shaped the formation and expansion of the MLSS, and

Dynamism of household carbon emissions (HCEs) from rural and urban regions of northern and southern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Maraseni, Tek Narayan; Qu, Jiansheng; Yue, Bian; Zeng, Jingjing; Maroulis, Jerry

2016-10-01

China contributes 23 % of global carbon emissions, of which 26 % originate from the household sector. Due to vast variations in both climatic conditions and the affordability and accessibility of fuels, household carbon emissions (HCEs) differ significantly across China. This study compares HCEs (per person) from urban and rural regions in northern China with their counterparts in southern China. Annual macroeconomic data for the study period 2005 to 2012 were obtained from Chinese government sources, whereas the direct HCEs for different types of fossil fuels were obtained using the IPCC reference approach, and indirect HCEs were calculated by input-output analysis. Results suggest that HCEs from urban areas are higher than those from rural areas. Regardless of the regions, there is a similarity in per person HCEs in urban areas, but the rural areas of northern China had significantly higher HCEs than those from southern China. The reasons for the similarity between urban areas and differences between rural areas and the percentage share of direct and indirect HCEs from different sources are discussed. Similarly, the reasons and solutions to why decarbonising policies are working in urban areas but not in rural areas are discussed.

Assessing the impact of the urbanization process on net primary productivity in China in 1989–2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Guangjin; Qiao, Zhi

2014-01-01

Urban development affects the material circulation and energy flow of ecosystems, thereby affecting the Net Primary Productivity (NPP). The loss of NPP due to urban expansion was calculated integrating GLO-PEM with remote sensing and GIS techniques in China during the period of 1989–2000. Using urban expansion and the mean NPP for the different land use types in the fourteen regions, the total loss of NPP was calculated as 0.95 Tg C, which accounted for 0.03% of the national NPP of 1989. The total loss of NPP due to the transformation from cropland to urban land accounted for 91.93%, followed by forest (7.17%) and grassland (0.69%). However, the conversion from unused land, industrial and construction land, and water bodies to urban land resulted in an increase in the NPP. The regions locating in eastern China and middle China had large reductions in the total NPP due to urban expansion. -- Highlights: • This paper assesses the impact of urbanization process on net primary productivity in China. • TM images were interpreted to obtain the extent and spatial distribution of urban development. • Using mean NPP for different land uses, we calculated total loss of NPP was 0.949447 Tg C in China. • The total loss of NPP owing to the transformation from cropland to urban land accounted for 91.93%. -- The loss of NPP due to urban expansion was calculated as 0.95 Tg C in China in 1989–2000, which accounted for 0.03% of the national NPP of 1989

EMPLOYMENT OF ATMS TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE DATA TO ASSIST IN IDENTIFICATION OF CRASH-PRONE INTERSECTIONS

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Kevin P. HWANG

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This paper employs information from the advanced traffic management system (ATMS of Kaohsiung, Taiwan to help differentiate those crash-prone intersections by discriminant analysis. From the 25,604 records of 2005, 1977 crashes that occurred at 119 intersections with traffic exposure data were compiled to calibrate and validate the model. The road attributes of crash records, traffic control devices and movement exposure are the three types of data used as predicting variables. The correct ratios for model calibration and validation range from 78.33% to 67.80%. if traffic movements are removed, the correct ratios become slightly lowered to 76.67% to 66.10%. Research findings reveal that with or without inclusion of exposure data in identifying high crash-prone intersections for an urban environment does not make a significant difference. in addition, layout and traffic control devices could possibly explain about 66.10 ∼ 78.33% of the possibility that an intersection will become a high crash intersection. it suggests that the developed approach could be a countermeasure for budget constraints and difficulties in continuation of exposure data collection, and the information of ATMS could help identify crash-prone urban intersections.

The Effect of the Cultural Revolution on Educational Homogamy in Urban China

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Lijun

2009-01-01

This article demonstrates that the Cultural Revolution led to a temporary decline in educational homogamy in urban China, which was reversed when the Cultural Revolution ended. Previous studies on educational homogamy in China have paid incomplete attention to China's shifting institutional structures. This research applies institutional theory to…

The effects of roadway characteristics on farm equipment crashes: A GIS approach

Science.gov (United States)

Greenan, Mitchell Joseph

for every 5 foot increase in shoulder width, the odds of a crash decreased by 8 percent. (CI: 0.86-0.98). Although not statically significant, unpaved roads increased the odds of a crash by 17 percent. (CI: 0.91-1.50) Lastly, it was found that Farm to Market routes increased the odds of a crash by two fold compared to local roads (which make up roughly 67 percent of Iowa public roads). (CI: 1.72-2.43) When the same model was stratified by rurality (urban/rural), it was found that high traffic density leads to a higher risk of a crash in rural areas. Iowa routes and Farm to Market routes had a greater odds of a crash in urban than rural areas, and road and shoulder width were more protective in rural than urban areas. When only using roads with a crash involving an injury versus all other roads as the outcome, Iowa routes and roads with increased speed limits had higher odds for an injury-involved crash, while increased road width were more protective against crashes involving injuries. Findings from the study suggest that several roadway characteristics were associated with farm-equipment crashes. Through administrative and engineering controls, the six static explanatory variables used in this study may be modified to decrease the risk of a farm equipment crash. Speed limit can be modified through administrative controls while traffic density, road and shoulder width, road type, and surface type can be modified through engineering controls. Results from this study provide information that will aid policy-makers in developing safer roads for farm equipment.

A gradient analysis on urban sprawl and urban landscape pattern between 1985 and 2000 in the Pearl River Delta, China

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Erfu; Wu, Zhuo; Du, Xiaodian

2017-04-01

Urbanization is an irreversible trend worldwide, especially in rapidly developing China. Accelerated urbanization has resulted in rapid urban sprawl and urban landscape pattern changes. Quantifying the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban land use and landscape pattern not only can reveal the characteristics of social transfer and economic development, but also can provide insights into the driving mechanisms of land use changes. In this study, we integrated remote sensing (RS), geographic information system (GIS), landscape metrics, and gradient analysis to quantitatively compare the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use, urban sprawl, and landscape pattern for nine cities in the Pearl River Delta from 1985‒2000. For the whole study region, urbanization was obvious. The results show an increase in urban buildup land and shrinkage of cropland in the Pearl River Delta. However, the nine cities differed greatly in terms of the process and magnitude of urban sprawl for both the spatial and temporal dimensions. This was most evident for the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Gradient analysis on urban landscape changes could deepen understanding of the stages of urban development and provide a scientific foundation for future urban planning and land management strategies in China.

Relative household wealth and non-fatal road crashes: analysis of population-representative data of Kenyan adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraemer, John D

2018-05-18

This study aims to examine potential road crash disparities across relative wealth and location of residence in Kenya by analyzing population-representative Demographic and Health Survey data. Relative wealth was measured by household assets, converted into an index by polychoric principal components analysis. Location and sex-stratified associations between wealth quantiles and crashes were flexibly estimated using fractional polynomial models. Structural equation models were fit to examine whether observed differences may operate through previously identified determinants. In rural areas, crashes were least common for both the poorest men (-5.2 percentage points, 95% CI: -7.3 to -3.2) and women (-1.6 percentage points, 95% CI: -2.9 to -0.4). In urban areas, male crashes were lowest (-3.0 percentage points, 95% CI: -5.2 to -0.8) among the wealthiest, while they peaked in the middle of the female wealth distribution (2.0 percentage points, 95% CI: 0.3-3.8). Male differences operate partially though occupational driving and vehicle ownership. Urban female differences operate partially through household vehicle ownership, but differences for rural women were not explained by modeled determinants. Relative wealth and road crash have opposite associations in rural and urban areas. Especially in rural areas, it is important to mitigate potential unintended effects of economic development.

Organic carbon storage change in China's urban landfills from 1978-2014

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Shidong; Zhao, Shuqing

2017-10-01

China has produced increasingly large quantities of waste associated with its accelerated urbanization and economic development and deposited these wastes into landfills, potentially sequestering carbon. However, the magnitude of the carbon storage in China’s urban landfills and its spatial and temporal change remain unclear. Here, we estimate the total amount of organic carbon (OC) stored in China's urban landfills between 1978 and 2014 using a first order organic matter decomposition model and data compiled from literature review and statistical yearbooks. Our results show that total OC stored in China’s urban landfills increased nearly 68-fold from the 1970s to the 2010s, and reached 225.2-264.5 Tg C (95% confidence interval, hereafter) in 2014. Construction waste was the largest OC pool (128.4-157.5 Tg C) in 2014, followed by household waste (67.7-83.8 Tg C), and sewage sludge was the least (19.7-34.1 Tg C). Carbon stored in urban landfills accounts for more than 10% of the country’s carbon stocks in urban ecosystems. The annual increase (i.e. sequestration rate) of OC in urban landfills in the 2010s (25.1 ± 4.3 Tg C yr-1, mean ± 2SD, hereafter) is equivalent to 1% of China's carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production during the same period, but represents about 9% of the total terrestrial carbon sequestration in the country. Our study clearly indicates that OC dynamics in landfills should not be neglected in regional to national carbon cycle studies as landfills not only account for a substantial part of the carbon stored in urban ecosystems but also have a respectable contribution to national carbon sequestration.

An empirical study of direct rebound effect for passenger transport in urban China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, H.; Zhou, P.; Zhou, D.Q.

2012-01-01

Transport sector accounts for about 8% of total energy consumption in China and this share will likely increase in the visible future. Improving energy efficiency has been considered as a major way for reducing transport energy use, whereas its effectiveness might be affected by the rebound effect. This paper estimates the direct rebound effect for passenger transport in urban China by using the linear approximation of the Almost Ideal Demand System model and simulation analysis. Our empirical results reveal the existence of direct rebound effect for passenger transport in urban China. A majority of the expected reduction in transport energy consumption from efficiency improvement could be offset due to the existence of rebound effect. We have further investigated the relationship between the magnitude of direct rebound effect and households' expenditure. It was found that the direct rebound effect for passenger transport tends to decline with the increase of per capita household consumption expenditure. - Highlights: ► The magnitude of direct rebound effect for urban passenger transport in China is 96%. ► The rebound effect in China could be larger than that in developed countries. ► The rebound effect in China declined with the increase of per capita expenditure.

Estimating likelihood of future crashes for crash-prone drivers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Subasish Das

2015-06-01

Full Text Available At-fault crash-prone drivers are usually considered as the high risk group for possible future incidents or crashes. In Louisiana, 34% of crashes are repeatedly committed by the at-fault crash-prone drivers who represent only 5% of the total licensed drivers in the state. This research has conducted an exploratory data analysis based on the driver faultiness and proneness. The objective of this study is to develop a crash prediction model to estimate the likelihood of future crashes for the at-fault drivers. The logistic regression method is used by employing eight years' traffic crash data (2004–2011 in Louisiana. Crash predictors such as the driver's crash involvement, crash and road characteristics, human factors, collision type, and environmental factors are considered in the model. The at-fault and not-at-fault status of the crashes are used as the response variable. The developed model has identified a few important variables, and is used to correctly classify at-fault crashes up to 62.40% with a specificity of 77.25%. This model can identify as many as 62.40% of the crash incidence of at-fault drivers in the upcoming year. Traffic agencies can use the model for monitoring the performance of an at-fault crash-prone drivers and making roadway improvements meant to reduce crash proneness. From the findings, it is recommended that crash-prone drivers should be targeted for special safety programs regularly through education and regulations.

The Comparison and Modeling of the Driving Factors of Urban Expansion for Thirty-Five Big Cities in the Three Regions in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tian Guangjin

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a national- and regional-scale urban growth model (NRUGM of China based on panel data analysis. Through the panel analysis, population growth, road construction, salary increment per capita, and secondary industry product increment were proven to be the major driving factors for national-scale urban expansion. According to Seventh Five-Year Plan, China had been divided into three regions, Eastern China, Middle China, and Western China, by their geographic position and economic development. We studied the relationship between urban expansion and the driving factors for the three regions between 1990 and 2010 in China. The driving factors of urban expansion were different for the different regions and periods. Population growth and road construction were identified as the two major factors driving urban expansion for Eastern China. Secondary industry and economic development had become the major driving factors for urban expansion over the last twenty years in Middle China. Over the same period, for Western China, economic growth had become the major driving factor for urban expansion. Our results have significant policy implications for China. The macrocontrol of the central government should utilize different policies to adjust urban expansion in the different regions.

Essays on land and labor in urbanizing China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wu, Yan

2017-01-01

In this dissertation I address emerging land and labor issues associated with the rapid urbanization in China over the past decades, including the negative effects of the real estate booms on manufacturing development, land conflicts, and gender inequality among migrants. The thesis consists of

Characterizing Urban Household Waste Generation and Metabolism Considering Community Stratification in a Rapid Urbanizing Area of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Lishan; Lin, Tao; Chen, Shaohua; Zhang, Guoqin; Ye, Zhilong; Yu, Zhaowu

2015-01-01

The relationship between social stratification and municipal solid waste generation remains uncertain under current rapid urbanization. Based on a multi-object spatial sampling technique, we selected 191 households in a rapidly urbanizing area of Xiamen, China. The selected communities were classified into three types: work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities in the context of housing policy reform in China. Field survey data were used to characterize household waste generation patterns considering community stratification. Our results revealed a disparity in waste generation profiles among different households. The three community types differed with respect to family income, living area, religious affiliation, and homeowner occupation. Income, family structure, and lifestyle caused significant differences in waste generation among work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities, respectively. Urban waste generation patterns are expected to evolve due to accelerating urbanization and associated community transition. A multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism approach was applied to waste metabolism linking it to particular socioeconomic conditions that influence material flows and their evolution. Waste metabolism, both pace and density, was highest for family structure driven patterns, followed by lifestyle and income driven. The results will guide community-specific management policies in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Road Assessment Model and Pilot Application in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiejun Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Risk assessment of roads is an effective approach for road agencies to determine safety improvement investments. It can increases the cost-effective returns in crash and injury reductions. To get a powerful Chinese risk assessment model, Research Institute of Highway (RIOH is developing China Road Assessment Programme (ChinaRAP model to show the traffic crashes in China in partnership with International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP. The ChinaRAP model is based upon RIOH’s achievements and iRAP models. This paper documents part of ChinaRAP’s research work, mainly including the RIOH model and its pilot application in a province in China.

Biophysical control of whole tree transpiration under an urban environment in Northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Lixin Chen; Zhiqiang Zhang; Zhandong Li; Jianwu Tang; Peter Caldwell; et al

2011-01-01

Urban reforestation in China has led to increasing debate about the impact of urban trees and forests on water resources. Although transpiration is the largest water flux leaving terrestrial ecosystems, little is known regarding whole tree transpiration in urban environments. In this study, we quantified urban tree transpiration at various temporal scales and examined...

The role of population density on the impact of urbaniza-tion on GHG emissions in China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yonghong; Gao, Chaochao; Lu, Yingying

2017-04-01

Urbanization directly drives rural to urban population migration and indirectly causes west to east migration in China, two phenomena that may significantly impact China's greenhouse gas emissions given its huge population and vast difference between the western rural and eastern urban areas. These two phenomena were analyzed by using emissions as a per capita term, and extending the impact from the traditional urbanization rate effect to include population density effect. The results show that population density has actually been the dominant demographic player in changing per capita emissions for the past two decades in China, and its elasticity changed from positive in economically less-developed provinces to negative for the developed provinces. This study provides a new perspective in the study of the relationship between urbanization and greenhouse gas emissions, and the results indicate that population density change should be taken into account to accurately assess the impact of urbanization.

Research on Building Urban Sustainability along the Coastal Area in China

OpenAIRE

Sun Jiaojiao; Fu Jiayan

2015-01-01

At present, in China, the research about the urban sustainability construction is still in the exploratory stage. The ecological problems of the coastal area are more sensitive and complicated. In the background of global warming with serious ecological damage, this paper deeply researches on the main characteristics of urban sustainability and measures how to build urban sustainability. Through combining regional environmental with economic ability along the coastal area...

Stigmatization experienced by rural-to-urban migrant workers in China: findings from a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoming; Zhang, Liying; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Chen, Xinguang; Lin, Danhua; Mathur, Ambika; Stanton, Bonita

2007-12-01

Global literature has suggested a potential negative impact of social stigma on both physical and mental health among those who are being stigmatized. However, limited data are available regarding the form of stigma and stigmatization against rural-to-urban migrant workers in developing countries, including China. This study, employing qualitative data collected from focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews with rural-to-urban migrants in Beijing, China, was designed to understand the forms and context of stigmatization against rural migrant workers. The data in the current study show that rural-to-urban migrant workers in China had experienced various forms of stigmatization including labelling, stereotyping, separation, status loss and discrimination. Stigmatization occurred through different contexts of migrant workers' lives in urban destinations, including employment seeking, workplace benefits, and access to health and other public services. The current study is a necessary first step to assess the potential impact of stigmatization on both the physical and psychological well-being of rural-to-urban migrant workers.

Requirements of a system to reduce car-to-vulnerable road user crashes in urban intersections.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibovic, Azra; Davidsson, Johan

2011-07-01

Intersection crashes between cars and vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians and bicyclists, often result in injuries and fatalities. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) can prevent, or mitigate, these crashes. To derive functional requirements for such systems, an understanding of the underlying contributing factors and the context in which the crashes occur is essential. The aim of this study is to use microscopic and macroscopic crash data to explore the potential of information and warning providing ADASs, and then to derive functional sensor, collision detection, and human-machine interface (HMI) requirements. The microscopic data were obtained from the European project SafetyNet. Causation charts describing contributing factors for 60 car-to-VRU crashes had been compiled and were then also aggregated using the SafetyNet Accident Causation System (SNACS). The macroscopic data were obtained from the Swedish national crash database, STRADA. A total of 9702 crashes were analyzed. The results show that the most frequent contributing factor to the crashes was the drivers' failure to observe VRUs due to reduced visibility, reduced awareness, and/or insufficient comprehension. An ADAS should therefore help drivers to observe the VRUs in time and to enhance their ability to interpret the development of events in the near future. The system should include a combination of imminent and cautionary collision warnings, with additional support in the form of information about intersection geometry and traffic regulations. The warnings should be deployed via an in-vehicle HMI and according to the likelihood of crash risk. The system should be able to operate under a variety of weather and light conditions. It should have the capacity to support drivers when their view is obstructed by physical objects. To address problems that vehicle-based sensors may face in this regard, the use of cooperative systems is recommended. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

Balancing urban growth and ecological conservation: A challenge for planning and governance in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Güneralp, Burak; Perlstein, Andrew S; Seto, Karen C

2015-10-01

China has high biodiversity and is rapidly urbanizing. However, there is limited understanding of how urban expansion in the country is likely to affect its habitats and biodiversity. In this study, we examine urban expansion patterns and their likely impacts on biodiversity in China by 2030. Our analysis shows that most provinces are expected to experience urban expansion either near their protected areas or in biodiversity hotspots. In a few provinces such as Guangdong in the south, urban expansion is likely to impinge on both protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. We show that policies that could facilitate the integration of natural resource protection into urban planning exist on paper, but the prevailing incentives and institutional arrangements between the central and local governments prevent this kind of integration. Removing these obstacles will be necessary in order to safeguard the country's rich biodiversity in light of the scale of urbanization underway.

“Population Invasion” versus Urban Exclusion in the Tibetan Areas of Western China

OpenAIRE

Fischer, Andrew Martín

2008-01-01

textabstractThis article examines the confluence of local population transitions (demographic transition and urbanization) with non-local in-migration in the Tibetan areas of western China. The objective is to assess the validity of Tibetan perceptions of "population invasion" by Han Chinese and Chinese Muslims. The article argues that migration to Tibet from other regions in China has been concentrated in urban areas and has been counterbalanced by more rapid rates of natural increase in the...

The Earnings Differential between Formal and Informal Employees in Urban China

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Hong Zuo

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Few studies in the field of labor economics have analyzed the earnings differential between formal and informal employees in urban China. Due to data limitations, previous studies on this subject have not yielded accurate and widely acceptable results. This study seeks to obtain more accurate results by analyzing the earnings differential based on the conceptual framework of informal employment developed by the 17th International Conference of Labor Statisticians. We analyzed data from the 2006 Chinese General Social Survey, using the Lee model to correct for selection bias and decomposing the earnings differential between formal and informal employees in urban China in terms of the effects of employee characteristics, employment, and working hours. The latter two of these comprise the segmentation effect. We found that only 33% of the observed earnings differential can be explained by employee characteristics; the remaining 67% is attributable to the segmentation effect. The working hours effect narrows the earnings differential. Based on the results of our analysis, we conclude that informal employees in urban China, especially female informal employees, suffer from segmentation and that policies to address segmentation issues are needed.

Assessing the impact of the urbanization process on net primary productivity in China in 1989-2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Guangjin; Qiao, Zhi

2014-01-01

Urban development affects the material circulation and energy flow of ecosystems, thereby affecting the Net Primary Productivity (NPP). The loss of NPP due to urban expansion was calculated integrating GLO-PEM with remote sensing and GIS techniques in China during the period of 1989-2000. Using urban expansion and the mean NPP for the different land use types in the fourteen regions, the total loss of NPP was calculated as 0.95 Tg C, which accounted for 0.03% of the national NPP of 1989. The total loss of NPP due to the transformation from cropland to urban land accounted for 91.93%, followed by forest (7.17%) and grassland (0.69%). However, the conversion from unused land, industrial and construction land, and water bodies to urban land resulted in an increase in the NPP. The regions locating in eastern China and middle China had large reductions in the total NPP due to urban expansion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential impacts of social support on mental health: A comparison study of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant adolescents and their urban counterparts in Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Xiao Yu; Wong, Daniel Fu Keung

2017-02-01

The number of internal migrant children in China has reached 35.8 million by the end of 2010. Previous studies revealed inconsistent findings regarding the mental health status of rural-to-urban migrant adolescents, as well as the impact of peer, teacher and parental support on the mental health of Chinese adolescent migrants. Using a comparative approach, this study attempted to compare the mental health status between migrant and urban-born adolescents and to clarify the specific roles of different sources of social support in the mental health of migrant and urban adolescents. A cross-sectional survey using a cluster convenience sampling strategy was performed in Beijing, China. A structured questionnaire was filled out by 368 rural-to-urban migrant adolescents and 325 urban-born adolescents. A significant difference was found only for positive affect (PA) but not for negative affect (NA) between the two groups, favouring the urban-born adolescents. Social support from all the three sources were all predictive of PA among rural-to-urban migrant adolescents, while only peer support contributed to PA among urban-born adolescents. Unexpectedly, teachers' support contributed to an increase in NA among urban-born adolescents. The findings contribute to understanding of the mental health status of migrant adolescents in China and the differential impact of the various sources of social support on migrant and urban-born adolescents. Also the findings may inform the development of mental health services and programmes that can potentially benefit a large number of internal migrant adolescents in China.

Estimating likelihood of future crashes for crash-prone drivers

OpenAIRE

Subasish Das; Xiaoduan Sun; Fan Wang; Charles Leboeuf

2015-01-01

At-fault crash-prone drivers are usually considered as the high risk group for possible future incidents or crashes. In Louisiana, 34% of crashes are repeatedly committed by the at-fault crash-prone drivers who represent only 5% of the total licensed drivers in the state. This research has conducted an exploratory data analysis based on the driver faultiness and proneness. The objective of this study is to develop a crash prediction model to estimate the likelihood of future crashes for the a...

How did the urban land in floodplains distribute and expand in China from 1992-2015?

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Shiqiang; He, Chunyang; Huang, Qingxu; Shi, Peijun

2018-03-01

Urban land in floodplains (ULF) is a vital component of flood exposure and its variations can cause changes in flood risk. In the context of rapid urbanization, ULF is expanding rapidly in China and imperiling societal sustainability. However, a national-scale analysis of ULF patterns and dynamics has yet to be conducted. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal changes in China’s ULF at different spatial scales (the country, region, basin, and sub-basin scales) from 1992-2015. We found that ULF accounted for 44.41% of the total urban land in China in 2015, which was 3.68 times greater than the proportion of floodplains relative to the total land area in China (12.06%). From 1992-2015, the ULF area increased by 26.43 × 103 km2, or 542.21%. Moreover, the ULF area is expected to grow by 16.89 × 103 km2 (53.38%) between 2015 and 2050. ULF growth was strongly associated with the flood occurrence in China, and continued growth will pose a considerable challenge to urban sustainability, particularly in basins with poor flood defenses. Greater attention should thus be paid to ULF dynamics in China.

The influence of road curvature on fatal crashes in New Zealand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haynes, Robin; Lake, Iain R.; Kingham, Simon

2008-01-01

Bends in roads can cause crashes but a recent study in the UK found that areas with mostly curved roads had lower crash rates than areas with straighter roads. This present study aimed to replicate the previous research in a different country. Variations in the number of fatal road crashes...... occurring between 1996 and 2005 in 73 territorial local authorities across New Zealand were modelled against possible predictors. The predictors were traffic flow, population counts and characteristics, car use, socio-economic deprivation, climate, altitude and road characteristics including four measures...... of average road curvature. The best predictors of the number of fatal crashes on urban roads, rural state highways and other rural roads were traffic flow, speed limitation and socio-economic deprivation. Holding significant factors constant, there was no evidence that TLAs with the most curved roads had...

Health financing and integration of urban and rural residents' basic medical insurance systems in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Kun; Zhang, Luying; Yuan, Shasha; Zhang, Xiaojuan; Zhang, Zhiruo

2017-11-07

China is in the process of integrating the new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) and the urban residents' basic medical insurance system (URBMI) into the urban and rural residents' basic medical insurance system (URRBMI). However, how to integrate the financing policies of NCMS and URBMI has not been described in detail. This paper attempts to illustrate the differences between the financing mechanisms of NCMS and URBMI, to analyze financing inequity between urban and rural residents and to identify financing mechanisms for integrating urban and rural residents' medical insurance systems. Financing data for NCMS and URBMI (from 2008 to 2015) was collected from the China health statistics yearbook, the China health and family planning statistics yearbook, the National Handbook of NCMS Information, the China human resources and social security statistics yearbook, and the China social security yearbook. "Ability to pay" was introduced to measure inequity in health financing. Individual contributions to NCMS and URBMI as a function of per capita disposable income was used to analyze equity in health financing between rural and urban residents. URBMI had a financing mechanism that was similar to that used by NCMS in that public finance accounted for more than three quarters of the pooling funds. The scale of financing for NCMS was less than 5% of the per capita net income of rural residents and less than 2% of the per capita disposable income of urban residents for URBMI. Individual contributions to the NCMS and URBMI funds were less than 1% of their disposable and net incomes. Inequity in health financing between urban and rural residents in China was not improved as expected with the introduction of NCMS and URBMI. The role of the central government and local governments in financing NCMS and URBMI was oscillating in the past decade. The scale of financing for URRBMI is insufficient for the increasing demands for medical services from the insured. The pooling fund

Characterizing Urban Household Waste Generation and Metabolism Considering Community Stratification in a Rapid Urbanizing Area of China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lishan Xiao

Full Text Available The relationship between social stratification and municipal solid waste generation remains uncertain under current rapid urbanization. Based on a multi-object spatial sampling technique, we selected 191 households in a rapidly urbanizing area of Xiamen, China. The selected communities were classified into three types: work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities in the context of housing policy reform in China. Field survey data were used to characterize household waste generation patterns considering community stratification. Our results revealed a disparity in waste generation profiles among different households. The three community types differed with respect to family income, living area, religious affiliation, and homeowner occupation. Income, family structure, and lifestyle caused significant differences in waste generation among work-unit, transitional, and commercial communities, respectively. Urban waste generation patterns are expected to evolve due to accelerating urbanization and associated community transition. A multi-scale integrated analysis of societal and ecosystem metabolism approach was applied to waste metabolism linking it to particular socioeconomic conditions that influence material flows and their evolution. Waste metabolism, both pace and density, was highest for family structure driven patterns, followed by lifestyle and income driven. The results will guide community-specific management policies in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Decoupling emissions of greenhouse gas, urbanization, energy and income: analysis from the economy of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Tianqiong; Riti, Joshua Sunday; Shu, Yang

2018-05-08

The adoption and ratification of relevant policies, particularly the household enrolment system metamorphosis in China, led to rising urbanization growth. As the leading developing economy, China has experienced a drastic and rapid increase in the rate of urbanization, energy use, economic growth and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution for the past 30 years. The knowledge of the dynamic interrelationships among these trends has a plethora of implications ranging from demographic, energy, and environmental and sustainable development policies. This study analyzes the role of urbanization in decoupling GHG emissions, energy, and income in China while considering the critical contribution of energy use. As a contribution to the extant body of literature, the present research introduces a new phenomenon called "the environmental urbanization Kuznets curve" (EUKC), which shows that at the early stage of urbanization, the environment degrades however, after a threshold point the technique effects surface and environmental degradation reduces with rise in urbanization. Applying the autoregressive distributed lag model and the vector error correction model, the paper finds the presence of inverted U-shaped curve between urbanization and GHG emission of CO 2 , while the same hypothesis cannot be found between income and GHG emission of CO 2 . Energy use in all the models contributes to GHG emission of CO 2 . In decoupling greenhouse gas emissions, urbanization, energy, and income, articulated and well-implemented energy and urbanization policies should be considered.

Changes in the Determinants of Marriage Entry in Post-Reform Urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jia; Xie, Yu

2015-12-01

Using population intercensus and national survey data, we examine marriage timing in urban China spanning the past six decades. Descriptive analysis from the intercensus shows that marriage patterns have changed in China. Marriage age is delayed for both men and women, and prevalence of nonmarriage became as high as one-quarter for men in recent birth cohorts with very low levels of education. Capitalizing on individual-level survey data, we further explore the effects of demographic and socioeconomic determinants of entry into marriage in urban China over time. Our study yields three significant findings. First, the influence of economic prospects on marriage entry has significantly increased during the economic reform era for men. Second, the positive effect of working in the state-owned sector has substantially weakened. Third, educational attainment now has a negative effect on marriage timing for women. Taken together, these results suggest that the traditional hypergamy norm has persisted in China as an additional factor in the influences of economic resources on marriage formation.

Distinguishing between Rural and Urban Road Segment Traffic Safety Based on Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression Models

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Xuedong Yan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the traffic crash rate, total crash frequency, and injury and fatal crash frequency were taken into consideration for distinguishing between rural and urban road segment safety. The GIS-based crash data during four and half years in Pikes Peak Area, US were applied for the analyses. The comparative statistical results show that the crash rates in rural segments are consistently lower than urban segments. Further, the regression results based on Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB regression models indicate that the urban areas have a higher crash risk in terms of both total crash frequency and injury and fatal crash frequency, compared to rural areas. Additionally, it is found that crash frequencies increase as traffic volume and segment length increase, though the higher traffic volume lower the likelihood of severe crash occurrence; compared to 2-lane roads, the 4-lane roads have lower crash frequencies but have a higher probability of severe crash occurrence; and better road facilities with higher free flow speed can benefit from high standard design feature thus resulting in a lower total crash frequency, but they cannot mitigate the severe crash risk.

Urban water consumption and its influencing factors in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fan, Liangxin; Gai, Lingtong; Tong, Yan; Li, Ruihua

2017-01-01

Factors that affect water consumption should be identified to develop effective public policies. However, factors influencing domestic water consumption in cities in China, particularly on a national scale, are unclear. In this study, urban water consumption and its influencing factors in 286

Path Dependence in Financing Urban Infrastructure Development in China: 1949–2016

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhan, C.; de Jong, W.M.; de Bruijn, J.A.

2017-01-01

In the past few decades, urban infrastructures in China have seen an enormous upgrade, and due to large-scale urbanization many more investments are due in the coming years. In order to supplement public funding, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and municipal bonds have recently grown popular in

Relationships among healthy lifestyle beliefs and body mass index in urban China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dagevos, H.; He, Y.; Zhang, X.Y.; Lans, van der I.A.; Zhai, F.

2011-01-01

Consumption is a major driving force in China's economy. The consumer society is particularly emerging in the more urbanized and affluent regions in China. Given the rise of consumerism on the one hand, and the rise of overweight and obesity on the other, this study explored whether the

Mode selection of China's urban heating and its potential for reducing energy consumption and CO2 emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xia; Wang, Li; Tong, Lige; Sun, Shufeng; Yue, Xianfang; Yin, Shaowu; Zheng, Lifang

2014-01-01

China's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission ranks the highest in the world. CO 2 emission from urban central heating, which has an average annual growth rate of 10.3%, is responsible for 4.4% of China's total CO 2 emission. The current policy for improving urban central heating focuses on replacing coal with natural gas. This paper analyzes the existing situation and problems pertaining to urban heating, and evaluates the potential for reducing energy consumption and CO 2 emission by heat pump heating. The results show that the current policy of replacing coal with natural gas for urban central heating decreases energy consumption and CO 2 emission by 16.6% and 63.5%, respectively. On the other hand, replacing coal-based urban central heating with heat pump heating is capable of decreasing energy consumption and CO 2 emission by 57.6% and 81.4%, respectively. Replacing both urban central and decentralized heating with heat pump heating can lead to 67.7% and 85.8% reduction in energy consumption and CO 2 emission, respectively. The decreases in CO 2 emission will account for 24.5% of China's target to reduce total CO 2 emission by 2020. - Highlights: • Existing situation and problems of urban heating in China. • Feasibility of heat pump heating in China. • Potential of energy saving and emission reduction for heat pump heating. • China should adjust urban heating strategy. • Replacing urban central heating and decentralized heating with heat pump heating

Infectious Diseases, Urbanization and Climate Change: Challenges in Future China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Xiaoliang Tong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available China is one of the largest countries in the world with nearly 20% of the world’s population. There have been significant improvements in economy, education and technology over the last three decades. Due to substantial investments from all levels of government, the public health system in China has been improved since the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS outbreak. However, infectious diseases still remain a major population health issue and this may be exacerbated by rapid urbanization and unprecedented impacts of climate change. This commentary aims to explore China’s current capacity to manage infectious diseases which impair population health. It discusses the existing disease surveillance system and underscores the critical importance of strengthening the system. It also explores how the growing migrant population, dramatic changes in the natural landscape following rapid urbanization, and changing climatic conditions can contribute to the emergence and re-emergence of infectious disease. Continuing research on infectious diseases, urbanization and climate change may inform the country’s capacity to deal with emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in the future.

Macro-Level Modeling of Urban Transportation Safety: Case-Study of Mashhad (Iran

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Mohammadi Mehdi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Transportation safety can be aimed at the planning stage in order to adopt safety management and evaluate the long-time policies. The main objective of this research was to make use of crash prediction models in urban transportation planning process. As such, it was attempted to gather data on the results of transportation master plan as well as Mashhad urban crash database. Two modelling method, generalized linear model with negative binomial distribution and geographically weighted regression, were considered as the methods used in this research. Trip variables, including trip by car, trip by bus, trip by bus services and trip by school services, were significant at 95%. The results indicated that both finalized models were competent in predicting urban crashes in Mashhad. Regarding to results urban transportation safety will be improved by changing the modal share for example from private car to bus. The application of the process presented in this study can improve the urban transportation safety management processes and lead to more accurate prediction in terms of crashes across urban traffic areas.

Assessing impact of urbanization on river water quality in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouyang, Tingping; Zhu, Zhaoyu; Kuang, Yaoqiu

2006-09-01

The Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is one of the most developed regions in China. It has been undergoing a rapid urbanization since the reformation and opening of China in 1978. This process plays a significant impact on the urban environment, particularly river water quality. The main goal of this present study is to assess the impact of urban activities especially urbanization on river water quality for the study area. Some Landsat TM images from 2000 were used to map the areas for different pollution levels of urban river sections for the study area. In addition, an improved equalized synthetic pollution index method was utilized to assess the field analytical results. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between the rapidity of urbanization and the pollution levels of urban river water. Compared to the rural river water, urban river water was polluted more seriously. During the urban development process, urbanization and urban activities had a significant negative impact on the river water quality.

Examination of the Relationships between Urban Form and Urban Public Services Expenditure in China

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Chunming Bo

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This econometric study contributes to the ongoing debate about the costs and benefits of urban form by employing interdisciplinary means—urban planning, econometrics and public administration—to explore the relationship between urban form and urban public services expenditure. In China, particularly, rapid urbanization is accompanied by an increase of urban public services expenditure and a difference in efficiency, which undermines the promotion of urban public service development. The Chinese government has paid great attention to urban sustainable development and promoting urban public services performance; however, until recently there has been a lack of empirical studies exploring the relationship between urban public services expenditure and urban form. Thus, the present research aims to analyze this issue by using relevant indicators based on an econometric model. The results provide a promising basis for improving urban public services expenditure efficiency. Based on the urban area interpreted by remote sensing data and geographic information system, two urban form metrics, the compactness ratio and the elongation ratio, are selected and quantified to describe urban compactness and urban sprawl accurately. Panel data analyses are performed using a cross-sectional dataset of the 30 cities for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013 to assess the likelihood of association between indicators of urban form and urban public services expenditure, while controlling for other determinants, such as educational level, income per capita, degree of industrialization, and unemployment rate. The results indicate that urban elongation is positively correlated to per capita urban public services expenditure and urban compactness is insignificantly correlated to it. Thus, it is recommended that policymakers consider the relationship between urban form and public services expenditure as part of urban planning and on-going strategies to promote public service

Application of Greenhouse Gas Inventory to Urban Rural Planning in China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Stanley; C.; T.; YIP

2013-01-01

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory analysis provides crucial scientific basis to support the preparation of urban-rural planning policies on managing climate change. This article reviews current studies on GHG inventory in China and points out the short fall in translating these inventory data into specific local policies. It examines the issue of setting up the GHG inventory based on the statutory urban-rural planning systems in China. It enables the local government to set up a platform coordinating various city policies and to serve well as the platform for local emission mitigation and removal policies. The urban-rural planning GHG inventory system needs to address the issue of spatial boundary in accounting for local emission sources and origins with respect to the boundaries of planning area, and it must directly relate to the various statutory master plan policy contents and the local municipal government functional structure. Finally it presents a case study of applying the proposed inventory as a planning tool for Jiangyin at the Jiangsu Province.

China's energy demand and its characteristics in the industrialization and urbanization process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Zhujun; Lin Boqiang

2012-01-01

China is currently in the process of industrialization and urbanization, which is the key stage of transition from a low-income country to a middle-income country and requires large amount of energy. The process will not end until 2020, so China's primary energy demand will keep high growth in the mid-term. Although each country is unique considering its particular history and background, all countries are sharing some common rules in energy demand for economic development. Based on the comparison with developed countries, here, we report some rules in the process of industrialization and urbanization as follows: (1) urbanization always goes along with industrialization; (2) the higher economic growth is, the higher energy demand is; (3) economic globalization makes it possible to shorten the time of industrialization, but the shorter the transition phase is, the faster energy demand grows; (4) the change of energy intensity presents as an “inverted U” curve, but whose shape can be changed for different energy policy. The above rules are very important for the Chinese government in framing its energy policy. - Highlights: ► China's energy demand will maintain high growth in mid-term. ► Urbanization always goes along with industrialization. ► Higher economic growth needs more energy. ► The energy intensity presents as an “inverted U” curve.

Study on the correlation between the hierarchical urban system and high-speed railway network planning in China

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Hong Sun

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This study examines the interrelatedness between the hierarchical structure of China׳s urban system and high-speed railway (HSR network planning at the national level. As a multi-layered system, the Chinese HSR can be categorized into three sub-networks, namely, the national HSR trunk network, the national HSR extensional network, and the intercity HSR network. By examining the direct HSR network connection, HSR nodal connection, and HSR operational frequency of 287 prefecture-level cities, this study demonstrates that the hierarchies of China׳s administrative, demographic, and economic urban systems strongly influence HSR network planning. The national HSR trunk network prioritizes the connection of top-level central cities, whereas the extensional network prioritizes cities at the lower level of the urban system. Moreover, the national HSR system forms the backbone of the HSR network structure based on a national scale, whereas the intercity HSR system satisfies the travel needs within urban agglomerations based on the regional level.

Stochastic Assessments of Urban Employees’ Pension Plan of China

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Yueqiang Zhao

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In the uncertain environment of population and economy; the pension plan for urban employees in China is under threat from various types of financial risk. This paper mainly builds a comprehensive risk assessment system to evaluate the solvency sustainability of the urban employees’ pension plan of China. Specifically, we forecast annual accumulative net asset; actuarial balance; and potential support ratio for the next seventy years. To account for the impact of demographic uncertainty on long-term finances, stochastic simulations are used to estimate the probability distribution of relative risk indicators. Moreover, we integrate the Lee–Carter model into the population projection. According to the median projection, the public pension fund will have a gap in about 35 years; and the cash flow will be negative about 25 years later. Furthermore, under the existing policy, the burden of insured employees will increase rapidly. Delayed retirement could relieve the coming solvency risk, but it does not fundamentally resolve the solvency problem in the long run.

Motorcycle crashes potentially preventable by three crash avoidance technologies on passenger vehicles.

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Teoh, Eric R

2018-07-04

The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the motorcycle crash population that would be potential beneficiaries of 3 crash avoidance technologies recently available on passenger vehicles. Two-vehicle crashes between a motorcycle and a passenger vehicle that occurred in the United States during 2011-2015 were classified by type, with consideration of the functionality of 3 classes of passenger vehicle crash avoidance technologies: frontal crash prevention, lane maintenance, and blind spot detection. Results were expressed as the percentage of crashes potentially preventable by each type of technology, based on all known types of 2-vehicle crashes and based on all crashes involving motorcycles. Frontal crash prevention had the largest potential to prevent 2-vehicle motorcycle crashes with passenger vehicles. The 3 technologies in sum had the potential to prevent 10% of fatal 2-vehicle crashes and 23% of police-reported crashes. However, because 2-vehicle crashes with a passenger vehicle represent fewer than half of all motorcycle crashes, these technologies represent a potential to avoid 4% of all fatal motorcycle crashes and 10% of all police-reported motorcycle crashes. Refining the ability of passenger vehicle crash avoidance systems to detect motorcycles represents an opportunity to improve motorcycle safety. Expanding the capabilities of these technologies represents an even greater opportunity. However, even fully realizing these opportunities can affect only a minority of motorcycle crashes and does not change the need for other motorcycle safety countermeasures such as helmets, universal helmet laws, and antilock braking systems.

Urban Social Assistance in China: Transnational Diffusion and National Interpretation

OpenAIRE

Liu, Tao; Sun, Li

2016-01-01

In 1999 the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) introduced the Regulation on the Minimum Living Standard Scheme (MLSS, or dibao) for urban residents in China. Policy learning from different parts of the world significantly shaped the formation and expansion of the MLSS, and Chinese social policy researchers have drawn conclusions about the experiences of these multiple regions. Through expert interviews, we discovered that the Chinese social assistance scheme has been influe...

The effects of ageing and urbanisation on China's future rural and urban populations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, Quanrun; Dietzenbacher, Erik; Los, Bart

2017-01-01

This paper estimates China's future population and labour force by developing a novel forecasting model for population. It combines information about age-specific parameters on fertility and mortality for both rural and urban areas using information about rural-urban migration and the transformation

School start times and teenage driver motor vehicle crashes.

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Foss, Robert D; Smith, Richard L; O'Brien, Natalie P

2018-04-26

Shifting school start times to 8:30 am or later has been found to improve academic performance and reduce behavior problems. Limited research suggests this may also reduce adolescent driver motor vehicle crashes. A change in the school start time from 7:30 am to 8:45 am for all public high schools in one North Carolina county presented the opportunity to address this question with greater methodologic rigor. We conducted ARIMA interrupted time-series analyses to examine motor vehicle crash rates of high school age drivers in the intervention county and 3 similar comparison counties with comparable urban-rural population distribution. To focus on crashes most likely to be affected, we limited analysis to crashes involving 16- & 17-year-old drivers occurring on days when school was in session. In the intervention county, there was a 14% downward shift in the time-series following the 75 min delay in school start times (p = .076). There was no change approaching statistical significance in any of the other three counties. Further analysis indicated marked, statistically significant shifts in hourly crash rates in the intervention county, reflecting effects of the change in school start time on young driver exposure. Crashes from 7 to 7:59 am decreased sharply (-25%, p = .008), but increased similarly from 8 to 8:59 am (21%, p = .004). Crashes from 2 to 2:59 pm declined dramatically (-48%, p = .000), then increased to a lesser degree from 3 to 3:59 pm (32%, p = .024) and non-significantly from 4 to 4:59 (19%, p = .102). There was no meaningful change in early morning or nighttime crashes, when drowsiness-induced crashes might have been expected to be most common. The small decrease in crashes among high school age drivers following the shift in school start time is consistent with the findings of other studies of teen driver crashes and school start times. All these studies, including the present one, have limitations, but the similar

Modeling Urban Spatial Growth in Mountainous Regions of Western China

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Guoping Huang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The scale and speed of urbanization in the mountainous regions of western China have received little attention from researchers. These cities are facing rapid population growth and severe environmental degradation. This study analyzed historical urban growth trends in this mountainous region to better understand the interaction between the spatial growth pattern and the mountainous topography. Three major factors—slope, accessibility, and land use type—were studied in light of their relationships with urban spatial growth. With the analysis of historical data as the basis, a conceptual urban spatial growth model was devised. In this model, slope, accessibility, and land use type together create resistance to urban growth, while accessibility controls the sequence of urban development. The model was tested and evaluated using historical data. It serves as a potential tool for planners to envision and assess future urban growth scenarios and their potential environmental impacts to make informed decisions.

Urban sprawl and delayed ambulance arrival in the U.S.

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Trowbridge, Matthew J; Gurka, Matthew J; O'Connor, Robert E

2009-11-01

Minimizing emergency medical service (EMS) response time is a central objective of prehospital care, yet the potential influence of built environment features such as urban sprawl on EMS system performance is often not considered. This study measures the association between urban sprawl and EMS response time to test the hypothesis that features of sprawling development increase the probability of delayed ambulance arrival. In 2008, EMS response times for 43,424 motor-vehicle crashes were obtained from the Fatal Analysis Reporting System, a national census of crashes involving > or =1 fatality. Sprawl at each crash location was measured using a continuous county-level index previously developed by Ewing et al. The association between sprawl and the probability of a delayed ambulance arrival (> or =8 minutes) was then measured using generalized linear mixed modeling to account for correlation among crashes from the same county. Urban sprawl is significantly associated with increased EMS response time and a higher probability of delayed ambulance arrival (p=0.03). This probability increases quadratically as the severity of sprawl increases while controlling for nighttime crash occurrence, road conditions, and presence of construction. For example, in sprawling counties (e.g., Fayette County GA), the probability of a delayed ambulance arrival for daytime crashes in dry conditions without construction was 69% (95% CI=66%, 72%) compared with 31% (95% CI=28%, 35%) in counties with prominent smart-growth characteristics (e.g., Delaware County PA). Urban sprawl is significantly associated with increased EMS response time and a higher probability of delayed ambulance arrival following motor-vehicle crashes in the U.S. The results of this study suggest that promotion of community design and development that follows smart-growth principles and regulates urban sprawl may improve EMS performance and reliability.

Why rapid urbanization process cannot improve employment absorption capacity of service industry in China – also on the interactive mode innovation between service industry development with urbanization under the background of transformation and upgrading

OpenAIRE

Zeng, Shi-hong; Xia, Jie-chang

2016-01-01

Background: China is experiencing rapid urbanization and service industrial developement. Methods: In this paper, the relationship between urbanization and service employment is studied by using mathematical model and econometric test method. Results: This paper documents that there is a significant positive correlation between rapid urbanization process and services absorbing employment ability by the regression result using time-series data since China's reform and opening up. China's urban...

"Crashing the gates" - selection criteria for television news reporting of traffic crashes.

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De Ceunynck, Tim; De Smedt, Julie; Daniels, Stijn; Wouters, Ruud; Baets, Michèle

2015-07-01

This study investigates which crash characteristics influence the probability that the crash is reported in the television news. To this purpose, all news items from the period 2006-2012 about traffic crashes from the prime time news of two Belgian television channels are linked to the official injury crash database. Logistic regression models are built for the database of all injury crashes and for the subset of fatal crashes to identify crash characteristics that correlate with a lower or higher probability of being reported in the news. A number of significant biases in terms of crash severity, time, place, types of involved road users and victims' personal characteristics are found in the media reporting of crashes. More severe crashes are reported in the media more easily than less severe crashes. Significant fluctuations in media reporting probability through time are found in terms of the year and month in which the crash took place. Crashes during week days are generally less reported in the news. The geographical area (province) in which the crash takes place also has a significant impact on the probability of being reported in the news. Crashes on motorways are significantly more represented in the news. Regarding the age of the involved victims, a clear trend of higher media reporting rates of crashes involving young victims or young fatalities is observed. Crashes involving female fatalities are also more frequently reported in the news. Furthermore, crashes involving a bus have a significantly higher probability of being reported in the news, while crashes involving a motorcycle have a significantly lower probability. Some models also indicate a lower reporting rate of crashes involving a moped, and a higher reporting rate of crashes involving heavy goods vehicles. These biases in media reporting can create skewed perceptions in the general public about the prevalence of traffic crashes and eventually may influence people's behaviour. Copyright © 2015

Urbanization in China drives soil acidification of Pinus massoniana forests

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Huang, Juan; Zhang, Wei; Mo, Jiangming; Wang, Shizhong; Liu, Juxiu; Chen, Hao

2015-09-01

Soil acidification instead of alkalization has become a new environmental issue caused by urbanization. However, it remains unclear the characters and main contributors of this acidification. We investigated the effects of an urbanization gradient on soil acidity of Pinus massoniana forests in Pearl River Delta, South China. The soil pH of pine forests at 20-cm depth had significantly positive linear correlations with the distance from the urban core of Guangzhou. Soil pH reduced by 0.44 unit at the 0-10 cm layer in urbanized areas compared to that in non-urbanized areas. Nitrogen deposition, mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were key factors influencing soil acidification based on a principal component analysis. Nitrogen deposition showed significant linear relationships with soil pH at the 0-10 cm (for ammonium N (-N), P greatly contributed to a significant soil acidification occurred in the urbanized environment.

Comparison of moped, scooter and motorcycle crash risk and crash severity.

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Blackman, Ross A; Haworth, Narelle L

2013-08-01

The increased popularity of mopeds and motor scooters in Australia and elsewhere in the last decade has contributed substantially to the greater use of powered two-wheelers (PTWs) as a whole. As the exposure of mopeds and scooters has increased, so too has the number of reported crashes involving those PTW types, but there is currently little research comparing the safety of mopeds and, particularly, larger scooters with motorcycles. This study compared the crash risk and crash severity of motorcycles, mopeds and larger scooters in Queensland, Australia. Comprehensive data cleansing was undertaken to separate motorcycles, mopeds and larger scooters in police-reported crash data covering the five years to 30 June 2008. The crash rates of motorcycles (including larger scooters) and mopeds in terms of registered vehicles were similar over this period, although the moped crash rate showed a stronger downward trend. However, the crash rates in terms of distance travelled were nearly four times higher for mopeds than for motorcycles (including larger scooters). More comprehensive distance travelled data is needed to confirm these findings. The overall severity of moped and scooter crashes was significantly lower than motorcycle crashes but an ordered probit regression model showed that crash severity outcomes related to differences in crash characteristics and circumstances, rather than differences between PTW types per se. Greater motorcycle crash severity was associated with higher (>80km/h) speed zones, horizontal curves, weekend, single vehicle and nighttime crashes. Moped crashes were more severe at night and in speed zones of 90km/h or more. Larger scooter crashes were more severe in 70km/h zones (than 60km/h zones) but not in higher speed zones, and less severe on weekends than on weekdays. The findings can be used to inform potential crash and injury countermeasures tailored to users of different PTW types. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social Structure and Personality during the Transformation of Urban China: A Comparison to Transitional Poland and Ukraine

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Kohn, Melvin L.; Wang, Weidong; Yue, Yin

2012-01-01

This article compares the relationships of social structure and personality of urban China during "privatization" to those of urban Poland and Ukraine during their transitions from socialism to nascent capitalism. These relationships are similar in pattern and nearly as strong in magnitude for China as for Poland, and stronger than for…

The less healthy urban population: income-related health inequality in China

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Health inequality has been recognized as a problem all over the world. In China, the poor usually have less access to healthcare than the better-off, despite having higher levels of need. Since the proportion of the Chinese population living in urban areas increased tremendously with the urbanization movements, attention has been paid to the association between urban/rural residence and population health. It is important to understand the variation in health across income groups, and in particular to take into account the effects of urban/rural residence on the degree of income-related health inequalities. Methods This paper empirically assesses the magnitude of rural/urban disparities in income-related adult health status, i.e., self-assessed health (SAH) and physical activity limitation, using Concentration Indices. It then uses decomposition methods to unravel the causes of inequalities and their variations across urban and rural populations. Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 2006 are used. Results The study finds that the poor are less likely to report their health status as “excellent or good” and are more likely to have physical activity limitation. Such inequality is more pronounced for the urban population than for the rural population. Results from the decomposition analysis suggest that, for the urban population, 76.47 per cent to 79.07 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic/socioeconomic-related factors, among which income, job status and educational level are the most important factors. For the rural population, 48.19 per cent to 77.78 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic factors. Income and educational attainment appear to have a prominent influence on inequality. Conclusion The findings suggest that policy targeting the poor, especially the urban poor, is needed in order to reduce health inequality. PMID:22989200

The less healthy urban population: income-related health inequality in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wei; Kanavos, Panos

2012-09-18

Health inequality has been recognized as a problem all over the world. In China, the poor usually have less access to healthcare than the better-off, despite having higher levels of need. Since the proportion of the Chinese population living in urban areas increased tremendously with the urbanization movements, attention has been paid to the association between urban/rural residence and population health. It is important to understand the variation in health across income groups, and in particular to take into account the effects of urban/rural residence on the degree of income-related health inequalities. This paper empirically assesses the magnitude of rural/urban disparities in income-related adult health status, i.e., self-assessed health (SAH) and physical activity limitation, using Concentration Indices. It then uses decomposition methods to unravel the causes of inequalities and their variations across urban and rural populations. Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 2006 are used. The study finds that the poor are less likely to report their health status as "excellent or good" and are more likely to have physical activity limitation. Such inequality is more pronounced for the urban population than for the rural population. Results from the decomposition analysis suggest that, for the urban population, 76.47 per cent to 79.07 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic/socioeconomic-related factors, among which income, job status and educational level are the most important factors. For the rural population, 48.19 per cent to 77.78 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic factors. Income and educational attainment appear to have a prominent influence on inequality. The findings suggest that policy targeting the poor, especially the urban poor, is needed in order to reduce health inequality.

The less healthy urban population: income-related health inequality in China

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Yang Wei

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health inequality has been recognized as a problem all over the world. In China, the poor usually have less access to healthcare than the better-off, despite having higher levels of need. Since the proportion of the Chinese population living in urban areas increased tremendously with the urbanization movements, attention has been paid to the association between urban/rural residence and population health. It is important to understand the variation in health across income groups, and in particular to take into account the effects of urban/rural residence on the degree of income-related health inequalities. Methods This paper empirically assesses the magnitude of rural/urban disparities in income-related adult health status, i.e., self-assessed health (SAH and physical activity limitation, using Concentration Indices. It then uses decomposition methods to unravel the causes of inequalities and their variations across urban and rural populations. Data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS 2006 are used. Results The study finds that the poor are less likely to report their health status as “excellent or good” and are more likely to have physical activity limitation. Such inequality is more pronounced for the urban population than for the rural population. Results from the decomposition analysis suggest that, for the urban population, 76.47 per cent to 79.07 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic/socioeconomic-related factors, among which income, job status and educational level are the most important factors. For the rural population, 48.19 per cent to 77.78 per cent of inequalities are driven by non-demographic factors. Income and educational attainment appear to have a prominent influence on inequality. Conclusion The findings suggest that policy targeting the poor, especially the urban poor, is needed in order to reduce health inequality.

Marketization, occupational segregation, and gender earnings inequality in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Guangye; Wu, Xiaogang

2017-07-01

This article analyzes a large sample of the 2005 population mini-census data and prefecture-level statistics of China to investigate gender earnings inequality in the context of economic marketization, paying special attention to the changing role of occupational segregation in the process. We approximate marketization by employment sectors and also construct an index of marketization at the prefecture level. Results show that, despite the tremendous economic growth, marketization has exacerbated gender earnings inequality in urban China's labor markets. Gender earnings inequality is the smallest in government/public institutions, followed by public enterprises, and then private enterprises. The gender inequality also increases with the prefecture's level of marketization. Multilevel analyses show that occupational segregation plays an important role in affecting gender earnings inequality: the greater the occupational segregation, the more disadvantaged women are relative to men in earnings in a prefecture's labor market. Moreover, the impact of occupational segregation on gender earnings inequality increases with the prefectural level of marketization. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of gender earnings inequality and have important implications for policy to promote gender equality in urban China. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health status and air pollution related socioeconomic concerns in urban China

OpenAIRE

Jiao, Kaishan; Xu, Mengjia; Liu, Meng

2018-01-01

Background China is experiencing environmental issues and related health effects due to its industrialization and urbanization. The health effects associated with air pollution are not just a matter of epidemiology and environmental science research, but also an important social science issue. Literature about the relationship of socioeconomic factors with the environment and health factors is inadequate. The relationship between air pollution exposure and health effects in China was investig...

Urban-rural disparities in child nutrition-related health outcomes in China: The role of hukou policy.

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Liu, Hong; Rizzo, John A; Fang, Hai

2015-11-23

Hukou is the household registration system in China that determines eligibility for various welfare benefits, such as health care, education, housing, and employment. The hukou system may lead to nutritional and health disparities in China. We aim at examining the role of the hukou system in affecting urban-rural disparities in child nutrition, and disentangling the institutional effect of hukou from the effect of urban/rural residence on child nutrition-related health outcomes. This study uses data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey 1993-2009 with a sample of 9616 children under the age of 18. We compute height-for-age z-score and weight-for-age z-score for children. We use both descriptive statistics and multiple regression techniques to study the levels and significance of the association between child nutrition-related health outcomes and hukou type. Children with urban hukou have 0.25 (P system exacerbates urban-rural disparities in child nutrition-related health outcomes independent of the well-known disparity stemming from urban-rural residence. Fortunately, however, child health disparities due to hukou have been declining since 2000.

Who Decided College Access in Chinese Secondary Education? Rural-Urban Inequality of Basic Education in Contemporary China

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Li, Jian

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the rural-urban inequalities in basic education of contemporary China. The China Education Panel Survey (2013-2014) (CEPS) was utilized to analyze the gaps between rural and urban inequality in junior high schools in terms of three domains, which include the equalities of access, inputs, and outcomes. From the sociocultural…

Investigate moped-car conflicts in China using a naturalistic driving study approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Glaser, Yi G; Guo, Feng; Fang, Youjia; Deng, Bing; Hankey, Jonathan

2017-12-01

Mopeds are a popular transportation mode in Europe and Asia. Moped-related traffic accidents account for a large proportion of crash fatalities. To develop moped-related crash countermeasures, it is important to understand the characteristics of moped-related conflicts. Naturalistic driving study data were collected in Shanghai, China from 36 car drivers. The data included 2,878h and 78,296km driven from 13,149 trips. Moped-car conflicts were identified and examined from the passenger car driver's perspective using kinematic trigger algorithms and manual video reduction. A total of 119 moped-car conflicts were identified, including 74 high g-force conflicts and 45 low g-force events. These conflicts were classified into 22 on-road configurations where both similarities and differences were found as compared to Western Countries. The majority of the conflicts occurred on secondary main roads and branch roads. Hard braking was the primary response that the car drivers made to these conflicts rather than hard steering. The identified on-road vehicle-moped conflict configurations in Shanghai, China may be attributed to the complicated traffic environment and risky behavior of moped riders. The lower prevalence of hard steering in Shanghai as compared to the United States may be due to the lower speeds at event onsets or less available steering space, e.g., less available shoulder area on Chinese urban roads. The characteristics of moped-car conflicts may impact the design of active safety countermeasures on passenger cars. The pilot data from Shanghai urban areas suggest that countermeasures developed for China may require some modifications to those developed for the United States and European countries, although this recommendation may not be conclusive given the small sample size of the study. Future studies with large samples may help better understand the characteristics of moped-car conflicts. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Infrastructure development, income inequality, and urban sustainability in the People's Republic of China

OpenAIRE

Mendoza, Octasiano M. Valerio

2017-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between infrastructure development and income inequality in urban People's Republic of China. Recent policies target reductions in income inequality while increasing sustainable urban development. Infrastructure investment plays a key role in achieving both goals, yet the effects of different infrastructures on income disparities at the city level remain undetermined. Using 10 city-level infrastructure indicators relating to sustainable urban development a...

Two Aspects of the Rural-Urban Divide and Educational Stratification in China: A Trajectory Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Lingxin; Hu, Alfred; Lo, Jamie

2014-08-01

Contextualized in China's social change of the past half-century, this paper develops the notion of dichotomous inequality to conceptualize the two aspects of China's rural-urban divide in educational inequality-the household registration system ( hukou ) assigns people to a top-bottom hierarchy, and the rural-urban schooling system institutionalizes unequal resource distribution and diverse school mission. Based on this conceptualization, we formulate a Chinese version of the maximally maintained inequality (MMI) hypothesis. We capitalize on individual educational history data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2008 and conduct a trajectory analysis using the generalized mixture modeling to estimate the differential effects of the two aspects of rural-urban divide on educational inequality in China. Findings indicate that (1) the sorting mechanism of the rural hukou places rural- hukou people in the very bottom of educational stratification, (2) the penalty of attending rural pre-tertiary school increases with educational stages, and (3) there is a cumulative disadvantage of rural hukou and rural school. Overall, our findings attest to the Chinese-version MMI and the behind principle of inequality reproduction.

The Relationship between Urban Sprawl and Farmland Displacement in the Pearl River Delta, China

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Shiqiang Du

2013-12-01

Full Text Available China is rapidly urbanizing and will inevitably face trade-offs between promoting economic growth through further urbanization and protecting fertile farmland against accelerated urban expansion. This paper presents how this dilemma is being addressed in one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in China, the Pearl River Delta (PRD, by means of assessing urban growth and farmland dynamic, as well as their complex relationships. Land use maps derived from Landsat imagery for 1990, 2000 and 2010 show a process of accelerated urban sprawl whereby built-up lands have more than quadrupled and scattered centers have merged into megacities. Nonetheless, the land use efficiency is considerably low and is declining relative to Hong Kong and Macau with respect to urban population density. On the other hand, the spreading of urban areas on farmlands causes new farmland reclamation and accelerated deforestation in the hilly surroundings. In addition, the displaced farmlands do not ensure food production because of both reclaiming farmlands on infertile lands and diversifying farming activities from grain production to market-oriented ones. The accelerated urbanization and farmland displacement are driven by profit-oriented development strategy and ineffective land use planning. Our findings demonstrate how spatial analysis can help to investigate the integrated effects of land policies on landscape.

A mixed logit analysis of two-vehicle crash severities involving a motorcycle.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaheed, Mohammad Saad B; Gkritza, Konstantina; Zhang, Wei; Hans, Zachary

2013-12-01

Using motorcycle crash data for Iowa from 2001 to 2008, this paper estimates a mixed logit model to investigate the factors that affect crash severity outcomes in a collision between a motorcycle and another vehicle. These include crash-specific factors (such as manner of collision, motorcycle rider and non-motorcycle driver and vehicle actions), roadway and environmental conditions, location and time, motorcycle rider and non-motorcycle driver and vehicle attributes. The methodological approach allows the parameters to vary across observations as opposed to a single parameter representing all observations. Our results showed non-uniform effects of rear-end collisions on minor injury crashes, as well as of the roadway speed limit greater or equal to 55mph, the type of area (urban), the riding season (summer) and motorcyclist's gender on low severity crashes. We also found significant effects of the roadway surface condition, clear vision (not obscured by moving vehicles, trees, buildings, or other), light conditions, speed limit, and helmet use on severe injury outcomes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Safety analysis of urban arterials at the meso level.

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Li, Jia; Wang, Xuesong

2017-11-01

Urban arterials form the main structure of street networks. They typically have multiple lanes, high traffic volume, and high crash frequency. Classical crash prediction models investigate the relationship between arterial characteristics and traffic safety by treating road segments and intersections as isolated units. This micro-level analysis does not work when examining urban arterial crashes because signal spacing is typically short for urban arterials, and there are interactions between intersections and road segments that classical models do not accommodate. Signal spacing also has safety effects on both intersections and road segments that classical models cannot fully account for because they allocate crashes separately to intersections and road segments. In addition, classical models do not consider the impact on arterial safety of the immediately surrounding street network pattern. This study proposes a new modeling methodology that will offer an integrated treatment of intersections and road segments by combining signalized intersections and their adjacent road segments into a single unit based on road geometric design characteristics and operational conditions. These are called meso-level units because they offer an analytical approach between micro and macro. The safety effects of signal spacing and street network pattern were estimated for this study based on 118 meso-level units obtained from 21 urban arterials in Shanghai, and were examined using CAR (conditional auto regressive) models that corrected for spatial correlation among the units within individual arterials. Results showed shorter arterial signal spacing was associated with higher total and PDO (property damage only) crashes, while arterials with a greater number of parallel roads were associated with lower total, PDO, and injury crashes. The findings from this study can be used in the traffic safety planning, design, and management of urban arterials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All

A geographical study of the international urban system between China and Japan in terms of Japanese affiliated entreprises

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Guoqing Du

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The Japanese-affiliated enterprises in China are considered to have played important roles for economic development of both two countries. Looking at cities with Japanese-affiliated enterprises, this research investigates the changes in the international urban system between China and Japan. We selected 5084 direct investments items from Japan to China and inve-stigated the spatial structure of the international urban system in 4 periods.

Economic Segmentation and Health Inequalities in Urban Post-Reform China.

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Kwon, Soyoung

2016-01-01

During economic reform, Chinese economic labor markets became segmented by state sector associated with a planned redistributive economy and private sector associated with the market economy. By considering an economic sector as a concrete institutional setting in post-reform China, this paper compares the extent to which socioeconomic status, measured by education and income, is associated with self-rated health between state sector and private sector. The sample is limited to urban Chinese employees between the ages of 18 and 55 who were active in the labor force. By analyzing pooled data from the 1991-2006 Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey , I find that there is a stronger association between income and self-rated health in the private sector than in the state sector. This study suggests that sectoral differences between market and redistributive economies are an important key to understanding health inequalities in post-reform urban China.

Spatially differentiated trends in urbanization, agricultural land abandonment and reclamation, and woodland recovery in Northern China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chao; Gao, Qiong; Wang, Xian; Yu, Mei

2016-11-01

Uncovering magnitude, trend, and spatial pattern of land cover/land use changes (LCLUC) is crucial for understanding mechanisms of LCLUC and assisting land use planning and conservation. China has been undergoing unprecedented economic growth, massive rural-to-urban migration, and large-scale policy-driven ecological restoration, and therefore encountering enormous LCLUC in recent decades. However, comprehensive understandings of spatiotemporal LCLUC dynamics and underlying mechanisms are still lacking. Based on classification of annual LCLU maps from MODIS satellite imagery, we proposed a land change detection method to capture significant land change hotspots over Northern China during 2001-2013, and further analyzed temporal trends and spatial patterns of LCLUC. We found rapid decline of agricultural land near urban was predominantly caused by urban expansion. The process was especially strong in North China Plain with 14,057 km2 of urban gain and -21,017 km2 of agricultural land loss. To offset the loss of agricultural land, Northeast China Plain and Xinjiang were reclaimed. Substantial recovery of forests (49,908 km2) and closed shrubland (60,854 km2) occurred in mountainous regions due to abandoned infertile farmland, secondary succession, and governmental conservation policies. The spatial patterns and trends of LCLUC in Northern China provide information to support effective environmental policies towards sustainable development.

Frequency analysis of urban runoff quality in an urbanizing catchment of Shenzhen, China

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Huapeng; Tan, Xiaolong; Fu, Guangtao; Zhang, Yingying; Huang, Yuefei

2013-07-01

This paper investigates the frequency distribution of urban runoff quality indicators using a long-term continuous simulation approach and evaluates the impacts of proposed runoff control schemes on runoff quality in an urbanizing catchment in Shenzhen, China. Four different indicators are considered to provide a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts: total runoff depth, event pollutant load, Event Mean Concentration, and peak concentration during a rainfall event. The results obtained indicate that urban runoff quantity and quality in the catchment have significant variations in rainfall events and a very high rate of non-compliance with surface water quality regulations. Three runoff control schemes with the capacity to intercept an initial runoff depth of 5 mm, 10 mm, and 15 mm are evaluated, respectively, and diminishing marginal benefits are found with increasing interception levels in terms of water quality improvement. The effects of seasonal variation in rainfall events are investigated to provide a better understanding of the performance of the runoff control schemes. The pre-flood season has higher risk of poor water quality than other seasons after runoff control. This study demonstrates that frequency analysis of urban runoff quantity and quality provides a probabilistic evaluation of pollution control measures, and thus helps frame a risk-based decision making for urban runoff quality management in an urbanizing catchment.

Effect of Accounting for Crash Severity on the Relationship between Mass Reduction and Crash Frequency and Risk per Crash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wenzel, Tom P. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Building Technology and Urban Systems Division. Energy Technologies Area

2016-05-20

Previous analyses have indicated that mass reduction is associated with an increase in crash frequency (crashes per VMT), but a decrease in fatality or casualty risk once a crash has occurred, across all types of light-duty vehicles. These results are counter-intuitive: one would expect that lighter, and perhaps smaller, vehicles have better handling and shorter braking distances, and thus should be able to avoid crashes that heavier vehicles cannot. And one would expect that heavier vehicles would have lower risk once a crash has occurred than lighter vehicles. However, these trends occur under several alternative regression model specifications. This report tests whether these results continue to hold after accounting for crash severity, by excluding crashes that result in relatively minor damage to the vehicle(s) involved in the crash. Excluding non-severe crashes from the initial LBNL Phase 2 and simultaneous two-stage regression models for the most part has little effect on the unexpected relationships observed in the baseline regression models. This finding suggests that other subtle differences in vehicles and/or their drivers, or perhaps biases in the data reported in state crash databases, are causing the unexpected results from the regression models.

Land tenure insecurity and rural-urban migration in rural China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ma Xian lei, Xianlei; Heerink, N.B.M.; Ierland, van E.C.; Shi Xiaoping, X.

2016-01-01

This paper examines the impact of land tenure security perceptions on rural-urban migration decisions of rural households, using data collected in Minle County in Northwest China. We find that tenure security perceptions play a significant role in household migration decisions in villages without

Quantifying Urban Fragmentation under Economic Transition in Shanghai City, China

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Heyuan You

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Urban fragmentation affects sustainability through multiple impacts on economic, social, and environmental cost. Characterizing the dynamics of urban fragmentation in relation to economic transition should provide implications for sustainability. However, rather few efforts have been made in this issue. Using the case of Shanghai (China, this paper quantifies urban fragmentation in relation to economic transition. In particular, urban fragmentation is quantified by a time-series of remotely sensed images and a set of landscape metrics; and economic transition is described by a set of indicators from three aspects (globalization, decentralization, and marketization. Results show that urban fragmentation presents an increasing linear trend. Multivariate regression identifies positive linear correlation between urban fragmentation and economic transition. More specifically, the relative influence is different for the three components of economic transition. The relative influence of decentralization is stronger than that of globalization and marketization. The joint influences of decentralization and globalization are the strongest for urban fragmentation. The demonstrated methodology can be applicable to other places after making suitable adjustment of the economic transition indicators and fragmentation metrics.

Correlates of Shyness and Unsociability during Early Adolescence in Urban and Rural China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Linlin; Eggum-Wilkens, Natalie D.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the differentiation and correlates of shyness and unsociability during early adolescence in urban and rural China. Participants were 93 urban and 229 rural Chinese sixth- to eighth-graders. Students rated their shyness, unsociability, fear of negative evaluation, self-efficacy for peer interactions, and…

The Relationship of Financial Development, Urbanization and Urban-Rural Income Gap: An Empirical Research Based on Provincial Panel Data in China

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Shaowei Chen

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Financial development and the urbanization are important influence factors of the urban-rural income gap, and financial development can be measured by three main indexes which are financial scale, financial activities and financial efficiency. The financial development scale of China has obviously widened the urban-rural income gap. But rural financial activities have obvious effect on increasing farmers’ income, and the improvement of financial efficiency is helpful for narrowing the urban-rural income gap. The Kuznets effect between economic development and the urban-rural income gap has regional diversity. Besides that, the improvement of urbanization is also helpful for shorting the urban-rural income gap.

Rural-urban differences in the prevalence of chronic disease in northeast China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shibin; Kou, Changgui; Liu, Yawen; Li, Bo; Tao, Yuchun; D'Arcy, Carl; Shi, Jieping; Wu, Yanhua; Liu, Jianwei; Zhu, Yingli; Yu, Yaqin

2015-05-01

Rural-urban differences in the prevalence of chronic diseases in the adult population of northeast China are examined. The Jilin Provincial Chronic Disease Survey used personal interviews and physical measures to research the presence of a range of chronic diseases among a large sample of rural and urban provincial residents aged 18 to 79 years (N = 21 435). Logistic regression analyses were used. After adjusting for age and gender, rural residents had higher prevalence of hypertension, chronic ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic low back pain, arthritis, chronic gastroenteritis/peptic ulcer, chronic cholecystitis/gallstones, and chronic lower respiratory disease. Low education, low income, and smoking increased the risk of chronic diseases in rural areas. Reducing rural-urban differences in chronic disease presents a formidable public health challenge for China. The solution requires focusing attention on issues endemic to rural areas such as poverty, lack of chronic disease knowledge, and the inequality in access to primary care. © 2014 APJPH.

Assessing the effects of urbanization and climate change on groundwater management in China

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, S.; Zheng, C.

2017-12-01

Groundwater is expected to be more vulnerable in the future due to climate change coupled with rapid urbanization. Thus, protecting future groundwater resources under the impact of urbanization and climate change is necessary towards more sustainable groundwater resource development. This study is intended to shed lights on how water managers may plan for the adverse effects of urbanization and climate change on groundwater quality. A new approach is presented in which the groundwater vulnerability under future climate change scenarios is employed as a constraint to urban expansion. An original form of the Land Transformation Model (LTM) and a revised LTM simulation are applied to model the urbanization. The results indicated that there would be a notable and uneven urban growth between 2010 and 2050. Future groundwater vulnerability is expected to shift significantly under future climate change scenarios. The results of the revised LTM project more urban expansion in the central regions of China, while those of the original LTM project urban expansion in throughout China, although the two projections have the same areas of expansion. The urban expansion simulated by the original LTM follows the historical trend under the drivers of socioeconomic, political and geographic factors. However, the revised LTM drives the urban expansion to the regions with relatively lower groundwater vulnerability, in contrast to the historical trend. This study demonstrates that the integration of LTM and future groundwater vulnerability in the urban planning can better protect the groundwater resource and promote more sustainable socioeconomic development. The methodology developed in this study provides water managers and city planners a useful groundwater management tool for mitigating the risks associated with rapid urbanization and climate change.

Changes in urban-related precipitation in the summer over three city clusters in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Deming; Wu, Jian

2017-09-01

The impacts of urban surface expansion on the summer precipitations over three city clusters [Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and the Pearl River Delta (PRD)] in eastern China under different monsoonal circulation backgrounds were explored using the nested fifth-generation Penn State/NCAR Mesoscale Model version 3.7 (MM5 V3.7), including the urban-related thermal and dynamical parameters. Ten-year integrations were performed using satellite image data from 2000 and 2010 to represent the urban surface distributions and expansions in China. Changes in the precipitation revealed obvious subregional characteristics, which could be explained by the influences of the vertical wind velocity and moisture flux. With urban-related warming, vertical wind motion generally intensified over urban surface-expanded areas. Meanwhile, the increase in impervious surface areas induced rapid rainwater runoff into drains, and the Bowen ratio increased over urban areas, which further contributed to changes in the local moisture fluxes in these regions. The intensities of the changes in precipitation were inconsistent over the three city clusters, although the changes in vertical motion and local evaporation were similar, which indicates that the changes in precipitation cannot be solely explained by the changes in the local evaporation-related moisture flux. The changes in precipitation were also influenced by the changes in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) circulation and the corresponding moisture flux, which are expressed in marked subregional characteristics. Therefore, the influence of urban-related precipitation over the three city clusters in China, for which changes in moisture flux from both the impacted local evaporation and EASM circulation should be considered, varied based on the precipitation changes of only a single city.

Urban policies and sustainability in China / Políticas Urbanas y sostenibilidad en China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aida Anguiano de Miguel

2016-10-01

Full Text Available I mean to analyze the reciprocity between urban policies and economic growth; and the role of agents and estate developers in China. Emergent economy with high inequality rates. The roles of capitalist corporations and the Government in the construction and reconstruction of cities, Examine the infrastructures, business and commerce developers, sport and leisure areas, academic and cultural centers, and housing in the Chinese metropolis. The Asian country has become one of the most polluting ones as result of the fast urbanization, and the rapid growth of industry and infrastructures. Teams of architects have planned sustainable building but megalopoleis make eco-cities necessary.

Approaching integrated urban-rural development in China: The changing institutional roles

OpenAIRE

Li, Yuheng; Hu, Zhichao; Liu, Yansui

2014-01-01

Ever since the twenty-first century, the Chinese government has been undertaking a series of rural-favored policies and measures to promote comprehensive development in rural China. The fundamental purpose is to accomplish integrated urban-rural development (IURD) given the ever enlarging urban-rural inequalities during the post-reform era. Considering the long time biased policies against the countryside, the paper aims to examine the institutional roles in approaching the IURD. IURD at prov...

Dynamics of Urbanization Levels in China from 1992 to 2012: Perspective from DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

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Bin Gao

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The authenticity and reliability of urbanization levels measured by different indicators in China have not reached a consensus, which may impede our understanding of the process of urbanization and its impacts on the environment. The objective of this study was to describe a reliable method of estimating urbanization level based on the Operational Line-scan System (OLS on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP nighttime light data and to analyze the dynamics of urbanization levels in China from 1992 to 2012. We calculated the comprehensive urbanization level at the national, provincial, and county scales using a compounded night light index (CNLI and compared the change rate of CNLI with those of the other two conventional urbanization level indicators, proportion of the nonagricultural population and proportion of built-up area. Our results showed that CNLI derived from the DMSP/OLS data set provided a relatively reliable and accurate measure of the comprehensive urbanization level in China. During the last two decades, China has experienced continued and rapid urbanization with large regional variations. The CNLI increased 3.12 times, from 1.72 × 10−3 to 7.09 × 10−3. The annual increases of CNLI in eastern provinces were much faster than those in western provinces. In addition, we found that the rates of change in these three indicators were consistent for most provinces with the exception of the four municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing and a few eastern coastal provinces (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Because the imbalance among population growth, urban expansion and socioeconomic development may affect cities’ sustainable development, we should pay more attention to these regions with large disparities between different indicators.

Economic Segmentation and Health Inequalities in Urban Post-Reform China

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Soyoung Kwon

2016-08-01

Full Text Available During economic reform, Chinese economic labor markets became segmented by state sector associated with a planned redistributive economy and private sector associated with the market economy. By considering an economic sector as a concrete institutional setting in post-reform China, this paper compares the extent to which socioeconomic status, measured by education and income, is associated with self-rated health between state sector and private sector. The sample is limited to urban Chinese employees between the ages of 18 and 55 who were active in the labor force. By analyzing pooled data from the 1991–2006 Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey, I find that there is a stronger association between income and self-rated health in the private sector than in the state sector. This study suggests that sectoral differences between market and redistributive economies are an important key to understanding health inequalities in post-reform urban China.

Reducing health risks from indoor exposures in rapidly developing urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yinping; Mo, Jinhan; Weschler, Charles J

2013-07-01

Over the past two decades there has been a large migration of China's population from rural to urban regions. At the same time, residences in cities have changed in character from single-story or low-rise buildings to high-rise structures constructed and furnished with many synthetic materials. As a consequence, indoor exposures (to pollutants with outdoor and indoor sources) have changed significantly. We briefly discuss the inferred impact that urbanization and modernization have had on indoor exposures and public health in China. We argue that growing adverse health costs associated with these changes are not inevitable, and we present steps that could be taken to reduce indoor exposures to harmful pollutants. As documented by China's Ministry of Health, there have been significant increases in morbidity and mortality among urban residents over the past 20 years. Evidence suggests that the population's exposure to air pollutants has contributed to increases in lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and birth defects. Whether a pollutant has an outdoor or an indoor source, most exposure to the pollutant occurs indoors. Going forward, indoor exposures can be reduced by limiting the ingress of outdoor pollutants (while providing adequate ventilation with clean air), minimizing indoor sources of pollutants, updating government policies related to indoor pollution, and addressing indoor air quality during a building's initial design. Taking the suggested steps could lead to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality, greatly reducing the societal costs associated with pollutant derived ill health.

Soil nutrient assessment for urban ecosystems in Hubei, China.

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Zhi-Guo Li

Full Text Available Recent urban landscape vegetation surveys conducted in many cities in China identified numerous plant nutrient deficiencies, especially in newly developed cities. Soil nutrients and soil nutrient management in the cities of Hubei province have not received adequate attention to date. The aims of this study were to characterize the available nutrients of urban soils from nine cities in Hubei province, China, and to assess how soil nutrient status is related to land use type and topography. Soil nutrients were measured in 405 sites from 1,215 soil samples collected from four land use types (park, institutional [including government building grounds, municipal party grounds, university grounds, and garden city institutes], residential, and roadside verges and three topographies (mountainous [142-425 m a.s.l], hilly [66-112 m a.s.l], and plain [26-30 m a.s.l]. Chemical analyses showed that urban soils in Hubei had high pH and lower soil organic matter, available nitrogen (N, available phosphorus (P, and available boron (B concentrations than natural soils. Nutrient concentrations were significantly different among land use types, with the roadside and residential areas having greater concentrations of calcium (Ca, sulfur (S, copper (Cu, manganese (Mn, and zinc (Zn that were not deficient against the recommended ranges. Topographic comparisons showed statistically significant effects for 8 of the 11 chemical variables (p < 0.05. Concentrations of N, Ca, Mg, S, Cu, and Mn in plain cities were greater than those in mountainous cities and show a negative correlation with city elevation. These results provide data on urban soils characteristics in land use types and topography, and deliver significant information for city planners and policy makers.

Social Stigma, Social Capital Reconstruction and Rural Migrants in Urban China: A Population Health Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xinguang; Stanton, Bonita; Kaljee, Linda M; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Lin, Danhua; Zhang, Liying; Li, Xiaoming

2011-01-01

In this study, we examine migrant stigma and its effect on social capital reconstruction among rural migrants who possess legal rural residence but live and work in urban China. After a review of the concepts of stigma and social capital, we report data collected through in-depth interviews with 40 rural migrant workers and 38 urban residents recruited from Beijing, China. Findings from this study indicate that social stigma against rural migrants is common in urban China and is reinforced through media, social institutions and their representatives, and day-to-day interactions. As an important part of discrimination, stigma against migrant workers creates inequality, undermines trust, and reduces opportunities for interpersonal interactions between migrants and urban residents. Through these social processes, social stigma interferes with the reconstruction of social capital (including bonding, bridging and linking social capital) for individual rural migrants as well as for their communities. The interaction between stigma and social capital reconstruction may present as a mechanism by which migration leads to negative health consequences. Results from this study underscore the need for taking measures against migrant stigma and alternatively work toward social capital reconstruction for health promotion and disease prevention among this population.

Appreciation of the Renminbi and Urban-Rural Income Disparity in China

OpenAIRE

Sylviane Guillaumont Jeanneney; Ping Hua

2008-01-01

Although poverty has been significantly decreasing in China over the last twenty years, this decrease has been highly unequal across the provinces and has brought increased disparity in urban and rural per capita income. We studied the impact of exchange rate policy on urban-rural per capita income, which was marked by strong real depreciation before 1994, followed by moderate appreciation before stabilizing. We concluded that in the inland provinces where poverty is hardest, real appreciatio...

Social Capital and Economic Integration of Migrants in Urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yao; Ruan, Danching; Lai, Gina

2013-07-01

Based on data from a 2005 survey conducted in Shanghai, China, this research examines the role of social capital in income inequality between rural migrants and urbanites. We find strong income return on social capital, in particular on social capital from strong ties. We also observe a great disparity in social capital possession between rural migrants and urban local residents. Although social capital from strong ties seems to be more important for rural migrants than for urbanites, local ties and high-status ties do not seem to benefit rural migrants. Hence, migrants not only suffer severe social capital deficits but also capital return deficits. Given the strong income returns on social capital and the substantial differences in access to and return on social capital between migrants and urban residents, social capital is consequently found to explain a large part of the income inequality between the two groups. Overall, our findings reveal macro-structural effects on the role of social capital in labor market stratification. In China, the lack of formal labor market mechanisms continues to create both a strong need for and opportunities for economic actions to be organized around informal channels via social relations. Yet, the long-standing institutional exclusion of migrants caused by the household registration system has resulted in pervasive social exclusion and discrimination which have substantially limited rural migrants' accumulation and mobilization of social capital. Under these conditions, social capital reinforces the economic inequality between migrants and urban residents in China. Such empirical evidence adds to our understanding of the role of social capital in the economic integration of migrants and in shaping intergroup inequality in general.

Spatiotemporal urban land use changes in the Changzhutan Region of Hunan Province in China

Science.gov (United States)

The Changzhutan region in the north-central part of Hunan Province in China has experienced a rapid urbanization in the past few decades that has led to substantial changes in its environment. In 2007, the National Development and Reform Commission of China designated the metropolitan district of Ch...

Commercial Sexual Behaviors Among Male Rural-to-Urban Migrants in Western China: Implications for HIV Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenwei; Jiang, Junjun; Su, Jinming; Liang, Bingyu; Deng, Wei; Huang, Jiegang; Qin, Bo; Upur, Halmurat; Zhong, Chaohui; Wang, Qianqiu; Wang, Qian; Zang, Ning; Liao, Yanyan; Meng, Sirun; Ye, Li; Liang, Hao

2017-07-01

Rural-to-urban migrants are at high risk of HIV infection. The goal of this survey was to explore the commercial sexual behavior and condom use among male rural-to-urban migrants in western China. A cross-sectional survey on male rural-to-urban migrants in western China was conducted. Among all the subjects surveyed, 140 (7.4%) had commercial sexual behavior, which is associated with being aged older than 24 years, being of Han or other ethnic minorities, being divorced, separated, or widowed, having experienced drug abuse, having had heterosexual behavior, having had casual sexual partners, having had sex with a homosexual, and being from Xinjiang. A total of 31.4% of them never use condoms when buying sex. Not using condoms is associated with being from Chongqing, having a high school or above education, and having commercial sex monthly. Commercial sexual behavior and not using condoms are common among male rural-to-urban migrants in western China. Strategies and appropriate education should be developed to prevent HIV transmission due to high-risk sexual behaviors.

ANALYZING THE VELOCITY OF URBAN DYNAMIC OVER NORTHEASTERN CHINA USING DMSP-OLS NIGHT-TIME LIGHTS

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Y. Zhou

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Stable night-time lights (NTL data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line-scan System (DMSPOLS can serve as a good proxy for anthropogenic development. Here DMSP-OLS NTL data was used to detect the urban development status in northeastern China. The spatial and temporal gradients are combined to depict the velocity of urban expanding process. This velocity index represents the instantaneous local velocity along the Earth’s surface needed to maintain constant NTL condition, and has a mean of 0.36 km/yr for northeastern China. The velocity change of NTL is lower in the urban center and its near regions, and the suburbs show a relatively high value. The connecting zones between satellite cities and metropolis have also a rapid rate of NTL evolution. The dynamic process of urbanization over the study area is mainly in a manner of spreading from urban cores to edges. The rank size of the velocity for the prefectures is analyzed and a long tail distribution is found. The velocity index can provide insights for the future pattern of urban sprawl.

Analyzing the Velocity of Urban Dynamic Over Northeastern China Using Dmsp-Ols Night-Time Lights

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y.

2017-09-01

Stable night-time lights (NTL) data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line-scan System (DMSPOLS) can serve as a good proxy for anthropogenic development. Here DMSP-OLS NTL data was used to detect the urban development status in northeastern China. The spatial and temporal gradients are combined to depict the velocity of urban expanding process. This velocity index represents the instantaneous local velocity along the Earth's surface needed to maintain constant NTL condition, and has a mean of 0.36 km/yr for northeastern China. The velocity change of NTL is lower in the urban center and its near regions, and the suburbs show a relatively high value. The connecting zones between satellite cities and metropolis have also a rapid rate of NTL evolution. The dynamic process of urbanization over the study area is mainly in a manner of spreading from urban cores to edges. The rank size of the velocity for the prefectures is analyzed and a long tail distribution is found. The velocity index can provide insights for the future pattern of urban sprawl.

Health status and air pollution related socioeconomic concerns in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Kaishan; Xu, Mengjia; Liu, Meng

2018-02-05

China is experiencing environmental issues and related health effects due to its industrialization and urbanization. The health effects associated with air pollution are not just a matter of epidemiology and environmental science research, but also an important social science issue. Literature about the relationship of socioeconomic factors with the environment and health factors is inadequate. The relationship between air pollution exposure and health effects in China was investigated with consideration of the socioeconomic factors. Based on nationwide survey data of China in 2014, we applied the multilevel mixed-effects model to evaluate how socioeconomic status (represented by education and income) contributed to the relationship between self-rated air pollution and self-rated health status at community level and individual level. The findings indicated that there was a non-linear relationship between the community socioeconomic status and community air pollution in urban China, with the highest level of air pollution presented in the communities with moderate socioeconomic status. In addition, health effects associated air pollution in different socioeconomic status groups were not equal. Self-rated air pollution had the greatest impact on self-rated health of the lower socioeconomic groups. With the increase of socioeconomic status, the effect of self-rated air pollution on self-rated health decreased. This study verified the different levels of exposure to air pollution and inequality in health effects among different socioeconomic groups in China. It is imperative for the government to urgently formulate public policies to enhance the ability of the lower socioeconomic groups to circumvent air pollution and reduce the health damage caused by air pollution.

Age-period-cohort analysis of infectious disease mortality in urban-rural China, 1990-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhi; Wang, Peigang; Gao, Ge; Xu, Chunling; Chen, Xinguang

2016-03-31

Although a number of studies on infectious disease trends in China exist, these studies have not distinguished the age, period, and cohort effects simultaneously. Here, we analyze infectious disease mortality trends among urban and rural residents in China and distinguish the age, period, and cohort effects simultaneously. Infectious disease mortality rates (1990-2010) of urban and rural residents (5-84 years old) were obtained from the China Health Statistical Yearbook and analyzed with an age-period-cohort (APC) model based on Intrinsic Estimator (IE). Infectious disease mortality is relatively high at age group 5-9, reaches a minimum in adolescence (age group 10-19), then rises with age, with the growth rate gradually slowing down from approximately age 75. From 1990 to 2010, except for a slight rise among urban residents from 2000 to 2005, the mortality of Chinese residents experienced a substantial decline, though at a slower pace from 2005 to 2010. In contrast to the urban residents, rural residents experienced a rapid decline in mortality during 2000 to 2005. The mortality gap between urban and rural residents substantially narrowed during this period. Overall, later birth cohorts experienced lower infectious disease mortality risk. From the 1906-1910 to the 1941-1945 birth cohorts, the decrease of mortality among urban residents was significantly faster than that of subsequent birth cohorts and rural counterparts. With the rapid aging of the Chinese population, the prevention and control of infectious disease in elderly people will present greater challenges. From 1990 to 2010, the infectious disease mortality of Chinese residents and the urban-rural disparity have experienced substantial declines. However, the re-emergence of previously prevalent diseases and the emergence of new infectious diseases created new challenges. It is necessary to further strengthen screening, immunization, and treatment for the elderly and for older cohorts at high risk.

Does urbanization affect energy intensities across provinces in China?Long-run elasticities estimation using dynamic panels with heterogeneous slopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Ben

2015-01-01

Although there has been extensive debate in the literature that addresses the impact of urbanization on total energy use, the relative magnitude of each impact channel has not been empirically examined and urbanization's effects on energy transition dynamics in China remains unknown. Using panel datasets at the provincial level from 1986 to 2011, this paper employs dynamic models to investigate both the long-run and short-run elasticities of urbanization on energy intensities and the most significant impact channel is identified. Coal intensity and electricity intensity are also modeled to reveal energy transition dynamics driven by urbanization. A set of newly developed regression techniques, namely well-performed common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) and augmented mean group (AMG) estimators, are used to treat residual cross-sectional dependence, nonstationary residuals, and unlikely-to-hold homogeneous slope assumptions. The results obtained verify that the net effects of urbanization on overall energy intensity and electricity intensity are statistically positive, with long-run elasticities of 0.14% to 0.37% and 0.23% to 0.29%, respectively, whereas China's urbanization does not significantly increase coal intensity. The fact that short-run elasticities account for a majority of corresponding long-run values indicates that the short-run effect, that is, indirect energy use induced by urban infrastructures is the most significant impact channel of urbanization on energy use in China. An energy transition from high-pollution coal to clean electricity is also present in China, although the fundamental transition to renewable energy is still in its infancy. From a regional perspective, urbanization exerts asymmetric impacts on provincial energy use so that energy policies associated with urbanization should be province-specific. The findings also illustrate that for a panel dataset on regional dimension within large and fast-growing economies such

Mapping and Evaluating the Urbanization Process in Northeast China Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

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Kunpeng Yi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, an Urban Light Index (ULI is constructed to facilitate analysis and quantitative evaluation of the process of urbanization and expansion rate by using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data during the years from 1992 to 2010. A unit circle urbanization evaluation model is established to perform a comprehensive analysis of the urbanization process of 34 prefecture-level cities in Northeast China. Furthermore, the concept of urban light space is put forward. In this study, urban light space is divided into four types: the core urban area, the transition zone between urban and suburban areas, suburban area and fluorescent space. Proceeding from the temporal and spatial variation of the four types of light space, the pattern of morphologic change and space-time evolution of the four principal cities in Northeast China (Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian is analyzed and given particular attention. Through a correlation analysis between ULI and the traditional urbanization indexes (urban population, proportion of the secondary and tertiary industries in the regional GDP and the built-up area, the advantages and disadvantages as well as the feasibility of using the ULI in the study of urbanization are evaluated. The research results show that ULI has a strong correlation with urban built-up area (R2 ＝ 0.8277. The morphologic change and history of the evolving urban light space can truly reflect the characteristics of urban sprawl. The results also indicate that DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data is applicable for extracting urban space information and has strong potential to urbanization research.

Essays on land and labor in urbanizing China

OpenAIRE

Wu, Yan

2017-01-01

In this dissertation I address emerging land and labor issues associated with the rapid urbanization in China over the past decades, including the negative effects of the real estate booms on manufacturing development, land conflicts, and gender inequality among migrants. The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 offers an introductory discussion on the overarching objective and specific questions of the whole research. Chapter 2 focuses on the effects of housing price appreciation on fi...

Gender-Based Employment and Income Differences in Urban China: Considering the Contributions of Marriage and Parenthood

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuping; Hannum, Emily; Wang, Meiyan

2008-01-01

Previous research on China's labor market gender gaps has emphasized the human and political capital disadvantages of women and new discrimination in the reform era. Analyzing the China Urban Labor Survey/China Adult Literacy Survey, this paper shows that while women are significantly disadvantaged by various measures of human and political…

Towards preventative eco-industrial development: an industrial and urban symbiosis case in one typical industrial city in China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dong, Liang; Fujita, Tsuyoshi; Dai, Ming

2016-01-01

situation. In order to investigate the eco-benefits of eco-industrial development in China, this study focused on an industrial and urban symbiosis case of Guiyang city in which process synergy, municipal solid wastes recycling and waste energy utilization were incorporated in this typical industrial city...... policy implications to address the barriers of promoting industrial and urban symbiosis were proposed. This study is critical for future industrial and urban planning policy making and shed a light on innovative eco-industrial development in China....

Changes in crash risk following re-timing of traffic signal change intervals.

Science.gov (United States)

Retting, Richard A; Chapline, Janella F; Williams, Allan F

2002-03-01

More than I million motor vehicle crashes occur annually at signalized intersections in the USA. The principal method used to prevent crashes associated with routine changes in signal indications is employment of a traffic signal change interval--a brief yellow and all-red period that follows the green indication. No universal practice exists for selecting the duration of change intervals, and little is known about the influence of the duration of the change interval on crash risk. The purpose of this study was to estimate potential crash effects of modifying the duration of traffic signal change intervals to conform with values associated with a proposed recommended practice published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers. A sample of 122 intersections was identified and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Of 51 eligible experimental sites, 40 (78%) needed signal timing changes. For the 3-year period following implementation of signal timing changes, there was an 8% reduction in reportable crashes at experimental sites relative to those occurring at control sites (P = 0.08). For injury crashes, a 12% reduction at experimental sites relative to those occurring at control sites was found (P = 0.03). Pedestrian and bicycle crashes at experimental sites decreased 37% (P = 0.03) relative to controls. Given these results and the relatively low cost of re-timing traffic signals, modifying the duration of traffic signal change intervals to conform with values associated with the Institute of Transportation Engineers' proposed recommended practice should be strongly considered by transportation agencies to reduce the frequency of urban motor vehicle crashes.

Intimate partner violence against married rural-to-urban migrant workers in eastern China: prevalence, patterns, and associated factors

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Li Chen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV is a significant public health issue among married rural-to-urban migrant workers, the largest group of internal migrants in China. This study aims to explore the prevalence, patterns and associated factors of intimate partner violence against married rural-to-urban migrant workers in eastern China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Zhejiang province in China between July 2015 and April 2016, and a total of 1,744 married rural-to-urban migrant workers ultimately took part in the study. Conflict Tactics Scales and several short demographic questions were applied. Data were principally analyzed with logistic regression. Results The majority of married rural-to-urban migrant workers were middle-aged couples with a low education level and a relatively long-term duration of migration in fixed migrant cities. Nearly 45% of married rural-to-urban migrant workers were experienced at least one incident of intimate partner violence during the past 12 months. The joint occurrence of multiple forms of violence is the most commonly reported features of intimate partner violence, especially three overlapping patterns of intimate partner violence. Some individual (education and age, relationship (marital satisfaction, premarital sex and extramarital affairs and social (duration of migration and number of migratory cities factors of the respondents, were negatively or positively associated with intimate partner violence against married rural-to-urban migrant workers. Conclusion The results indicated that one out of two married rural-to-urban migrant workers experienced at least one incident of intimate partner violence during the past 12 months in China. Accordingly, there is an obvious demand of intervention and treatment activities to prevent and reduce the occurrence of intimate partner violence among the millions of migrant workers in China.

Homeownership and Subjective Wellbeing in Urban China: Does Owning a House Make You Happier?

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Feng

2013-01-01

This paper examines the effect of homeownership status on individual subjective wellbeing indicators in urban China using a large nationally representative dataset. It is the first to gauge the relationship between homeownership and individual subjective wellbeing in the setting of China and is also among the few empirical studies concerning…

Energy and sustainable urban transport development in China: Challenges and solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xilang; Hu, Xiaojun

2002-01-01

This paper presents an overview of urban road transport development and challenges in energy consumption in China. It relates sustainable urban road transport development with energy consumption and environmental management. It analyzes the main challenges related to urban road transport development: energy security, low efficiency in energy utilization, and unsustainable environmental management. It also discusses necessary technological and policy initiatives to deal with these challenges: e.g., promoting the development and dissemination of cleaner vehicle technologies, substitution of LPG, CNG, LNG and bio fuels for gasoline and diesel, strengthening regulations on vehicle emissions, expediting public transport development, and the effective management of the soaring private cars. (author)

Energy and sustainable urban transport development in China: Challenges and solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Xilang; Hu, Xiaojun

2002-07-01

This paper presents an overview of urban road transport development and challenges in energy consumption in China. It relates sustainable urban road transport development with energy consumption and environmental management. It analyzes the main challenges related to urban road transport development: energy security, low efficiency in energy utilization, and unsustainable environmental management. It also discusses necessary technological and policy initiatives to deal with these challenges: e.g., promoting the development and dissemination of cleaner vehicle technologies, substitution of LPG, CNG, LNG and bio fuels for gasoline and diesel, strengthening regulations on vehicle emissions, expediting public transport development, and the effective management of the soaring private cars. (author)

Urban-rural differences in the association between access to healthcare and health outcomes among older adults in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xufan; Dupre, Matthew E; Qiu, Li; Zhou, Wei; Zhao, Yuan; Gu, Danan

2017-07-19

Studies have shown that inadequate access to healthcare is associated with lower levels of health and well-being in older adults. Studies have also shown significant urban-rural differences in access to healthcare in developing countries such as China. However, there is limited evidence of whether the association between access to healthcare and health outcomes differs by urban-rural residence at older ages in China. Four waves of data (2005, 2008/2009, 2011/2012, and 2014) from the largest national longitudinal survey of adults aged 65 and older in mainland China (n = 26,604) were used for analysis. The association between inadequate access to healthcare (y/n) and multiple health outcomes were examined-including instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability, ADL disability, cognitive impairment, and all-cause mortality. A series of multivariate models were used to obtain robust estimates and to account for various covariates associated with access to healthcare and/or health outcomes. All models were stratified by urban-rural residence. Inadequate access to healthcare was significantly higher among older adults in rural areas than in urban areas (9.1% vs. 5.4%; p China. The associations between access to healthcare and health outcomes were generally stronger among older adults in rural areas than in urban areas. Our findings underscore the importance of providing adequate access to healthcare for older adults-particularly for those living in rural areas in developing countries such as China.

Regional/Urban Air Quality Modeling Assessment over China Using the Models-3/CMAQ System

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, J. S.; Jang, C. C.; Streets, D. G.; Li, Z.; Wang, L.; Zhang, Q.; Woo, J.; Wang, B.

2004-12-01

China is the world's most populous country with a fast growing economy that surges in energy comsumption. It has become the second largest energy consumer after the United States although the per capita level is much lower than those found in developed or developing countries. Air pollution has become one of the most important problems of megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai and has serious impacts on public health, causes urban and regional haze. The Models-3/CMAQ modeling application that has been conducted to simulate multi-pollutants in China is presented. The modeling domains cover East Asia (36-kmx36-km) including Japan, South Korea, Korea DPR, Indonesia, Thailand, India and Mongolia, East China (12-kmx12-km) and Beijing/Tianjing, Shanghai (4-kmx4-km). For this study, the Asian emission inventory based on the emission estimates of the year 2000 that supported the NASA TRACE-P program is used. However, the TRACE-P emission inventory was developed for a different purpose such as global modeling. TRACE-P emission inventory may not be practical in urban area. There is no China national emission inventory available. Therefore, TRACE-P emission inventory is used on the East Asia and East China domains. The 8 districts of Beijing and Shanghai local emissions inventory are used to replace TRACE-P in 4-km domains. The meteorological data for the Models-3/CMAQ run are extracted from MM5. The model simulation is performed during the period January 1-20 and July 1-20, 2001 that presented the winter and summer time for China areas. The preliminary model results are shown O3 concentrations are in the range of 80 -120 ppb in the urban area. Lower urban O3 concentrations are shown in Beijing areas, possibly due to underestimation of urban man-made VOC emissions in the TRACE-P inventory and local inventory. High PM2.5 (70ug/m3 in summer and 150ug/m3 in winter) were simulated over metropolitan & downwind areas with significant secondary constituents. More comprehensive

The Cultural Ecology Protection and Management of Urban Forests in China

OpenAIRE

ZHANG, Ying; SONG, Weiming; CHEN, Ke; GUO, Chunjing

2013-01-01

Forests have economic, ecological, social and cultural functions. Forests Cultural ecology, the counterpart of forest ecology， is the integration of human spirit formed on the basis of natural forest and living systems. In recent years, China's urbanization rate has increased from 28% in 1993 to 45.68% in 2008, and ecological protection of urban forest has made great progress, but insufficient attention was paid to the forest cultural ecology protection and the relevant regulatory was not w...

The Effectiveness of Planning Control on Urban Growth: Evidence from Hangzhou, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yizhou Wu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Urban sprawl presents a serious challenge for sustainable urban land use. Urban planning attempts to guarantee sustainable urban development and proper use of land resources. However, a large gap usually exists between planning and actual development. This paper aims to analyze the evolutionary characteristics of urban form and the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban planning from 1964 to 2013, using the case of Hangzhou, China. We proposed a framework that included remote sensing, landscape metrics, and control effectiveness indexes. The results indicated that urban planning failed to perform effectively in Hangzhou, reflected by the uncontrolled urban sprawl during all the planning periods. The low effectiveness of planning was resulted from multiple factors, including historical economic events that made expansion unexpected, functional orientation of planning which drove fragmented suburbanization, the ineffective methods for forecasting population and land use, and the influences by the market forces. The findings deepen the understanding of the impacts of urban planning, and provide references for making rational urban management decisions and sustainable urban land management.

Safety Impacts of the Actuated Signal Control at Urban Intersections

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Sang Hyuk Lee

2016-02-01

Full Text Available To reduce travel time, the actuated signal controls have been implemented at urban intersections. However, the safety impacts of actuated signal controls thus far have rarely been examined. In this assessment of the safety impact of urban intersections with semi-actuated signal controls, the safety performance functions and EB approaches were applied. The semi-actuated signal controls have increased injuries and total crashes in all crash types by around 5.9% and 3.8%, respectively. Regarding the most common crash types, such as angle, sideswipe & rear-end, and head-on crashes, semi-actuated signal controls have been seen to decrease injuries by 7.7%. Total crashes have been reduced by over 9.2% through the use of semi-actuated signal controls. This may be result of optimal signal timings considering traffic conditions during peak time periods. In conclusion, safety impact factors which have been established in this study can be used to improve safety and minimize travel times using semi-actuated signal controls.

Characterization and spatial modeling of urban sprawl in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Chen; Liu, Yaolin; Stein, Alfred; Jiao, Limin

2015-02-01

Urban sprawl has led to environmental problems and large losses of arable land in China. In this study, we monitor and model urban sprawl by means of a combination of remote sensing, geographical information system and spatial statistics. We use time-series data to explore the potential socio-economic driving forces behind urban sprawl, and spatial models in different scenarios to explore the spatio-temporal interactions. The methodology is applied to the city of Wuhan, China, for the period from 1990 to 2013. The results reveal that the built-up land has expanded and has dispersed in urban clusters. Population growth, and economic and transportation development are still the main causes of urban sprawl; however, when they have developed to certain levels, the area affected by construction in urban areas (Jian Cheng Qu (JCQ)) and the area of cultivated land (ACL) tend to be stable. Spatial regression models are shown to be superior to the traditional models. The interaction among districts with the same administrative status is stronger than if one of those neighbors is in the city center and the other in the suburban area. The expansion of urban built-up land is driven by the socio-economic development at the same period, and greatly influenced by its spatio-temporal neighbors. We conclude that the integration of remote sensing, a geographical information system, and spatial statistics offers an excellent opportunity to explore the spatio-temporal variation and interactions among the districts in the sprawling metropolitan areas. Relevant regulations to control the urban sprawl process are suggested accordingly.

From general discrimination to segmented inequality: Migration and inequality in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yao; Wang, Feng

2013-11-01

Internal migration in China during the last three decades, the largest in human history, offers a rare opportunity to understand inequalities in the making. Using data spanning 10years from China's largest metropolis, Shanghai, this study assesses how enduring state institutions interplay with the spread of market forces to shape income inequality between migrants and native urban workers. Though the wages of both Chinese migrants and urban workers rose considerably, economic restructuring during the decade under study resulted in diminished privileges for urbanites and subsequently increased collision between migrants and urban workers in the private sectors. These shifts, rather than substantially reducing inequality, have led to an evolving form of inequality, from an initial general blatant discrimination against migrants across the board, to a new and more subtle form of inequality characterized by substantial segmented discrimination against migrants within economic sectors, with the degree of inequality varying from sector to sector. We discuss how this changing inequality reflects complementary rather than competing roles of the state and market institutions in inequality creation and maintenance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Land-Use Regression Modelling of Intra-Urban Air Pollution Variation in China: Current Status and Future Needs

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Baihuiqian He

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Rapid urbanization in China is leading to substantial adverse air quality issues, particularly for NO2 and particulate matter (PM. Land-use regression (LUR models are now being applied to simulate pollutant concentrations with high spatial resolution in Chinese urban areas. However, Chinese urban areas differ from those in Europe and North America, for example in respect of population density, urban morphology and pollutant emissions densities, so it is timely to assess current LUR studies in China to highlight current challenges and identify future needs. Details of twenty-four recent LUR models for NO2 and PM2.5/PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameters <2.5 µm and <10 µm are tabulated and reviewed as the basis for discussion in this paper. We highlight that LUR modelling in China is currently constrained by a scarcity of input data, especially air pollution monitoring data. There is an urgent need for accessible archives of quality-assured measurement data and for higher spatial resolution proxy data for urban emissions, particularly in respect of traffic-related variables. The rapidly evolving nature of the Chinese urban landscape makes maintaining up-to-date land-use and urban morphology datasets a challenge. We also highlight the importance for Chinese LUR models to be subject to appropriate validation statistics. Integration of LUR with portable monitor data, remote sensing, and dispersion modelling has the potential to enhance derivation of urban pollution maps.

Perbandingan Stock Market Crash 1987 : Dan Stock Market Crash 1997

OpenAIRE

Indridewi Atmadjaja, Yovita Vivianty

1999-01-01

Stock market crash refers to the condition, which is marked with the large dropping of stock Market price index. Historically, stock market crash has happened three times, namely in 1929, 1987 and 1997. This paper will discuss the causes of 1987's and 1997's stock market Crash and the similarities and the differences between 1987's and 1997's stock market crash. The structure of the paper is as follows. The paper starts with the introduction. The second Section briefly explains the causes of ...

Risk management of emergency service vehicle crashes in the United States fire service: process, outputs, and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, David P; Pollack Porter, Keshia; Griffin, Stephanie; French, Dustin D; Jung, Alesia M; Crothers, Stephen; Burgess, Jefferey L

2017-11-17

Emergency service vehicle crashes (ESVCs) are a leading cause of death in the United States fire service. Risk management (RM) is a proactive process for identifying occupational risks and reducing hazards and unwanted events through an iterative process of scoping hazards, risk assessment, and implementing controls. We describe the process, outputs, and lessons learned from the application of a proactive RM process to reduce ESVCs in US fire departments. Three fire departments representative of urban, suburban, and rural geographies, participated in a facilitated RM process delivered through focus groups and stakeholder discussion. Crash reports from department databases were reviewed to characterize the context, circumstances, hazards and risks of ESVCs. Identified risks were ranked using a risk matrix that considered risk likelihood and severity. Department-specific control measures were selected based on group consensus. Interviews, and focus groups were used to assess acceptability and utility of the RM process and perceived facilitators and barriers of implementation. Three to six RM meetings were conducted at each fire department. There were 7.4 crashes per 100 personnel in the urban department and 10.5 per 100 personnel in the suburban department; the rural department experienced zero crashes. All departments identified emergency response, backing, on scene struck by, driver distraction, vehicle/road visibility, and driver training as high or medium concerns. Additional high priority risks varied by department; the urban department prioritized turning and rear ending crashes; the suburban firefighters prioritized inclement weather/road environment and low visibility related crashes; and the rural volunteer fire department prioritized exiting station, vehicle failure, and inclement weather/road environment related incidents. Selected controls included new policies and standard operating procedures to reduce emergency response, cameras to enhance driver

Creating pedestrian crash scenarios in a driving simulator environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chrysler, Susan T; Ahmad, Omar; Schwarz, Chris W

2015-01-01

In 2012 in the United States, pedestrian injuries accounted for 3.3% of all traffic injuries but, disproportionately, pedestrian fatalities accounted for roughly 14% of traffic-related deaths (NHTSA 2014 ). In many other countries, pedestrians make up more than 50% of those injured and killed in crashes. This research project examined driver response to crash-imminent situations involving pedestrians in a high-fidelity, full-motion driving simulator. This article presents a scenario development method and discusses experimental design and control issues in conducting pedestrian crash research in a simulation environment. Driving simulators offer a safe environment in which to test driver response and offer the advantage of having virtual pedestrian models that move realistically, unlike test track studies, which by nature must use pedestrian dummies on some moving track. An analysis of pedestrian crash trajectories, speeds, roadside features, and pedestrian behavior was used to create 18 unique crash scenarios representative of the most frequent and most costly crash types. For the study reported here, we only considered scenarios where the car is traveling straight because these represent the majority of fatalities. We manipulated driver expectation of a pedestrian both by presenting intersection and mid-block crossing as well as by using features in the scene to direct the driver's visual attention toward or away from the crossing pedestrian. Three visual environments for the scenarios were used to provide a variety of roadside environments and speed: a 20-30 mph residential area, a 55 mph rural undivided highway, and a 40 mph urban area. Many variables of crash situations were considered in selecting and developing the scenarios, including vehicle and pedestrian movements; roadway and roadside features; environmental conditions; and characteristics of the pedestrian, driver, and vehicle. The driving simulator scenarios were subjected to iterative testing to

Bridging the Rural-Urban Literacy Gap in China: A Mediation Analysis of Family Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jingying; Li, Hui; Wang, Dan

2018-01-01

This study examines the effects of family involvement on the literacy gap between rural and urban Chinese primary students via mediation analysis. Altogether, 1080 students in Grades 1, 3, and 5 were randomly sampled from three urban and three rural primary schools from Shandong and Guizhou Provinces, representing eastern and western China,…

Spatial-temporal change of land surface temperature across 285 cities in China: An urban-rural contrast perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian; Ma, Jing; Liu, Qianyuan; Liu, Yanxu; Hu, Yi'na; Li, Yingru; Yue, Yuemin

2018-09-01

As an important theme in global climate change and urban sustainable development, the changes of land surface temperature (LST) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) have been more and more focused by urban ecologists. This study used land-use data to identify the urban-rural areas in 285 cities in China and comparatively analyzed LST in urban-rural areas with the perspective of spatial-temporal dynamics heterogeneity. The results showed that, 98.9% of the cities exhibited SUHI effect in summer nighttime and the effect was stronger in northern cities than that in southern cities. In 2010, the mean SUHI intensity was the largest in summer daytime, with 4.6% of the cities having extreme SUHI of over 4°C. From 2001 to 2010, the nighttime LST of most cities increased more quickly in urban areas compared with rural areas, with an increasing tendency of the urban-rural LST difference. The difference in the urban- rural LST change rate was concentrated in the range of 0-0.1°C/year for 68.0% of cities in winter and 70.8% of cities in summer. For the higher LST increasing in urban areas compared with rural areas, there were more cities in summer than winter, indicating that the summer nighttime was the key temporal period for SUHI management. Based on the change slope of urban-rural LST, cities were clustered into four types and the vital and major zones for urban thermal environment management were identified in China. The vital zone included cities in Hunan, Hubei and other central rising provinces as well as the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi Province. The major zone included most of the cities in Central Plain Urban Agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These results can provide scientific basis for SUHI adaptation in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling Urban Collaborative Growth Dynamics Using a Multiscale Simulation Model for the Wuhan Urban Agglomeration Area, China

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Yan Yu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Urban agglomeration has become the predominant form of urbanization in China. In this process, spatial interaction evidently played a significant role in promoting the collaborative development of these correlated cities. The traditional urban model’s focus on individual cities should be transformed to an urban system model. In this study, a multi-scale simulation model has been proposed to simulate the agglomeration development process of the Wuhan urban agglomeration area by embedding the multi-scale spatial interaction into the transition rule system of cellular automata (CA. A system dynamic model was used to predict the demand for new urban land at an aggregated urban agglomeration area scale. A data field approach was adopted to measuring the interaction of intercity at city scale. Neighborhood interaction was interpreted with a logistic regression method at the land parcel scale. Land use data from 1995, 2005, and 2015 were used to calibrate and evaluate the model. The simulation results show that there has been continuing urban growth in the Wuhan urban agglomeration area from 1995 to 2020. Although extension-sprawl was the predominant pattern of urban spatial expansion, the trend of extensive growth to intensive growth is clear during the entire period. The spatial interaction among these cities has been reinforced, which guided the collaborative development and formed the regional urban system network.

Potential Cardiovascular and Total Mortality Benefits of Air Pollution Control in Urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chen; Moran, Andrew E; Coxson, Pamela G; Yang, Xueli; Liu, Fangchao; Cao, Jie; Chen, Kai; Wang, Miao; He, Jiang; Goldman, Lee; Zhao, Dong; Kinney, Patrick L; Gu, Dongfeng

2017-10-24

Outdoor air pollution ranks fourth among preventable causes of China's burden of disease. We hypothesized that the magnitude of health gains from air quality improvement in urban China could compare with achieving recommended blood pressure or smoking control goals. The Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model-China projected coronary heart disease, stroke, and all-cause deaths in urban Chinese adults 35 to 84 years of age from 2017 to 2030 if recent air quality (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm, PM 2.5 ) and traditional cardiovascular risk factor trends continue. We projected life-years gained if urban China were to reach 1 of 3 air quality goals: Beijing Olympic Games level (mean PM 2.5 , 55 μg/m 3 ), China Class II standard (35 μg/m 3 ), or World Health Organization standard (10 μg/m 3 ). We compared projected air pollution reduction control benefits with potential benefits of reaching World Health Organization hypertension and tobacco control goals. Mean PM 2.5 reduction to Beijing Olympic levels by 2030 would gain ≈241,000 (95% uncertainty interval, 189 000-293 000) life-years annually. Achieving either the China Class II or World Health Organization PM 2.5 standard would yield greater health benefits (992 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 790 000-1 180 000] or 1 827 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 1 481 00-2 129 000] annual life-years gained, respectively) than World Health Organization-recommended goals of 25% improvement in systolic hypertension control and 30% reduction in smoking combined (928 000 [95% uncertainty interval, 830 000-1 033 000] life-years). Air quality improvement in different scenarios could lead to graded health benefits ranging from 241 000 life-years gained to much greater benefits equal to or greater than the combined benefits of 25% improvement in systolic hypertension control and 30% smoking reduction. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Economic Burden for Lung Cancer Survivors in Urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xin; Liu, Shuai; Liu, Yang; Du, Jian; Fu, Wenqi; Zhao, Xiaowen; Huang, Weidong; Zhao, Xianming; Liu, Guoxiang; Mao, Zhengzhong; Hu, Teh-Wei

2017-03-15

With the rapid increase in the incidence and mortality of lung cancer, a growing number of lung cancer patients and their families are faced with a tremendous economic burden because of the high cost of treatment in China. This study was conducted to estimate the economic burden and patient responsibility of lung cancer patients and the impact of this burden on family income. This study uses data from a retrospective questionnaire survey conducted in 10 communities in urban China and includes 195 surviving lung cancer patients diagnosed over the previous five years. The calculation of direct economic burden included both direct medical and direct nonmedical costs. Indirect costs were calculated using the human capital approach, which measures the productivity lost for both patients and family caregivers. The price index was applied for the cost calculation. The average economic burden from lung cancer was $43,336 per patient, of which the direct cost per capita was $42,540 (98.16%) and the indirect cost per capita was $795 (1.84%). Of the total direct medical costs, 35.66% was paid by the insurer and 9.84% was not covered by insurance. The economic burden for diagnosed lung cancer patients in the first year following diagnosis was $30,277 per capita, which accounted for 171% of the household annual income, a percentage that fell to 107% after subtracting the compensation from medical insurance. The economic burden for lung cancer patients is substantial in the urban areas of China, and an effective control strategy to lower the cost is urgently needed.

Does Internal Immigration Always Lead to Urban Unemployment in Emerging Economies? : A Structural Approach Based on Data from China

OpenAIRE

LIU, YANG

2012-01-01

Immigration restrictions usually arise from the idea that immigrants compete with original residents for jobs. Their effects on urban job creation are often ignored. In this study, we develop an inner-city dual labor market model that incorporates both of those effects, and apply it to empirical studies on China. We find that rural-urban immigration does not contribute to urban unemployment in China. Migrants take away some jobs from residents, but at the same time, they lower equilibrium wag...

Decomposing the causes of socioeconomic-related health inequality among urban and rural populations in China: a new decomposition approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Jiaoli; Coyte, Peter C; Zhao, Hongzhong

2017-07-18

In recent decades, China has experienced tremendous economic growth and also witnessed growing socioeconomic-related health inequality. The study aims to explore the potential causes of socioeconomic-related health inequality in urban and rural areas of China over the past two decades. This study used six waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1991 to 2006. The recentered influence function (RIF) regression decomposition method was employed to decompose socioeconomic-related health inequality in China. Health status was derived from self-rated health (SRH) scores. The analyses were conducted on urban and rural samples separately. We found that the average level of health status declined from 1989 to 2006 for both urban and rural populations. Average health scores were greater for the rural population compared with those for the urban population. We also found that there exists pro-rich health inequality in China. While income and secondary education were the main factors to reduce health inequality, older people, unhealthy lifestyles and a poor home environment increased inequality. Health insurance had the opposite effects on health inequality for urban and rural populations, resulting in lower inequality for urban populations and higher inequality for their rural counterparts. These findings suggest that an effective way to reduce socioeconomic-related health inequality is not only to increase income and improve access to health care services, but also to focus on improvements in the lifestyles and the home environment. Specifically, for rural populations, it is particularly important to improve the design of health insurance and implement a more comprehensive insurance package that can effectively target the rural poor. Moreover, it is necessary to comprehensively promote the flush toilets and tap water in rural areas. For urban populations, in addition to promoting universal secondary education, healthy lifestyles should be promoted

Comparative Study on Urban Planning Inspection System in the UK and China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2012-01-01

The urban-rural planning inspector system of China is hierarchical supervision over local governments from the Central Government in respect of town and country development. The comparative analysis on planning inspection system of the UK may provide experience in seeking solutions to the problems occurring in the system of China. The planning inspector system of China can be improved in six aspects such as establishing the legal status, setting up the planning inspection agency, completing the personnel management system, enhancing the legal binding force, building the internal and external supervision channel, supplementing the relieve function, and establishing the coordination mechanism of various internal supervisions.

China's precarious synthetic natural gas demonstration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chi-Jen

2015-01-01

In 2013, China's national government abandoned its previous cautious policy and started to promote large-scale deployment of coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG). Coal-based SNG is both carbon-intensive and very water-intensive. Driven by a smog crisis and the recession of coal industry, China's 2013 policy change is major setback in its long-term efforts in carbon mitigation and water conservation. The government of China made the policy change before the commercial commencement of China's first SNG demonstration plant. Since the commencement of China's SNG demonstration plant, many problems have started to appear. In this article, I discuss the nature of demonstration project and explain the danger in starting a crash program without evaluating the demonstration comprehensively and transparently. - Highlights: • China is promoting large-scale commercialization of synthetic natural gas (SNG) plants. • The push for commercialization started before the startup of its first SNG demonstration. • A crash SNG program is both financially risky and environmental detrimental. • China should reconsider its SNG policy and adopt a more cautious approach

Critical market crashes

Science.gov (United States)

Sornette, D.

2003-04-01

This review presents a general theory of financial crashes and of stock market instabilities that his co-workers and the author have developed over the past seven years. We start by discussing the limitation of standard analyses for characterizing how crashes are special. The study of the frequency distribution of drawdowns, or runs of successive losses shows that large financial crashes are “outliers”: they form a class of their own as can be seen from their statistical signatures. If large financial crashes are “outliers”, they are special and thus require a special explanation, a specific model, a theory of their own. In addition, their special properties may perhaps be used for their prediction. The main mechanisms leading to positive feedbacks, i.e., self-reinforcement, such as imitative behavior and herding between investors are reviewed with many references provided to the relevant literature outside the narrow confine of Physics. Positive feedbacks provide the fuel for the development of speculative bubbles, preparing the instability for a major crash. We demonstrate several detailed mathematical models of speculative bubbles and crashes. A first model posits that the crash hazard drives the market price. The crash hazard may sky-rocket at some times due to the collective behavior of “noise traders”, those who act on little information, even if they think they “know”. A second version inverses the logic and posits that prices drive the crash hazard. Prices may skyrocket at some times again due to the speculative or imitative behavior of investors. According the rational expectation model, this entails automatically a corresponding increase of the probability for a crash. We also review two other models including the competition between imitation and contrarian behavior and between value investors and technical analysts. The most important message is the discovery of robust and universal signatures of the approach to crashes. These precursory

Factors associated with civilian drivers involved in crashes with emergency vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Drucker, Christopher; Gerberich, Susan G; Manser, Michael P; Alexander, Bruce H; Church, Timothy R; Ryan, Andrew D; Becic, Ensar

2013-06-01

Motor vehicle crashes involving civilian and emergency vehicles (EVs) have been a known problem that contributes to fatal and nonfatal injuries; however, characteristics associated with civilian drivers have not been examined adequately. This study used data from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System to identify driver, roadway, environmental, and crash factors, and consequences for civilian drivers involved in fatal and nonfatal crashes with in-use and in-transport EVs. In general, drivers involved in emergency-civilian crashes (ECCs) were more often driving: straight through intersections (vs. same direction) of four-points or more (vs. not at intersection); where traffic signals were present (vs. no traffic control device); and at night (vs. midday). For nonfatal ECCs, drivers were more often driving: distracted (vs. not distracted); with vision obstructed by external objects (vs. no obstruction); on dark but lighted roads (vs. daylight); and in opposite directions (vs. same directions) of the EVs. Consequences included increased risk of injury (vs. no injury) and receiving traffic violations (vs. no violation). Fatal ECCs were associated with driving on urban roads (vs. rural), although these types of crashes were less likely to occur on dark roads (vs. daylight). The findings of this study suggest drivers may have difficulties in visually detecting EVs in different environments. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Divergent Urban-Rural Trends in College Attendance: State Policy Bias and Structural Exclusion in China

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Tam, Tony; Jiang, Jin

2015-01-01

Despite the massive expansion of higher education in China since 1998, the cohort trends of urban and rural "hukou" holders in college attendance have widened sharply. Prevailing explanations emphasize the advantages of urban students over rural students in school quality and household financial resources. We propose the structural…

Dietary exposure to aluminium of urban residents from cities in South China.

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Jiang, Qi; Wang, Jing; Li, Min; Liang, Xuxia; Dai, Guangwei; Hu, Zhikun; Wen, Jian; Huang, Qiong; Zhang, Yonghui

2013-01-01

A dietary survey was conducted over three consecutive days by using 24-hour dietary recall in the Pearl River Delta of South China to investigate the dietary consumption status. A total of 1702 food samples, 22 food groups, were collected, and aluminium concentrations of foods were determined by using ICP-MS. Weekly dietary exposure to aluminium of the average urban residents of South China was estimated to be 1.5 mg kg⁻¹ body weight, which amounted to 76% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake. Wheat-made products (53.5%) contributed most to the dietary exposure, followed by vegetables (12.2%). The high-level consumers' weekly exposure to aluminium was 11.1 mg kg⁻¹ body weight, which amounted to 407% of the provisional tolerable weekly intake. The results indicated that the general urban residents in South China might be safe from aluminium exposure, but the high-level consumers might be at some risk of aluminium exposure. The foods contributing to aluminium exposure were processed food with aluminium-containing food additives. It is necessary to take effective measures to control the overuse of aluminium-containing food additives.

Urban Land Expansion and Structural Change in the Yangtze River Delta, China

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Jinlong Gao

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Urban development in China has attracted considerable scholarly attention. However, more work is still needed to examine and understand the mechanisms of urban land expansion, especially within the context of globalization/marketization, decentralization and urbanization. This paper analyzes urban land expansion and structural changes in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD. We find that cities in the YRD are experiencing urban land expansion mainly characterized by the growth of residential and industrial land. The dominant characteristics of urban land expansion in cities have also varied within different development and administrative levels. Based on our conceptual framework, we have used multi-models to investigate the driving forces of urban land expansion and structural changes in the YRD. The results reveal that six influencing factors—foreign direct investment (FDI, labor, government competition, institution, population, and job-housing relations—facilitate land use change in the economic transition process. However, their impacts differ in cities in different geographical locations, as well as with different administrative levels. Finally, this paper discusses policies to promote sustainable urban land use in the YRD.

A comparison of particulate matter from biomass-burning rural and non-biomass-burning urban households in northeastern China.

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Jiang, Ruoting; Bell, Michelle L

2008-07-01

Biomass fuel is the primary source of domestic fuel in much of rural China. Previous studies have not characterized particle exposure through time-activity diaries or personal monitoring in mainland China. In this study we characterized indoor and personal particle exposure in six households in northeastern China (three urban, three rural) and explored differences by location, cooking status, activity, and fuel type. Rural homes used biomass. Urban homes used a combination of electricity and natural gas. Stationary monitors measured hourly indoor particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter urban kitchens, urban sitting rooms, and outdoors. Personal monitors for PM with an aerodynamic diameter urban kitchens during cooking. PM10 was 6.1 times higher during cooking periods than during noncooking periods for rural kitchens. Personal PM2.5 levels for rural cooks were 2.8-3.6 times higher than for all other participant categories. The highest PM2.5 exposures occurred during cooking periods for urban and rural cooks. However, rural cooks had 5.4 times higher PM2.5 levels during cooking than did urban cooks. Rural cooks spent 2.5 times more hours per day cooking than did their urban counterparts. These findings indicate that biomass burning for cooking contributes substantially to indoor particulate levels and that this exposure is particularly elevated for cooks. Second-by-second personal PM2.5 exposures revealed differences in exposures by population group and strong temporal heterogeneity that would be obscured by aggregate metrics.

Smoking among young rural to urban migrant women in China: a cross-sectional survey.

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Xia Wan

Full Text Available Rural-to-urban migrant women may be vulnerable to smoking initiation as they are newly exposed to risk factors in the urban environment. We sought to identify correlates of smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China.A cross-sectional survey of rural-to-urban migrant women working in restaurants and hotels (RHW and those working as commercial sex workers (CSW was conducted in ten provincial capital cities in China. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify correlates of smoking. We enrolled 2229 rural-to-urban migrant women (1697 RHWs aged 18-24 years and 532 CSWs aged 18-30 years. Of these, 18.4% RHWs and 58.3% CSWs reported ever tried smoking and 3.2% RHWs and 41.9% CSWs reported current smoking. Participants who first tried smoking after moving to the city were more likely to be current smokers compared to participants who first tried smoking before moving to the city (25.3% vs. 13.8% among RHWs, p = 0.02; 83.6% vs. 58.6% among CSWs, p = <0.01. Adjusting for other factors, "tried female cigarette brands" had the strongest association with current smoking (OR 5.69, 95%CI 3.44 to 9.41 among participants who had ever tried smoking.Exposure to female cigarette brands may increase the susceptibility to smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women. Smoke-free policies and increased taxes may be effective in preventing rural-to-urban migrant women from smoking initiation.

Smoking among Young Rural to Urban Migrant Women in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

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Wan, Xia; Shin, Sanghyuk S.; Wang, Qian; Raymond, H. Fisher; Liu, Huilin; Ding, Ding; Yang, Gonghuan; Novotny, Thomas E.

2011-01-01

Background Rural-to-urban migrant women may be vulnerable to smoking initiation as they are newly exposed to risk factors in the urban environment. We sought to identify correlates of smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women in China. Methods/Principal Findings A cross-sectional survey of rural-to-urban migrant women working in restaurants and hotels (RHW) and those working as commercial sex workers (CSW) was conducted in ten provincial capital cities in China. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to identify correlates of smoking. We enrolled 2229 rural-to-urban migrant women (1697 RHWs aged 18–24 years and 532 CSWs aged 18–30 years). Of these, 18.4% RHWs and 58.3% CSWs reported ever tried smoking and 3.2% RHWs and 41.9% CSWs reported current smoking. Participants who first tried smoking after moving to the city were more likely to be current smokers compared to participants who first tried smoking before moving to the city (25.3% vs. 13.8% among RHWs, p = 0.02; 83.6% vs. 58.6% among CSWs, p = brands” had the strongest association with current smoking (OR 5.69, 95%CI 3.44 to 9.41) among participants who had ever tried smoking. Conclusions/Significance Exposure to female cigarette brands may increase the susceptibility to smoking among rural-to-urban migrant women. Smoke-free policies and increased taxes may be effective in preventing rural-to-urban migrant women from smoking initiation. PMID:21829683

The Trends in Cardiovascular Diseases and Respiratory Diseases Mortality in Urban and Rural China, 1990-2015.

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Sun, Weiwei; Zhou, Yun; Zhang, Zhuang; Cao, Limin; Chen, Weihong

2017-11-15

With the rapid development of the economy over the past 20 years, the mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and respiratory diseases (RDs) have changed in China. This study aimed to analyze the trends of mortality rates and years of life lost (YLLs) from CVDs and RDs in the rural and urban population from 1990 to 2015. Using data from Chinese yearbooks, joinpoint regression analysis was employed to estimate the annual percent change (APC) of mortality rates from CVDs and RDs. YLLs due to CVDs and RDs were calculated by a standard method, adopting recommended standard life expectancy at birth values of 80 years for men and 82.5 years for women. Age-standardized mortality rates and YLL rates were calculated by using the direct method based on the Chinese population from the sixth population census of 2010. Age-standardized mortality rates from CVDs for urban residents and from RDs for both urban and rural residents showed decreasing trends in China from 1990 to 2015. Age-standardized mortality rates from CVDs among rural residents remained constant during above period and outstripped those among urban residents gradually. The age-standardized YLL rates of CVDs for urban and rural residents decreased 35.2% and 8.3% respectively. Additionally, the age-standardized YLL rates of RDs for urban and rural residents decreased 64.2% and 79.0% respectively. The age-standardized mortality and YLL rates from CVDs and RDs gradually decreased in China from 1990 to 2015. We observed more substantial declines of the mortality rates from CVDs in urban areas and from RDs in rural areas.

The relation between working conditions, aberrant driving behaviour and crash propensity among taxi drivers in China.

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Wang, Yonggang; Li, Linchao; Prato, Carlo G

2018-04-03

Although the taxi industry is playing an important role in Chinese everyday life, little attention has been posed towards occupational health issues concerning the taxi drivers' working conditions, driving behaviour and road safety. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 1021 taxi drivers from 21 companies in four Chinese cities and collected information about (i) sociodemographic characteristics, (ii) working conditions, (iii) frequency of daily aberrant driving behaviour, and (iv) involvement in property-damage-only (PDO) and personal injury (PI) crashes over the past two years. A hybrid bivariate model of crash involvement was specified: (i) the hybrid part concerned a latent variable model capturing unobserved traits of the taxi drivers; (ii) the bivariate part modelled jointly both types of crashes while capturing unobserved correlation between error terms. The survey answers paint a gloomy picture in terms of workload, as taxi drivers reported averages of 9.4 working hours per day and 6.7 working days per week that amount on average to about 63.0 working hours per week. Moreover, the estimates of the hybrid bivariate model reveal that increasing levels of fatigue, reckless behaviour and aggressive behaviour are positively related to a higher propensity of crash involvement. Lastly, the heavy workload is also positively correlated with the higher propensity of crashing, not only directly as a predictor of crash involvement, but also indirectly as a covariate of fatigue and aberrant driving behaviour. The findings from this study provide insights into potential strategies for preventive education and taxi industry management to improve the working conditions and hence reduce fatigue and road risk for the taxi drivers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poverty concentration and determinants in China's urban low-income neighbourhoods and social groups.

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He, Shenjing; Wu, Fulong; Webster, Chris; Liu, Yuting

2010-01-01

Based on a large-scale household survey conducted in 2007, this article reports on poverty concentration and determinants in China's low-income neighbourhoods and social groups. Three types of neighbourhood are recognized: dilapidated inner-city neighbourhoods, declining workers' villages and urban villages. Respondents are grouped into four categories: working, laid-off/unemployed and retired urban residents, together with rural migrants. We first measure poverty concentration across different types of neighbourhood and different groups. The highest concentrations are found in dilapidated inner-city neighbourhoods and among the laid-off/unemployed. Mismatches are found between actual hardships, sense of deprivation and distribution of social welfare provision. Second, we examine poverty determinants. Variations in institutional protection and market remuneration are becoming equally important in predicting poverty generation, but are differently associated with it in the different neighbourhoods and groups. As China's urban economy is increasingly shaped by markets, the mechanism of market remuneration is becoming a more important determinant of poverty patterns, especially for people who are excluded from state institutions, notably laid-off workers and rural migrants.

A Novel Approach for Assessing the Performance of Sustainable Urbanization Based on Structural Equation Modeling: A China Case Study

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Liudan Jiao

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The rapid urbanization process has brought problems to China, such as traffic congestion, air pollution, water pollution and resources scarcity. Sustainable urbanization is commonly appreciated as an effective way to promote the sustainable development. The proper understanding of the sustainable urbanization performance is critical to provide governments with support in making urban development strategies and policies for guiding the sustainable development. This paper utilizes the method of Structural equation modeling (SEM to establish an assessment model for measuring sustainable urbanization performance. Four unobserved endogenous variables, economic variable, social variable, environment variable and resource variable, and 21 observed endogenous variables comprise the SEM model. A case study of the 31 provinces in China demonstrates the validity of the SEM model and the analysis results indicated that the assessment model could help make more effective policies and strategies for improving urban sustainability by recognizing the statue of sustainable urbanization.

HIV/STD risk behaviors and perceptions among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

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Li, Xiaoming; Fang, Xiaoyi; Lin, Danhua; Mao, Rong; Wang, Jing; Cottrell, Lesley; Harris, Carole; Stanton, Bonita

2004-12-01

Data from 2,153 sexually active rural-to-urban migrants in China were analyzed to examine the relationship between the movement of rural-to-urban migration and increased HIV/STD (sexually transmitted disease) risk and the applicability of constructs of a Western-based theory of behavioral change to the study population. Measurements included migrant mobility, sexual risk, and the seven constructs of the protection motivation theory (PMT). Data in the current study suggest that high mobility among rural-to-urban migrants was associated with increased sexual risk. The PMT constructs are applicable in identifying perceptions and attitudes associated with sexual risk behaviors in this culturally distinct population. Increased sexual risk was associated with increased perceptions of extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards, and response cost. Also consistent with PMT, increased sexual risk was associated with perceptions of decreased severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy. After controlling for a number of key confounding factors, all seven PMT constructs were associated with sexual risk in the manner posited by the theory. The association between mobility and sexual risk underscores the importance of effective HIV/STD prevention efforts among this vulnerable population. The social cognitive theories including the PMT may form a logical base for prevention intervention programs targeting rural-to-urban migrants in China.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Spatial Determinants of Urban Growth in Suzhou, China

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Ling Zhang

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban growth and models its spatial determinants in China through a case study of Suzhou, a rapidly industrializing and globalizing city. We conducted spatial analysis on land use data derived from multi-temporal remote sensing images of Suzhou from 1986 to 2008. Three urban growth types, namely infilling, edge-expansion, and leapfrog, were identified. We used landscape metrics to quantify the temporal trend of urban growth in Suzhou. During these 22 years, Suzhou’s urbanization changed from bottom-up rural urbanization to city-based top-down urban expansion. The underlying mechanism changed from TVE (town village enterprise driven rural industrialization to FDI (foreign direct investment driven development zone fever. Furthermore, we employed both global and local logistic regressions to model the probability of urban land conversion against a set of spatial variables. The global logistic regression model found the significance of proximity, neighborhood conditions, and socioeconomic factors. The logistic geographically weighted regression (GWR model improved the global regression model with better model goodness-of-fit and higher prediction accuracy. More importantly, the local parameter estimates of variables enabled us to exam spatial variations of the influences of variables on urban growth in Suzhou.

Effect of Air Pollution and Rural-Urban Difference on Mental Health of the Elderly in China.

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Tian, Tao; Chen, Yuhuai; Zhu, Jing; Liu, Pengling

2015-08-01

China has become an aging society, and the mental health problem of the elderly is increasingly becoming prominent. This paper aimed to analyze the effect of air pollution and rural-urban difference on mental health of the elderly in China. Using the data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS, 2013), after controlling the social demography variable via Tobit and Probit, a regression analysis of the effect of air pollution and rural-urban difference on mental health and psychological disorder was conducted on 6,630 old people (≧60 yr old) of China from February to April 2015. Mental health and psychological disorder of the elderly were measured by the CES-D score of respondents. Air pollution degree of counties and cities (n=123) were measured by SO2 emission. 27.8% of old people had psychological disorders. Air pollution significantly influenced the mental health of the elderly, showing a positive "U-shaped" curve (Phealth problems. Marriage, education, and social activities had positive effects on the mental health of the elderly. China's local governments should consider the influence of air pollution on the mental health of the elderly during economic development. This paper recommends paying attention to the difference in mental health between the urban and rural elderly when making public health policies. Governments could improve the mental health of the elderly by enriching social activities and increasing employment opportunities of the elderly.

Determinants of Medical and Health Care Expenditure Growth for Urban Residents in China: A Systematic Review Article.

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Zhu, Xiaolong; Cai, Qiong; Wang, Jin; Liu, Yun

2014-12-01

In recent years, medical and health care consumption has risen, making health risk an important determinant of household spending and welfare. We aimed to examine the determinants of medical and health care expenditure to help policy-makers in the improvement of China's health care system, benefiting the country, society and every household. This paper employs panel data from China's provinces from 2001 to 2011 with all possible economic variations and studies the determinants of medical and healthcare expenditure for urban residents. CPI (consumer price index) of medical services and the resident consumption level of urban residents have positive influence on medical and health care expenditures for urban residents, while the local medical budget, the number of health institutions, the incidence of infectious diseases, the year-end population and the savings of urban residents will not have effect on medical and health care expenditure for urban residents. This paper proposed three relevant policy suggestions for Chinese governments based on the findings of the research.

On the demand for natural gas in urban China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Yihua; Zheng, Xinye; Han, Yi

2014-01-01

Using a set of unbalanced panel data for Chinese's cities during the period of 2006–2009, this study aims to estimate the price and income elasticities of residential demand for natural gas. Natural gas consumption is specified as a function of its own price; substitute prices; urban wages; and other supply, climate, and housing characteristics. Using a feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) technique, which controls for panel heteroskedasticity and panel correlation, we find that natural gas consumption is price elastic and income inelastic when other covariates (e.g., the supply of natural gas pipeline and heating degree days) are controlled. In addition, there are large variations in demand behaviours across China's regions. There is a substantial income effect on demand for natural gas in southern China, whereas the northern regions are found to have a higher price effect. In addition, the substitution effect between coal and natural gas is significant in North China but is not significant in South China. These findings have several important policy implications for natural gas pricing and supply cost analysis in the context of China. - Highlights: • We estimate the price and income elasticities of residential demand for natural gas. • We use a set of unbalanced panel data for Chinese's cities during 2006–2009. • We use a feasible generalised least squares approach. • We find that natural gas consumption is price elastic and income inelastic. • We find large variations in demand behaviours across China's regions

Impacts of urbanization and agricultural development on observed changes in surface air temperature over mainland China from 1961 to 2006

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Han, Songjun; Tang, Qiuhong; Xu, Di; Yang, Zhiyong

2018-03-01

A large proportion of meteorological stations in mainland China are located in or near either urban or agricultural lands that were established throughout the period of rapid urbanization and agricultural development (1961-2006). The extent of the impacts of urbanization and agricultural development on observed air temperature changes across different climate regions remains elusive. This study evaluates the surface air temperature trends observed by 598 meteorological stations in relation to the urbanization and agricultural development over the arid northwest, semi-arid intermediate, and humid southeast regions of mainland China based on linear regressions of temperature trends on the fractions of urban and cultivated land within a 3-km radius of the stations. In all three regions, the stations surrounded by large urban land tend to experience rapid warming, especially at minimum temperature. This dependence is particularly significant in the southeast region, which experiences the most intense urbanization. In the northwest and intermediate regions, stations surrounded by large cultivated land encounter less warming during the main growing season, especially at the maximum temperature changes. These findings suggest that the observed surface warming has been affected by urbanization and agricultural development represented by urban and cultivated land fractions around stations in with land cover changes in their proximity and should thus be considered when analyzing regional temperature changes in mainland China.

Crash test rating and likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injury in motor vehicle crashes: the new car assessment program side-impact crash test, 1998-2010.

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Figler, Bradley D; Mack, Christopher D; Kaufman, Robert; Wessells, Hunter; Bulger, Eileen; Smith, Thomas G; Voelzke, Bryan

2014-03-01

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) implemented side-impact crash testing on all new vehicles since 1998 to assess the likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injuries during a side-impact crash. Higher crash test rating is intended to indicate a safer car, but the real-world applicability of these ratings is unknown. Our objective was to determine the relationship between a vehicle's NCAP side-impact crash test rating and the risk of major thoracoabdominal injury among the vehicle's occupants in real-world side-impact motor vehicle crashes. The National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System contains detailed crash and injury data in a sample of major crashes in the United States. For model years 1998 to 2010 and crash years 1999 to 2010, 68,124 occupants were identified in the Crashworthiness Data System database. Because 47% of cases were missing crash severity (ΔV), multiple imputation was used to estimate the missing values. The primary predictor of interest was the occupant vehicle's NCAP side-impact crash test rating, and the outcome of interest was the presence of major (Abbreviated Injury Scale [AIS] score ≥ 3) thoracoabdominal injury. In multivariate analysis, increasing NCAP crash test rating was associated with lower likelihood of major thoracoabdominal injury at high (odds ratio [OR], 0.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-0.9; p NCAP side-impact crash test rating is associated with a lower likelihood of major thoracoabdominal trauma. Epidemiologic study, level III.

Reassessment of urbanization effect on surface air temperature trends at an urban station of North China

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Bian, Tao; Ren, Guoyu

2017-11-01

Based on a homogenized data set of monthly mean temperature, minimum temperature, and maximum temperature at Shijiazhuang City Meteorological Station (Shijiazhuang station) and four rural meteorological stations selected applying a more sophisticated methodology, we reanalyzed the urbanization effects on annual, seasonal, and monthly mean surface air temperature (SAT) trends for updated time period 1960-2012 at the typical urban station in North China. The results showed that (1) urbanization effects on the long-term trends of annual mean SAT, minimum SAT, and diurnal temperature range (DTR) in the last 53 years reached 0.25, 0.47, and - 0.50 °C/decade, respectively, all statistically significant at the 0.001 confidence level, with the contributions from urbanization effects to the overall long-term trends reaching 67.8, 78.6, and 100%, respectively; (2) the urbanization effects on the trends of seasonal mean SAT, minimum SAT, and DTR were also large and statistically highly significant. Except for November and December, the urbanization effects on monthly mean SAT, minimum SAT, and DTR were also all statistically significant at the 0.05 confidence level; and (3) the annual, seasonal, and monthly mean maximum SAT series at the urban station registered a generally weaker and non-significant urbanization effect. The updated analysis evidenced that our previous work for this same urban station had underestimated the urbanization effect and its contribution to the overall changes in the SAT series. Many similar urban stations were being included in the current national and regional SAT data sets, and the results of this paper further indicated the importance and urgency for paying more attention to the urbanization bias in the monitoring and detection of global and regional SAT change based on the data sets.

Inside an Urban Elementary School in the People's Republic of China.

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Ashmore, Rhea Ann

Field observations of a visiting foreign exchange scholar (English teacher) and interview responses from teachers and students are the basis for this description of an urban elementary school in Shanghai (People's Republic of China). The school day begins with group exercise, which is repeated at about 2-hour intervals throughout the school day,…

Measuring urban agglomeration using a city-scale dasymetric population map: A study in the Pearl River Delta, China

OpenAIRE

Wei, Chunzhu; Taubenböck, Hannes; Blaschke, Thomas

2017-01-01

The rates of urbanization and increase in urban sprawl that have occurred in China over the past thirty years have been unprecedented. This article presents a new city-scale dasymetric modelling approach that incorporates historical census data for 28 cities in the Pearl River Delta area of southern China. It combines Landsat imagery (from 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015) with a ‘limiting variable’ estimation al-gorithm to generate a gridded estimate of population density. These gridded population...

Oral health status of rural-urban migrant children in South China.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xiao-Li; McGrath, Colman; Lin, Huan-Cai

2011-01-01

In China, there is a massive rural-urban migration and the children of migrants are often unregistered residents (a 'floating population'). This pilot study aimed to profile the oral health of migrant children in South China's principal city of migration and identify its socio-demographic/behavioural determinants. An epidemiological survey was conducted in an area of Guangzhou among 5-year-old migrant children (n = 138) who received oral examinations according to the World Health Organization criteria. Parents' oral health knowledge/attitude, child practices, and impact of children's oral health on their quality-of-life (QoL) were assessed. The caries rate and mean (SD) dmft were 86% and 5.17 (4.16), respectively, higher than those national statistics for both rural and urban areas (P Oral hygiene was satisfactory (DI-S Oral health impacts on QoL were considerable; 60% reported one or more impacts. 58% variance in 'dmft' was explained by 'non-local-born', 'low-educated parents', 'bedtime feeding', 'parental unawareness of fluoride's effect and importance of teeth', and 'poor oral hygiene' (all P oral health-related QoL (both P Oral health is poor among rural-urban migrant children and requires effective interventions in targeted sub-groups. © 2010 The Authors. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry © 2010 BSPD, IAPD and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

A study on the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution: evidence from China.

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Boamah, Kofi Baah; Du, Jianguo; Boamah, Angela Jacinta; Appiah, Kingsley

2018-02-01

This study seeks to contribute to the recent literature by empirically investigating the causal effect of urban population growth and international trade on environmental pollution of China, for the period 1980-2014. The Johansen cointegration confirmed a long-run cointegration association among the utilised variables for the case of China. The direction of causality among the variables was, consequently, investigated using the recent bootstrapped Granger causality test. This bootstrapped Granger causality approach is preferred as it provides robust and accurate critical values for statistical inferences. The findings from the causality analysis revealed the existence of a bi-directional causality between import and urban population. The three most paramount variables that explain the environmental pollution in China, according to the impulse response function, are imports, urbanisation and energy consumption. Our study further established the presence of an N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution of China. Hence, our study recommends that China should adhere to stricter environmental regulations in international trade, as well as enforce policies that promote energy efficiency in the urban residential and commercial sector, in the quest to mitigate environmental pollution issues as the economy advances.

'Eco' For Whom? Envisioning Eco-urbanism in the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, China

OpenAIRE

Caprotti, Federico; Springer, Cecilia; Harmer, Nichola

2015-01-01

Eco-cities have attracted international attention from governments, corporations, academics and other actors seeking to use sustainable urban planning to reduce urban environmental impacts. China has devoted significant political will and economic resources to the development of new-build eco-city projects, reflecting the Chinese government's goals to build a 'harmonious society' in which environmental sustainability and social stability are mutually reinforcing. We critically analyse the cas...

The Urban Transition Performance of Resource-Based Cities in Northeast China

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Juntao Tan

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Resource-based cities face unique challenges when undergoing urban transitions because their non-renewable resources will eventually be exhausted. In this article, we introduce a new method of evaluating the urban transition performance of resource-based cities from economic, social and eco-environmental perspectives. A total of 19 resource-based cities in Northeast China are studied from 2003 to 2012. The results show that resource-based cities in Jilin and Liaoning provinces performed better than those in Heilongjiang province. Liaoyuan, Songyuan and Baishan were ranked as the top three resource-based cities; and Jixi, Yichun and Heihe were ranked last. Multi-resource and petroleum resource-based cities performed better than coal and forestry resource-based cities. We also analyzed the factors influencing urban transition performance using the method of the geographic detector. We found that capital input, road density and location advantage had the greatest effects on urban transition performance, followed by urban scale, remaining resources and the level of sustainable development; supporting policies and labor input had the smallest effects. Based on these insights, we have formulated several recommendations to facilitate urban transitions in China’s resource-based cities.

Trends in traumatic brain injury mortality in China, 2006-2013: A population-based longitudinal study.

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Peixia Cheng

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Traumatic brain injury (TBI is a significant global public health problem, but has received minimal attention from researchers and policy-makers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs. Epidemiological evidence of TBI morbidity and mortality is absent at the national level for most LMICs, including China. Using data from China's Disease Surveillance Points (DSPs system, we conducted a population-based longitudinal analysis to examine TBI mortality, and mortality differences by sex, age group, location (urban/rural, and external cause of injury, from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2013 in China.Mortality data came from the national DSPs system of China, which has coded deaths using the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision (ICD-10 since 2004. Crude and age-standardized mortality with 95% CIs were estimated using the census population in 2010 as a reference population. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to examine the significance of trends in mortality from 2006 to 2013. Negative binomial models were used to examine the associations of TBI mortality with location, sex, and age group. Subgroup analysis was performed by external cause of TBI. We found the following: (1 Age-adjusted TBI mortality increased from 13.23 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 17.06 per 100,000 population in 2008 and then began to fall slightly. In 2013, age-adjusted TBI mortality was 12.99 per 100,000 population (SE = 0.13. (2 Compared to females and urban residents, males and rural residents had higher TBI mortality risk, with adjusted mortality rate ratios of 2.57 and 1.71, respectively. TBI mortality increased substantially with older age. (3 Motor vehicle crashes and falls were the 2 leading causes of TBI mortality between 2006 and 2013. TBI deaths from motor vehicle crashes in children aged 0-14 years and adults aged 65 years and older were most often in pedestrians, and motorcyclists were the first or second leading category of road user for

Trends in traumatic brain injury mortality in China, 2006-2013: A population-based longitudinal study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Peixia; Yin, Peng; Ning, Peishan; Wang, Lijun; Cheng, Xunjie; Liu, Yunning; Schwebel, David C; Liu, Jiangmei; Qi, Jinlei; Hu, Guoqing; Zhou, Maigeng

2017-07-01

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant global public health problem, but has received minimal attention from researchers and policy-makers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Epidemiological evidence of TBI morbidity and mortality is absent at the national level for most LMICs, including China. Using data from China's Disease Surveillance Points (DSPs) system, we conducted a population-based longitudinal analysis to examine TBI mortality, and mortality differences by sex, age group, location (urban/rural), and external cause of injury, from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2013 in China. Mortality data came from the national DSPs system of China, which has coded deaths using the International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision (ICD-10) since 2004. Crude and age-standardized mortality with 95% CIs were estimated using the census population in 2010 as a reference population. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to examine the significance of trends in mortality from 2006 to 2013. Negative binomial models were used to examine the associations of TBI mortality with location, sex, and age group. Subgroup analysis was performed by external cause of TBI. We found the following: (1) Age-adjusted TBI mortality increased from 13.23 per 100,000 population in 2006 to 17.06 per 100,000 population in 2008 and then began to fall slightly. In 2013, age-adjusted TBI mortality was 12.99 per 100,000 population (SE = 0.13). (2) Compared to females and urban residents, males and rural residents had higher TBI mortality risk, with adjusted mortality rate ratios of 2.57 and 1.71, respectively. TBI mortality increased substantially with older age. (3) Motor vehicle crashes and falls were the 2 leading causes of TBI mortality between 2006 and 2013. TBI deaths from motor vehicle crashes in children aged 0-14 years and adults aged 65 years and older were most often in pedestrians, and motorcyclists were the first or second leading category of road user for the other

Natural gas consumption, income, urbanization, and CO2 emissions in China and India.

Science.gov (United States)

Solarin, Sakiru Adebola; Lean, Hooi Hooi

2016-09-01

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of natural gas consumption, output, and urbanization on CO2 emission in China and India for the period, 1965-2013. A cointegraton test, which provides for endogenously determined structural breaks, has been applied to examine the long-run relationship and to investigate the presence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the two countries. The presence of causal relationship between the variables is also investigated. The findings show that there is a long-run relationship in the variables and natural gas, real GDP, and urbanization have long-run positive impact on emission in both countries. There is no evidence for EKC in China and India. The findings further suggest that there is a long-run feedback relationship between the variables. The policy inferences of these findings are discussed.

Exploring the relation between urbanization and residential CO2 emissions in China: a PTR approach

OpenAIRE

Hu, Zongyi; Tang, Liwei

2013-01-01

Recent empirical work suggests that urbanization and residential CO2 emissions are related. This paper investigates the nonlinear impact of urbanization on residential CO2 emissions over the period 1997–2011 in China by applying the Candelon et al. (2012) methodology. The results show that the relationship between urbanization and residential CO2 emissions is negative over the sample which is inconsistent with the previous studies. In addition, we find the absolute difference of the estimated...

Impacts of Urban Transportation Mode Split on CO2 Emissions in Jinan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kebin He

2011-04-01

Full Text Available As the world’s largest developing country, China currently is undergoing rapid urbanization and motorization, which will result in far-reaching impacts on energy and the environment. According to estimates, energy use and carbon emissions in the transportation sector will comprise roughly 30% of total emissions by 2030. Since the late 1990s, transportation-related issues such as energy, consumption, and carbon emissions have become a policy focus in China. To date, most research and policies have centered on vehicle technologies that promote vehicle efficiency and reduced emissions. Limited research exists on the control of greenhouse gases through mode shifts in urban transportation—in particular, through the promotion of public transit. The purpose of this study is to establish a methodology to analyze carbon emissions from the urban transportation sector at the Chinese city level. By using Jinan, the capital of China’s Shandong Province, as an example, we have developed an analytical model to simulate energy consumption and carbon emissions based on the number of trips, the transportation mode split, and the trip distance. This model has enabled us to assess the impacts of the transportation mode split on energy consumption and carbon emissions. Furthermore, this paper reviews a set of methods for data collection, estimation, and processing for situations where statistical data are scarce in China. This paper also describes the simulation of three transportation system development scenarios. The results of this study illustrate that if no policy intervention is implemented for the transportation mode split (the business-as-usual (BAU case, then emissions from Chinese urban transportation systems will quadruple by 2030. However, a dense, mixed land-use pattern, as well as transportation policies that encourage public transportation, would result in the elimination of 1.93 million tons of carbon emissions—approximately 50% of the BAU

Organochlorine concentrations in breast milk and risk assessment in the urban and rural areas of Northern China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, J.H.; Sun, S.U. [Jichi Medical School, Tochigi (Japan). Dept. of Environmental Medicine, Center for Community Medicine]|[CREST-JST, Kawaguchi, Saitama (Japan); Koga, M. [Prefectural Univ. of Kumamoto (Japan). Fac. of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences] (and others)

2004-09-15

In China, during the past 40 years, organochlorine pesticides (OPs) with impurity were produced and used in a large quantity. However, little is known on the OPs contamination status of the residents in mainland of China. To elucidate body burden of organochlorine compounds and factors associated with organochlorine levels of the residents in North China, we performed life style questionnaire and collected breast milk specimens at Shijiazhuang urban and Tangshan rural area, Hebei Province, North China.

The Trends in Cardiovascular Diseases and Respiratory Diseases Mortality in Urban and Rural China, 1990–2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Sun

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With the rapid development of the economy over the past 20 years, the mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs and respiratory diseases (RDs have changed in China. This study aimed to analyze the trends of mortality rates and years of life lost (YLLs from CVDs and RDs in the rural and urban population from 1990 to 2015. Using data from Chinese yearbooks, joinpoint regression analysis was employed to estimate the annual percent change (APC of mortality rates from CVDs and RDs. YLLs due to CVDs and RDs were calculated by a standard method, adopting recommended standard life expectancy at birth values of 80 years for men and 82.5 years for women. Age-standardized mortality rates and YLL rates were calculated by using the direct method based on the Chinese population from the sixth population census of 2010. Age-standardized mortality rates from CVDs for urban residents and from RDs for both urban and rural residents showed decreasing trends in China from 1990 to 2015. Age-standardized mortality rates from CVDs among rural residents remained constant during above period and outstripped those among urban residents gradually. The age-standardized YLL rates of CVDs for urban and rural residents decreased 35.2% and 8.3% respectively. Additionally, the age-standardized YLL rates of RDs for urban and rural residents decreased 64.2% and 79.0% respectively. The age-standardized mortality and YLL rates from CVDs and RDs gradually decreased in China from 1990 to 2015. We observed more substantial declines of the mortality rates from CVDs in urban areas and from RDs in rural areas.

Urban construction and demolition waste and landfill failure in Shenzhen, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hong; Xia, Junqiang; Thompson, Julian R; Flower, Roger J

2017-05-01

On December 20, 2015 at 11:40 am a landslide in one of China's most advanced cities, Shenzhen, killed 73 people and damaged 33 buildings. In the absence of heavy rainfall or earthquakes, the landslide was an unexpected and profound shock to many people. According to China's Ministry of Land and Resources, the landslide was triggered by the collapse of an enormous pile of construction and demolition waste (CDW). With China's rapid urbanization, an increasing amount of CDW is being generated, especially in major cities. In total, China produces some 30% of the world's municipal solid waste and of this about 40% is CDW. To prevent landslides associated with CDW, the volume of waste dumped in landfills should be regulated. More specifically 4-Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle and recover) policies should be implemented more widely and efficiently. Although landfill will continue to be an important disposal option, proper management and careful monitoring of CDW are urgently needed to satisfy pressing safety issues. International collaboration, sharing of knowledge, and use of the latest technologies are needed so that the similar landslides can be prevented in China and elsewhere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimation of urban residential electricity demand in China using household survey data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Shaojie; Teng, Fei

2013-01-01

This paper uses annual urban household survey data of Sichuan Province from 2007 to 2009 to estimate the income and price elasticities of residential electricity demand, along with the effects of lifestyle-related variables. The empirical results show that in the urban area of Sichuan province, the residential electricity demand is price- and income-inelastic, with price and income elasticities ranging from −0.35 to −0.50 and from 0.14 to 0.33, respectively. Such lifestyle-related variables as demographic variables, dwelling size and holdings of home appliances, are also important determinants of residential electricity demand, especially the latter. These results are robust to a variety of sensitivity tests. The research findings imply that urban residential electricity demand continues to increase with the growth of income. The empirical results have important policy implications for the Multistep Electricity Price, which been adopted in some cities and is expected to be promoted nationwide through the installation of energy-efficient home appliances. - Highlights: • We estimate price and income elasticities in China using household survey data. • The current study is the first such study in China at this level. • Both price and income are inelastic. • Behavior factors have important impact on electricity consumption

Residential mobility after Hukou reform : Housing strategies of rural-urban migrants in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huang, X.

2015-01-01

This thesis explores rural-urban migrants’ residential mobility in China, particularly their housing strategies and related outcomes. One way for migrants to obtain formal residential registration status (hukou in Chinese) is to purchase an apartment in the city. Moving voluntarily through

Regional disparity of urban passenger transport associated GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in China: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Han; Geng, Yong; Wang, Hewu; Ouyang, Minggao

2014-01-01

With China’s urbanization and motorization, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban passenger transport increased rapidly over recent years. As we estimated, China’s urban passenger transport associated motorized travel, energy consumption and lifecycle GHG emissions reached 2815 billion passenger kilometers (pkm), 77 million tons of oil equivalent (toe) and 335 million ton CO 2 equivalent in 2010, over half of which were located in eastern provinces. Over national level, GHG emissions by private passenger vehicles, business passenger vehicles, taxis, motorcycles, E-bikes, transit buses and urban rails accounted for 57.7%, 13.0%, 7.7%, 8.6%, 1.8%, 10.5% and 0.7% of the total. Significant regional disparity was observed. The province-level per capita GHG emissions ranged from 285 kg/capita in Guizhou to 1273 kg/capita in Beijing, with national average of 486 kg/capita. Depending on province context and local policy orientation, the motorization pathways of China’s several highest motorized provinces are quite diverse. We concluded that motorization rate and transport structure were the substantial factors determining urban passenger transport associated GHG emissions. Considering the great potential of urban passenger transport growth in China, policies guiding the optimization of transport structure should be in place with priority in eastern provinces. - Highlights: • Province-leveled motorized travel, energy consumption and GHG emissions in China were studied. • Significant regional disparities on urban passenger transport were observed. • Region-specific sustainable transport energy policies were discussed

Braking news: link between crash severity and crash avoidance maneuvers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2012-01-01

across severity levels were estimated to accommodate the ordered-response nature of severity. The sample used for estimation consisted of data for single-vehicle crashes extracted from the General Estimates System crash database for the period from 2005 to 2009. Results showed the correlation between...... of lower crash severity. These trends suggest that efforts to understand the mechanisms of reactions to different critical events should be made to improve in-vehicle warning systems, promote responsible driving behavior, and design forgiving infrastructures....

Predicting motorcycle crash injury severity using weather data and alternative Bayesian multivariate crash frequency models.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Wen; Gill, Gurdiljot Singh; Sakrani, Taha; Dasu, Mohan; Zhou, Jiao

2017-11-01

Motorcycle crashes constitute a very high proportion of the overall motor vehicle fatalities in the United States, and many studies have examined the influential factors under various conditions. However, research on the impact of weather conditions on the motorcycle crash severity is not well documented. In this study, we examined the impact of weather conditions on motorcycle crash injuries at four different severity levels using San Francisco motorcycle crash injury data. Five models were developed using Full Bayesian formulation accounting for different correlations commonly seen in crash data and then compared for fitness and performance. Results indicate that the models with serial and severity variations of parameters had superior fit, and the capability of accurate crash prediction. The inferences from the parameter estimates from the five models were: an increase in the air temperature reduced the possibility of a fatal crash but had a reverse impact on crashes of other severity levels; humidity in air was not observed to have a predictable or strong impact on crashes; the occurrence of rainfall decreased the possibility of crashes for all severity levels. Transportation agencies might benefit from the research results to improve road safety by providing motorcyclists with information regarding the risk of certain crash severity levels for special weather conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Access to food outlets and children's nutritional intake in urban China: a difference-in-difference analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rui; Shi, Lu

2012-06-30

In recent years supermarkets and fast food restaurants have been replacing those "wet markets" of independent vendors as the major food sources in urban China. Yet how these food outlets relate to children's nutritional intake remains largely unexplored. Using a longitudinal survey of households and communities in China, this study examines the effect of the urban built food environment (density of wet markets, density of supermarkets, and density of fast food restaurants) on children's nutritional intake (daily caloric intake, daily carbohydrate intake, daily protein intake, and daily fat intake). Children aged 6-18 (n = 185) living in cities were followed from 2004 to 2006, and difference-in-difference models are used to address the potential issue of omitted variable bias. Results suggest that the density of wet markets, rather than that of supermarkets, positively predicts children's four dimensions of nutritional intake. In the caloric intake model and the fat intake model, the positive effect of neighborhood wet market density on children's nutritional intake is stronger with children from households of lower income. With their cheaper prices and/or fresher food supply, wet markets are likely to contribute a substantial amount of nutritional intake for children living nearby, especially those in households with lower socioeconomic status. For health officials and urban planners, this study signals a sign of warning as wet markets are disappearing from urban China's food environment.

Comparison of teen and adult driver crash scenarios in a nationally representative sample of serious crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Catherine C; Curry, Allison E; Kandadai, Venk; Sommers, Marilyn S; Winston, Flaura K

2014-11-01

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and acquired disability during the first four decades of life. While teen drivers have the highest crash risk, few studies examine the similarities and differences in teen and adult driver crashes. We aimed to: (1) identify and compare the most frequent crash scenarios-integrated information on a vehicle's movement prior to crash, immediate pre-crash event, and crash configuration-for teen and adult drivers involved in serious crashes, and (2) for the most frequent scenarios, explore whether the distribution of driver critical errors differed for teens and adult drivers. We analyzed data from the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, a nationally representative study of serious crashes conducted by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2005 to 2007. Our sample included 642 16- to 19-year-old and 1167 35- to 54-year-old crash-involved drivers (weighted n=296,482 and 439,356, respectively) who made a critical error that led to their crash's critical pre-crash event (i.e., event that made the crash inevitable). We estimated prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to compare the relative frequency of crash scenarios and driver critical errors. The top five crash scenarios among teen drivers, accounting for 37.3% of their crashes, included: (1) going straight, other vehicle stopped, rear end; (2) stopped in traffic lane, turning left at intersection, turn into path of other vehicle; (3) negotiating curve, off right edge of road, right roadside departure; (4) going straight, off right edge of road, right roadside departure; and (5) stopped in lane, turning left at intersection, turn across path of other vehicle. The top five crash scenarios among adult drivers, accounting for 33.9% of their crashes, included the same scenarios as the teen drivers with the exception of scenario (3) and the addition of going straight, crossing over an intersection, and continuing on a

Evaluation of safety ratings of roads based on frontal crashes with known crash pulse and injury outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Stigson, H

2009-06-01

The objective in this study, using data from crashed cars fitted with on-board crash pulse recorders, was to present differences in average crash severity, distribution of crash severity, and injury outcomes, based on an independent safety rating of roads, also taking road type and speed limit into consideration. Furthermore, the objective was to evaluate differences in injury risk, based on the distribution of crash severity. The investigation included both frontal two-vehicle crashes and single-vehicle crashes with known injury outcome. In total, 209 real-world crashes involving cars fitted with crash pulse recorders were included. For all crashes, average mean acceleration and change of velocity of the vehicle acceleration pulse were measured and calculated. All crash spots were classified according to an independent road safety rating program (European Road Assessment Programme Road Protection Score), where the safety quality of roads is rated in relation to posted speed limits. The crash severity and injury outcome in crashes that occurred on roads with good safety ratings were compared with crashes on roads with poor safety ratings. The data were also divided into subcategories according to posted speed limit and road type, to evaluate whether there was a difference in crash severity and injury outcome within the categories. In total, crash severity was statistically significantly lower in crashes occurring on roads with good safety ratings than in crashes occurring on roads with poor safety ratings. It was found that crash severity and injury risk were lower on roads with good safety ratings with a speed limit of above 90 km/h compared with roads with poor safety ratings, irrespective of speed limit. On the other hand, crash severity was higher on roads with good safety ratings with speed limit of 70 km/h than on roads with poor safety ratings with the same speed limit. Though it was found that a higher speed limit resulted in higher crash severity on roads

Vehicular crash data used to rank intersections by injury crash frequency and severity

OpenAIRE

Liu, Yi; Li, Zongzhi; Liu, Jingxian; Patel, Harshingar

2016-01-01

This article contains data on research conducted in “A double standard model for allocating limited emergency medical service vehicle resources ensuring service reliability” (Liu et al., 2016) [1]. The crash counts were sorted out from comprehensive crash records of over one thousand major signalized intersections in the city of Chicago from 2004 to 2010. For each intersection, vehicular crashes were counted by crash severity levels, including fatal, injury Types A, B, and C for major, modera...

Participatory environmental governance in China: Public hearings on urban water tariff setting.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhong, L.; Mol, A.P.J.

2008-01-01

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the

“Population Invasion” versus Urban Exclusion in the Tibetan Areas of Western China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.M. Fischer (Andrew Martín)

2008-01-01

textabstractThis article examines the confluence of local population transitions (demographic transition and urbanization) with non-local in-migration in the Tibetan areas of western China. The objective is to assess the validity of Tibetan perceptions of "population invasion" by Han Chinese and

Migration, urbanization, and drug use and casual sex in China: a multilevel analysis

OpenAIRE

Xiushi Yang; Huasong Luo

2009-01-01

Using data from a survey conducted in 2003 and employing multilevel modeling, this paper examines the impact of migration and urbanization on drug abuse and casual sex in China. The results suggest that being a migrant predicts significantly higher odds of having casual sex but lower odds of drug abuse. Living in an urban place is a significant risk factor for both illicit drug use and casual sex. There are significant cross-community (primary sampling unit) variances in the random intercept ...

Discrimination, perceived social inequity, and mental health among rural-to-urban migrants in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Danhua; Li, Xiaoming; Wang, Bo; Hong, Yan; Fang, Xiaoyi; Qin, Xiong; Stanton, Bonita

2011-04-01

Status-based discrimination and inequity have been associated with the process of migration, especially with economics-driven internal migration. However, their association with mental health among economy-driven internal migrants in developing countries is rarely assessed. This study examines discriminatory experiences and perceived social inequity in relation to mental health status among rural-to-urban migrants in China. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,006 rural-to-urban migrants in 2004-2005 in Beijing, China. Participants reported their perceptions and experiences of being discriminated in daily life in urban destination and perceived social inequity. Mental health was measured using the symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90). Multivariate analyses using general linear model were performed to test the effect of discriminatory experience and perceived social inequity on mental health. Experience of discrimination was positively associated with male gender, being married at least once, poorer health status, shorter duration of migration, and middle range of personal income. Likewise, perceived social inequity was associated with poorer health status, higher education attainment, and lower personal income. Multivariate analyses indicate that both experience of discrimination and perceived social inequity were strongly associated with mental health problems of rural-to-urban migrants. Experience of discrimination in daily life and perceived social inequity have a significant influence on mental health among rural-to-urban migrants. The findings underscore the needs to reduce public or societal discrimination against rural-to-urban migrants, to eliminate structural barriers (i.e., dual household registrations) for migrants to fully benefit from the urban economic development, and to create a positive atmosphere to improve migrant's psychological well-being.

Stationary Charging Station Design for Sustainable Urban Rail Systems: A Case Study at Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., China

OpenAIRE

Heng Li; Jun Peng; Weirong Liu; Zhiwu Huang

2015-01-01

In 2014, more than 43 cities in China were racing to construct their urban rail systems (including metro and light rail systems), recognizing that an urban rail system will be a good solution to the tough problems that they are faced with, including traffic congestion and PM2.5 air pollution. On 22 August 2012, the first electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) energy storage-type rail vehicle in the world was unveiled at Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., China. The EDLC rail system has been con...

Nested High Resolution Modeling of the Impact of Urbanization on Regional Climate in Three Vast Urban Agglomerations in China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jun; Feng, Jinming; Yan, Zhongwei; Hu, Yonghong; Jia, Gensuo

2013-04-01

In this paper, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled to the Urban Canopy Model (UCM) is employed to simulate the impact of urbanization on the regional climate over three vast city agglomerations in China. Based on high resolution land use and land cover data, two scenarios are designed to represent the non-urban and current urban land use distributions. By comparing the results of two nested, high resolution numerical experiments, the spatial and temporal changes on surface air temperature, heat stress index, surface energy budget and precipitation due to urbanization are analyzed and quantified. Urban expansion increases the surface air temperature in urban areas by about 1? and this climatic forcing of urbanization on temperature is more pronounced in summer and nighttime than other seasons and daytime. The heat stress intensity, which reflects the combined effects of temperature and humidity, is enhanced by about 0.5 units in urban areas. The regional incoming solar radiation increases after urban expansion, which may be caused by the reduction of cloud fraction. The increased temperature and roughness of the urban surface lead to enhanced convergence. Meanwhile, the planetary boundary layer is deepened and water vapor is mixed more evenly in the lower atmosphere. The deficit of water vapor leads to less convective available potential energy and more convective inhibition energy. Finally, these combined effects may reduce the rainfall amount over urban area mainly in summer and change the regional precipitation pattern to a certain extent.

Converting Paddy Rice Field to Urban Use Dramatically Altered the Water and Energy Balances in Southern China

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, L.; Sun, G.; Liu, Y.; Qin, M.; Huang, X.; Fang, D.

2017-12-01

Paddy rice wetlands are the main land use type across southern China, which impact the regional environments by affecting evapotranspiration (ET) and other water and energy related processes. Our study focuses on the effects of land-cover change on water and energy processes in the Qinhuai River Basin, a typical subtropical humid region that is under rapid ecological and economical transformations. This study integrates multiple methods and techniques including remote sensing, water and energy balance model (i.e., Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land, SEBAL), ecohydrological model (i.e., Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT), and ground observation (Eddy Covariance measurement, etc.). We found that conversion of paddy rice field to urban use led to rise in vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and reduction in ET, and thus resulted in changes in local and regional water and heat balance. The effects of the land-use change on ET and VPD overwhelmed the effects of regional climate warming and climate variability. We conclude that the ongoing large-scale urbanization of the rice paddy-dominated regions in humid southern China and East Asia will likely exacerbate environmental consequences (e.g., elevated storm-flow volume, aggravated flood risks, and intensified urban heat island and urban dry island effects). The potential role of vegetated land cover in moderating water and energy balances and maintaining a stable climate should be considered in massive urban planning and global change impact assessment in southern China.

Impact of Land-Use and Land-Cover Change on urban air quality in representative cities of China

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, L.; Wei, J.; Duan, D. H.; Guo, Y. M.; Yang, D. X.; Jia, C.; Mi, X. T.

2016-05-01

The atmospheric particulate pollution in China is getting worse. Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) is a key factor that affects atmospheric particulate pollution. Understanding the response of particulate pollution to LUCC is necessary for environmental protection. Eight representative cities in China, Qingdao, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Urumqi were selected to analyze the relationship between particulate pollution and LUCC. The MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) aerosol product (MOD04) was used to estimate atmospheric particulate pollution for nearly 10 years, from 2001 to 2010. Six land-use types, water, woodland, grassland, cultivated land, urban, and unused land, were obtained from the MODIS land cover product (MOD12), where the LUCC of each category was estimated. The response of particulate pollution to LUCC was analyzed from the above mentioned two types of data. Moreover, the impacts of time-lag and urban type changes on particulate pollution were also considered. Analysis results showed that due to natural factors, or human activities such as urban sprawl or deforestation, etc., the response of particulate pollution to LUCC shows obvious differences in different areas. The correlation between particulate pollution and LUCC is lower in coastal areas but higher in inland areas. The dominant factor affecting urban air quality in LUCC changes from ocean, to woodland, to urban land, and eventually into grassland or unused land when moving from the coast to inland China.

Time-varying Crash Risk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christoffersen, Peter; Feunoua, Bruno; Jeon, Yoontae

We estimate a continuous-time model with stochastic volatility and dynamic crash probability for the S&P 500 index and find that market illiquidity dominates other factors in explaining the stock market crash risk. While the crash probability is time-varying, its dynamic depends only weakly on re...

Urban Expansion and Agricultural Land Loss in China: A Multiscale Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaifang Shi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available China’s rapid urbanization has contributed to a massive agricultural land loss that could threaten its food security. Timely and accurate mapping of urban expansion and urbanization-related agricultural land loss can provide viable measures to be taken for urban planning and agricultural land protection. In this study, urban expansion in China from 2001 to 2013 was mapped using the nighttime stable light (NSL, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, and water body data. Urbanization-related agricultural land loss during this time period was then evaluated at national, regional, and metropolitan scales by integrating multiple sources of geographic data. The results revealed that China’s total urban area increased from 31,076 km2 in 2001 to 80,887 km2 in 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 13.36%. This widespread urban expansion consumed 33,080 km2 of agricultural land during this period. At a regional scale, the eastern region lost 18,542 km2 or 1.2% of its total agricultural land area. At a metropolitan scale, the Shanghai–Nanjing–Hangzhou (SNH and Pearl River Delta (PRD areas underwent high levels of agricultural land loss with a decrease of 6.12% (4728 km2 and 6.05% (2702 km2 of their total agricultural land areas, respectively. Special attention should be paid to the PRD, with a decline of 13.30% (1843 km2 of its cropland. Effective policies and strategies should be implemented to mitigate urbanization-related agricultural land loss in the context of China’s rapid urbanization.

Modeling Urban Expansion and Agricultural Land Conversion in Henan Province, China: An Integration of Land Use and Socioeconomic Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Jiang

2016-09-01

Full Text Available China has experienced rapid urban expansion and agricultural land loss, and the land conversion has accelerated in central provinces since the mid-1990s. The goal of this paper is to examine the relative importance of socioeconomic and policy factors on the urban conversion of agricultural land in Henan Province, China. Using panel econometric models, we examine how socioeconomic and policy factors affect agricultural land conversion at the county level across three time periods, 1995–2000, 2000–2005, and 2005–2010. The results show that both urban land rent and urban wages are essential factors that positively contribute to the conversion of agricultural land. It is also found that per capita GDP is correlated with more urban development and agricultural land loss. Consistent with expectations, agricultural financial support is negatively correlated with agricultural land conversion, suggesting a policy success. Finally, the decomposition analysis illustrates that urban wages are the most influential positive factor and agricultural financial support is the most influential negative factor affecting the urban conversion of agricultural land.

Cumulative Causation of Rural Migration and Initial Peri-Urbanization in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Lingxin

2012-01-01

This paper posits that rural migration feeds the high demand for cheap labor in peri-urbanization, which is driven by globalization, flows of foreign capital, and entrepreneurial local governments. While the gravity model and push/pull perspective ignore the dynamics of migratory course, we use the cumulative causation of migration theory to conceptualize social expectations for outmigration and social resources from migrant networks in destinations. Four major findings are drawn from this demographic analysis based on micro data from China's 2000 Census. First, the expectation of outmigration significantly increases outmigration, and this effect is independent of push factors. Second, foreign direct investment (FDI) contributes to attracting rural labor migrants from other provinces to peri-urban areas as it does to cities. Third, social resources from migrant networks play an important role in attracting rural labor migrants to both city and noncity destinations. Fourth, the importance of wage differentials declines in gravitating rural labor migrants to peri-urban areas. These findings provide tentative evidence that rural labor migration is indispensable during initial peri-urbanization. Infused with flows of FDI and entrepreneurial local governments, rural migration has created a favorable initial condition for peri-urbanization.

Price and expenditure elasticities of residential energy demand during urbanization: An empirical analysis based on the household-level survey data in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Chuanwang; Ouyang, Xiaoling

2016-01-01

Urbanization, one of the most obvious characteristics of economic growth in China, has an apparent “lock-in effect” on residential energy consumption pattern. It is expected that residential sector would become a major force that drives China's energy consumption after urbanization process. We estimate price and expenditure elasticities of residential energy demand using data from China's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (CRECS) that covers households at different income levels and from different regional and social groups. Empirical results from the Almost Ideal Demand System model are in accordance with the basic expectations: the demands for electricity, natural gas and transport fuels are inelastic in the residential sector due to the unreasonable pricing mechanism. We further investigate the sensitivities of different income groups to prices of the three types of energy. Policy simulations indicate that rationalizing energy pricing mechanism is an important guarantee for energy sustainable development during urbanization. Finally, we put forward suggestions on energy pricing reform in the residential sector based on characteristics of China's undergoing urbanization process and the current energy consumption situations.

Groundwater for urban water supplies in northern China - An overview

Science.gov (United States)

Zaisheng, Han

Groundwater plays an important role for urban and industrial water supply in northern China. More than 1000 groundwater wellfields have been explored and installed. Groundwater provides about half the total quantity of the urban water supply. Complete regulations and methods for the exploration of groundwater have been established in the P.R. China. Substantial over-exploitation of groundwater has created environmental problems in some cities. Some safeguarding measures for groundwater-resource protection have been undertaken. Résumé Les eaux souterraines jouent un rôle important dans l'approvisionnement en eau des agglomérations et des industries du nord de la Chine. Les explorations ont conduit à mettre en place plus de 1000 champs de puits captant des eaux souterraines. Les eaux souterraines satisfont environ la moitié des besoins en eau des villes. Une réglementation complète et des méthodes d'exploration des eaux souterraines ont étéétablies en République Populaire de Chine. Une surexploitation très nette est à l'origine de problèmes environnementaux dans certaines villes. Des mesures ont été prises pour protéger la ressource en eau souterraine. Resumen El agua subterránea desempeña un papel importante en el suministro de agua para uso doméstico e industrial en la China septentrional. Se han explorado y puesto en marcha más de 1000 campos de explotación de aguas subterráneas, que proporcionan cerca de la mitad del total del suministro urbano. En la República Popular de China se han definido totalmente la legislación y la metodología para realizar estas explotaciones. La gran sobreexplotación en algunas ciudades ha creado algunos problemas medioambientales. Como consecuencia, se han llevado a cabo algunas medidas de protección de los recursos de aguas subterráneas.

Nested high-resolution modeling of the impact of urbanization on regional climate in three vast urban agglomerations in China

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Wang, Jun; Feng, Jinming; Yan, Zhongwei; Hu, Yonghong; Jia, Gensuo

2012-11-01

In this paper, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model, coupled to the Urban Canopy Model, is employed to simulate the impact of urbanization on the regional climate over three vast city agglomerations in China. Based on high-resolution land use and land cover data, two scenarios are designed to represent the nonurban and current urban land use distributions. By comparing the results of two nested, high-resolution numerical experiments, the spatial and temporal changes on surface air temperature, heat stress index, surface energy budget, and precipitation due to urbanization are analyzed and quantified. Urban expansion increases the surface air temperature in urban areas by about 1°C, and this climatic forcing of urbanization on temperature is more pronounced in summer and nighttime than other seasons and daytime. The heat stress intensity, which reflects the combined effects of temperature and humidity, is enhanced by about 0.5 units in urban areas. The regional incoming solar radiation increases after urban expansion, which may be caused by the reduction of cloud fraction. The increased temperature and roughness of the urban surface lead to enhanced convergence. Meanwhile, the planetary boundary layer is deepened, and water vapor is mixed more evenly in the lower atmosphere. The deficit of water vapor leads to less convective available potential energy and more convective inhibition energy. Finally, these combined effects may reduce the rainfall amount over urban areas, mainly in summer, and change the regional precipitation pattern to a certain extent.

Braking News: the Link between Crash Severity and Crash Avoidance Maneuvers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2012-01-01

the ordered-response nature of severity while allowing for changes in effects across severity levels. The data sample for estimation consists of single-vehicle crashes extracted from the General Estimates System (GES) crash database for the period 2005-2009. Results show the correlation between crash...... severity. These trends suggest that effort should be posed toward understanding the reaction mechanisms to different critical events, improving in-vehicle warning systems, promoting responsible driving behavior, and designing forgiving infrastructures....

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Children and Adolescents in Shandong, China: Urban-Rural Disparity.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ying-Xiu; Wang, Zhao-Xia; Zhao, Jin-Shan; Chu, Zun-Hua

2016-08-01

The pattern of urban-rural disparity in childhood obesity varies across countries. The present study examined the change trend of urban-rural disparity in childhood overweight and obesity from 1985 to 2014 in Shandong, China. Data for this study were obtained from four cross-sectional surveys of school children carried out in 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2014 in Shandong Province, China. In this study, 39 943 students aged 7-18 years were included (14 458 in 1985, 7198 in 1995, 8568 in 2005 and 9719 in 2014). Height and weight of all subjects were measured; body mass index (BMI) was calculated from their height and weight. The BMI cutoff points recommended by the International Obesity Task Force were used to define overweight and obesity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was increasing continuously both in urban and rural areas over the past 29 years (1985-2014). The prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was significantly higher in urban than in rural children and adolescents in 1985, 1995 and 2005 (p overweight and obesity was observed in rural areas after 2005; as a result, the urban-rural disparity was getting narrower, and no significant urban-rural disparity was observed in 2014 (p > 0.05). The change trend of urban-rural disparity should be concerned in the future; policies and interventions focused on childhood overweight and obesity should pay attention to rural areas. © The Author [2016]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

China's Urban Transition.

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Pannell, Clifton

1995-01-01

Maintains that Chinese urbanization is proceeding rapidly in step with population growth and a structural shift in employment patterns. Discusses governmental policies and economic reforms that enhance the urbanization process. Describes four extended metropolitan areas and maintains they will be the models for future urbanization. (CFR)

Monitoring urban expansion and its effects on land use and land cover changes in Guangzhou city, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yanyan; Li, Shuyuan; Yu, Shixiao

2016-01-01

There are widespread concerns about urban sprawl in China. In response, modeling and assessing urban expansion and subsequent land use and land cover (LULC) changes have become important approaches to support decisions about appropriate development and land resource use. Guangzhou, a major metropolitan city in South China, has experienced rapid urbanization and great economic growth in the past few decades. This study applied a series of Landsat images to assess the urban expansion and subsequent LULC changes over 35 years, from 1979 to 2013. From start to end, urban expansion increased by 1512.24 km(2) with an annual growth rate of 11.25 %. There were four stages of urban growth: low rates from 1979 to 1990, increased rates from 1990 to 2001, high rates from 2001 to 2009, and steady increased rates from 2009 to 2013. There were also three different urban growth types in these different stages: edge-expansion growth, infilling growth, and spontaneous growth. Other land cover, such as cropland, forest, and mosaics of cropland and natural vegetation, were severely impacted as a result. To analyze these changes, we used landscape metrics to characterize the changes in the spatial patterns across the Guangzhou landscape and the impacts of urban growth on other types of land cover. The significant changes in LULC and urban expansion were highly correlated with economic development, population growth, technical progress, policy elements, and other similar indexes.

Relationship of Near-Crash/Crash Risk to Time Spent on a Cell Phone While Driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Farmer, Charles M; Klauer, Sheila G; McClafferty, Julie A; Guo, Feng

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine in a naturalistic driving setting the dose-response relationship between cell phone usage while driving and risk of a crash or near crash. How is the increasing use of cell phones by drivers associated with overall near-crash/crash risk (i.e., during driving times both on and off the phone)? Day-to-day driving behavior of 105 volunteer subjects was monitored over a period of 1 year. A random sample was selected comprised of 4 trips from each month that each driver was in the study, and in-vehicle video was used to classify driver behavior. The proportion of driving time spent using a cell phone was estimated for each 3-month period and correlated with overall crash and near-crash rates for each period. Thus, it was possible to test whether changes in an individual driver's cell phone use over time were associated with changes in overall near-crash/crash risk. Drivers in the study spent 11.7% of their driving time interacting with a cell phone, primarily talking on the phone (6.5%) or simply holding the phone in their hand or lap (3.7%). The risk of a near-crash/crash event was approximately 17% higher when the driver was interacting with a cell phone, due primarily to actions of reaching for/answering/dialing, which nearly triples risk (relative risk = 2.84). However, the amount of driving time spent interacting with a cell phone did not affect a driver's overall near-crash/crash risk. Vehicle speeds within 6 s of the beginning of each call on average were 5-6 mph lower than speeds at other times. Results of this naturalistic driving study are consistent with the observation that increasing cell phone use in the general driving population has not led to increased crash rates. Although cell phone use can be distracting and crashes have occurred during this distraction, overall crash rates appear unaffected by changes in the rate of cell phone use, even for individual drivers. Drivers compensate somewhat for the distraction

Simulating the Impact of Economic and Environmental Strategies on Future Urban Growth Scenarios in Ningbo, China

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Yan Liu

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Coastal cities in China are challenged by multiple growth paths and strategies related to demands in the housing market, economic growth and eco-system protection. This paper examines the effects of conflicting strategies between economic growth and environmental protection on future urban scenarios in Ningbo, China, through logistic-regression-based cellular automata (termed LogCA modeling. The LogCA model is calibrated based on the observed urban patterns in 1990 and 2015, and applied to simulate four future scenarios in 2040, including (a the Norm-scenario, a baseline scenario that maintains the 1990–2015 growth rate; (b the GDP-scenario, a GDP-oriented growth scenario emphasizing the development in city centers and along economic corridors; (c the Slow-scenario, a slow-growth scenario considering the potential downward trend of the housing market in China; and (d the Eco-scenario, a slow-growth scenario emphasizing natural conservation and ecosystem protections. The CA parameters of the Norm- and Slow-scenarios are the same as the calibrated parameters, while the parameters of proximities to economic corridors and natural scenery sites were increased by a factor of 3 for the GDP- and Eco-scenarios, respectively. The Norm- and GDP-scenarios predicted 1950 km2 of new growth for the next 25 years, the Slow-scenario predicted 650 km2, and the Eco-scenario predicted less growth than the Slow-scenario. The locations where the newly built-up area will emerge are significantly different under the four scenarios and the Slow- and Eco-scenarios are preferable to achieve long-term sustainability. The scenarios are not only helpful for exploring sustainable urban development options in China, but also serve as a reference for adjusting the urban planning and land policies.

Balancing Rural and Urban Development: Applying Coordinated Urban–Rural Development (CURD Strategy to Achieve Sustainable Urbanisation in China

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Ling-Hin Li

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Land in rural China has been under a separate and closed management system for decades even after the urban land reform that started in the late 1980s. The blurred property rights over rural land have been hindering the rural welfare as surplus rural land in sub-urban areas cannot be circulated into more economic use without first being requisitioned by the state. This traditional conversion process creates a lot of problems, among them are the compensation standard as well as displacement of rural residents to the city, where they cannot find adequate welfare protection. The prolonged disparity in economic outcomes for rural and urban residents in China in the process of urbanisation has made the authority realise that land-based local finance is no longer an option. Coordinated Urban and Rural Development (CURD ideology arises to set a level playing field by giving the rural residents comparable welfare status as their urban counterparts’ one. The CURD ideology is basically linked to the strategic development of the three main issues in the rural area of China, or in the Chinese terminology: San Nong. These three issues are rural villages, rural enterprises and rural farmers (nong cun, nong ye, nong min. CURD ideology is to preserve the livelihood of rural villages, facilitate and promote rural enterprises and increase the living standard of rural farmers. Most importantly, however, CURD policy package bestows rural residents with property rights over their farmland so that they could sub-co1ntract the user-rights to other urban commercial entities for higher benefits. While CURD policies are applied in a lot of different regions in China including Chongqing in the West, Qingdao in the North, Zhongshan in the South and Wuhan in the middle, we focus our examination in Chengdu as the Chengdu model has been widely documented and highly regarded as the most successful model in implementing the CURD strategies. From our case study, we find that

Pre-crash scenarios at road junctions: A clustering method for car crash data.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitsche, Philippe; Thomas, Pete; Stuetz, Rainer; Welsh, Ruth

2017-10-01

Given the recent advancements in autonomous driving functions, one of the main challenges is safe and efficient operation in complex traffic situations such as road junctions. There is a need for comprehensive testing, either in virtual simulation environments or on real-world test tracks. This paper presents a novel data analysis method including the preparation, analysis and visualization of car crash data, to identify the critical pre-crash scenarios at T- and four-legged junctions as a basis for testing the safety of automated driving systems. The presented method employs k-medoids to cluster historical junction crash data into distinct partitions and then applies the association rules algorithm to each cluster to specify the driving scenarios in more detail. The dataset used consists of 1056 junction crashes in the UK, which were exported from the in-depth "On-the-Spot" database. The study resulted in thirteen crash clusters for T-junctions, and six crash clusters for crossroads. Association rules revealed common crash characteristics, which were the basis for the scenario descriptions. The results support existing findings on road junction accidents and provide benchmark situations for safety performance tests in order to reduce the possible number parameter combinations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural-urban differentials of premature mortality burden in south-west China

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Chongsuvivatwong Virasakdi

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Yunnan province is located in south western China and is one of the poorest provinces of the country. This study examines the premature mortality burden from common causes of deaths among an urban region, suburban region and rural region of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Methods Years of life lost (YLL rate per 1,000 and mortality rate per 100,000 were calculated from medical death certificates in 2003 and broken down by cause of death, age and gender among urban, suburban and rural regions. YLL was calculated without age-weighting and discounting rate. Rates were age-adjusted to the combined population of three regions. However, 3% discounting rate and a standard age-weighting function were included in the sensitivity analysis. Results Non-communicable diseases contributed the most YLL in all three regions. The rural region had about 50% higher premature mortality burden compared to the other two regions. YLL from infectious diseases and perinatal problems was still a major problem in the rural region. Among non-communicable diseases, YLL from stroke was the highest in the urban/suburban regions; COPD followed as the second and was the highest in the rural region. Mortality burden from injuries was however higher in the rural region than the other two regions, especially for men. Self-inflicted injuries were between 2–8 times more serious among women. The use of either mortality rate or YLL gives a similar conclusion regarding the order of priority. Reanalysis with age-weighting and 3% discounting rate gave similar results. Conclusion Urban south western China has already engaged in epidemiological pattern of developed countries. The rural region is additionally burdened by diseases of poverty and injury on top of the non-communicable diseases.

Rural-urban differentials of premature mortality burden in south-west China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Le; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi

2006-10-14

Yunnan province is located in south western China and is one of the poorest provinces of the country. This study examines the premature mortality burden from common causes of deaths among an urban region, suburban region and rural region of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Years of life lost (YLL) rate per 1,000 and mortality rate per 100,000 were calculated from medical death certificates in 2003 and broken down by cause of death, age and gender among urban, suburban and rural regions. YLL was calculated without age-weighting and discounting rate. Rates were age-adjusted to the combined population of three regions. However, 3% discounting rate and a standard age-weighting function were included in the sensitivity analysis. Non-communicable diseases contributed the most YLL in all three regions. The rural region had about 50% higher premature mortality burden compared to the other two regions. YLL from infectious diseases and perinatal problems was still a major problem in the rural region. Among non-communicable diseases, YLL from stroke was the highest in the urban/suburban regions; COPD followed as the second and was the highest in the rural region. Mortality burden from injuries was however higher in the rural region than the other two regions, especially for men. Self-inflicted injuries were between 2-8 times more serious among women. The use of either mortality rate or YLL gives a similar conclusion regarding the order of priority. Reanalysis with age-weighting and 3% discounting rate gave similar results. Urban south western China has already engaged in epidemiological pattern of developed countries. The rural region is additionally burdened by diseases of poverty and injury on top of the non-communicable diseases.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urban Encroachment on Cropland and Its Impacts on Potential Agricultural Productivity in China

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Hongyan Cai

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Rapid urbanization and population growth in China have raised great concerns regarding food security caused by the loss of limited cultivated land. In this study, we used remotely sensed data and an agricultural productivity estimation model to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of the conversion of cropland into urban land and quantify its impacts on agricultural productivity potential during China’s rapid urbanization period, from 1990 to 2010. The results show that urban development has transformed approximately 4.18 Mha, or 2.26%, of the total cropland in China. From 1990 to 2000, approximately 1.50 Mha of cropland was developed, while roughly 1.8 times this amount (2.68 Mha was converted over the period of 2000 to 2010. Most of the conversion is located in the central and eastern coastal provinces and is mainly concentrated on the periphery of the major urban areas. The transformation has, consequently, caused a 71.45 Tg, or 2.65%, loss of potential light-temperature agricultural productivity (PLTAP; losses were 24.33 Tg in the first decade of the study and 47.11 Tg in the second. At the provincial scale, the largest percentages of PLTAP loss are mainly concentrated in the developed provinces on the eastern coast, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Tianjin, and Jiangsu. Considering that these areas can accommodate more people and produce higher economic output on unit area of built-up land and, yet, scarce land that can be reclaimed, this study suggests that the dynamic balance of total farmland policy in China should be varied provincially according to the major function of the province. The policy adjustment will help maximize the utilization efficiency of land.

Multi-Temporal Multi-Sensor Analysis of Urbanization and Environmental/Climate Impact in China for Sustainable Urban Development

Science.gov (United States)

Ban, Yifang; Gong, Peng; Gamba, Paolo; Taubenbock, Hannes; Du, Peijun

2016-08-01

The overall objective of this research is to investigate multi-temporal, multi-scale, multi-sensor satellite data for analysis of urbanization and environmental/climate impact in China to support sustainable planning. Multi- temporal multi-scale SAR and optical data have been evaluated for urban information extraction using innovative methods and algorithms, including KTH- Pavia Urban Extractor, Pavia UEXT, and an "exclusion- inclusion" framework for urban extent extraction, and KTH-SEG, a novel object-based classification method for detailed urban land cover mapping. Various pixel- based and object-based change detection algorithms were also developed to extract urban changes. Several Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are selected as study areas. Spatio-temporal urbanization patterns and environmental impact at regional, metropolitan and city core were evaluated through ecosystem service, landscape metrics, spatial indices, and/or their combinations. The relationship between land surface temperature and land-cover classes was also analyzed.The urban extraction results showed that urban areas and small towns could be well extracted using multitemporal SAR data with the KTH-Pavia Urban Extractor and UEXT. The fusion of SAR data at multiple scales from multiple sensors was proven to improve urban extraction. For urban land cover mapping, the results show that the fusion of multitemporal SAR and optical data could produce detailed land cover maps with improved accuracy than that of SAR or optical data alone. Pixel-based and object-based change detection algorithms developed with the project were effective to extract urban changes. Comparing the urban land cover results from mulitemporal multisensor data, the environmental impact analysis indicates major losses for food supply, noise reduction, runoff mitigation, waste treatment and global climate regulation services through landscape structural changes in terms of decreases in service area, edge

Analysis of economics and market for urban nuclear heating in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Jiafu; Xiao Hongchai; Jin Ziying

1987-12-01

In consideration of the heat market in northern cities, the economics of the pool-type low temperature heating reactor and the investment of urban heating system, the scale of protype reactor is chosen 200 MW, which will be able to meet the requirement of cities with more than 500 thousands population, and about 2/3 urban heat market can be met. In some areas, choosing 100 MW reactor probability is better. It is expected that the newly built apartments in North-East, North-West and North China will be about 50 million sq. meters each year and they will require some 3 GW of additional heat sources per year, and the building area incorporated into urban heating system will be 150 million sq. meters by 1990, and 500 million sq. meters by 2000. The market demand of the nuclear heat sources will increase rapidly

Preoperative Expectations and Postoperative Outcomes of Visual Functioning among Cataract Patients in Urban Southern China.

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Ziyan Chen

Full Text Available To investigate the relationship between preoperative expectations and actual postoperative outcomes of visual function (VF among patients undergoing first eye cataract surgery.A longitudinal study of 182 patients from hospitals in urban Southern China were surveyed prior to surgery and 3 month after cataract surgery regarding their preoperative, expected postoperative and actual postoperative VF for each of the items on the Catquest-9SF and their satisfaction with cataract surgery. In addition, detailed clinical data were collected preoperatively and postoperatively.The majority of cataract patients in urban Southern China had high expectations for VF outcomes after cataract surgery and in most cases postoperative outcomes achieved the expected level of improvement. The mean (standard deviation, SD preoperative Catquest-9SF score was 15.7 (5.86 and the mean (SD expected postoperative score was 26.3 (2.93. The discrepancy between actual and expected improvement was significantly correlated with patients' health literacy, presence of systemic and ocular comorbidity, preoperative visual acuity of the surgery eye, LOCS III nuclear opalescence and cortical cataract grading.Cataract patients in urban Southern China had high expectations for surgery outcomes. Patients with low level of health literacy and the presence of systemic and ocular comorbidity may need a comprehensive counseling to decrease the discrepancy regarding expected and actual outcomes.

AP statistics crash course

CERN Document Server

D'Alessio, Michael

2012-01-01

AP Statistics Crash Course - Gets You a Higher Advanced Placement Score in Less Time Crash Course is perfect for the time-crunched student, the last-minute studier, or anyone who wants a refresher on the subject. AP Statistics Crash Course gives you: Targeted, Focused Review - Study Only What You Need to Know Crash Course is based on an in-depth analysis of the AP Statistics course description outline and actual Advanced Placement test questions. It covers only the information tested on the exam, so you can make the most of your valuable study time. Our easy-to-read format covers: exploring da

Model and Empirical Study on Several Urban Public Transport Networks in China

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Yimin; Ding, Zhuo

2012-07-01

In this paper, we present the empirical investigation results on the urban public transport networks (PTNs) and propose a model to understand the results obtained. We investigate some urban public traffic networks in China, which are the urban public traffic networks of Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan and etc. The empirical results on the big cities show that the accumulative act-degree distributions of PTNs take neither power function forms, nor exponential function forms, but they are described by a shifted power function, and the accumulative act-degree distributions of PTNs in medium-sized or small cities follow the same law. In the end, we propose a model to show a possible evolutionary mechanism for the emergence of such network. The analytic results obtained from this model are in good agreement with the empirical results.

Stationary Charging Station Design for Sustainable Urban Rail Systems: A Case Study at Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., China

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Heng Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In 2014, more than 43 cities in China were racing to construct their urban rail systems (including metro and light rail systems, recognizing that an urban rail system will be a good solution to the tough problems that they are faced with, including traffic congestion and PM2.5 air pollution. On 22 August 2012, the first electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC energy storage-type rail vehicle in the world was unveiled at Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., China. The EDLC rail system has been considered a promising sustainable urban rail system, which is expected to further improve the energy efficiency and to reduce environmental pollution. The first commercial EDLC tram produced by Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co. has been applied at Guangzhou Metro Corp. recently. From the view point of scientific research, the system design and energy management of EDLC rail systems have been extensively studied in the literature, while the stationary charging station design for the EDLC energy storage-type urban rail vehicles has been rarely reported. Thus, the aim of this paper is to report a stationary charging station that has been successfully applied in the EDLC rail system produced by Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., China.

An investigation of the speeding-related crash designation through crash narrative reviews sampled via logistic regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzpatrick, Cole D; Rakasi, Saritha; Knodler, Michael A

2017-01-01

Speed is one of the most important factors in traffic safety as higher speeds are linked to increased crash risk and higher injury severities. Nearly a third of fatal crashes in the United States are designated as "speeding-related", which is defined as either "the driver behavior of exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for conditions." While many studies have utilized the speeding-related designation in safety analyses, no studies have examined the underlying accuracy of this designation. Herein, we investigate the speeding-related crash designation through the development of a series of logistic regression models that were derived from the established speeding-related crash typologies and validated using a blind review, by multiple researchers, of 604 crash narratives. The developed logistic regression model accurately identified crashes which were not originally designated as speeding-related but had crash narratives that suggested speeding as a causative factor. Only 53.4% of crashes designated as speeding-related contained narratives which described speeding as a causative factor. Further investigation of these crashes revealed that the driver contributing code (DCC) of "driving too fast for conditions" was being used in three separate situations. Additionally, this DCC was also incorrectly used when "exceeding the posted speed limit" would likely have been a more appropriate designation. Finally, it was determined that the responding officer only utilized one DCC in 82% of crashes not designated as speeding-related but contained a narrative indicating speed as a contributing causal factor. The use of logistic regression models based upon speeding-related crash typologies offers a promising method by which all possible speeding-related crashes could be identified. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Participatory environmental governance in China: public hearings on urban water tariff setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Li-Jin; Mol, Arthur P J

2008-09-01

In the late 1990s China started to expand its market economic reform to the public sector, such as water services. This reform led to major changes in urban water management, including water tariff management. The reforms in water tariff management relate not only to tariffs, but also to the decision-making on tariffs. Water tariff decision-making seems to move away from China's conventional mode of highly centralized and bureaucratic policy- and decision-making. The legalization, institutionalization and performance of public hearings in water tariff management forms a crucial innovation in this respect. This article analyzes the emergence, development and current functioning of public hearings in water tariff setting, and assesses to what extent public hearings are part of a turning point in China's tradition of centralized bureaucratic decision-making, towards more transparent, decentralized and participative governance.

Temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas during rapid urbanization in Shanghai, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junying; Da Liangjun; Song Kun; Li Bailian

2008-01-01

As the economic and financial center of China, Shanghai has experienced an extensive urban expansion since the early 1980s, with an attendant cost in environmental degradation. We use an integrated pollution index to study the temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas between 1982 and 2005. Data on monitored cross-sections were collected from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center. The results indicated that the spatial pattern of surface water quality was determined by the level of urbanization. Surface water qualities in urban and suburban areas were improved by strengthening the environmental policies and management, but were worsening in rural areas. The relationship between economic growth and surface water quality in Shanghai showed an inversed-U-shaped curve, which reflected a similar pattern in most developed countries. This research suggests that decision makers and city officials should be more aware of the recent pollution increases in Shanghai. - An integrated pollution index documents the deterioration of water quality in greater Shanghai, recently most serious in rural sections

Distracted Driving Raises Crash Risk

Science.gov (United States)

... this issue Health Capsule Distracted Driving Raises Crash Risk En español Send us your comments Video technology ... distracted driving, especially among new drivers, raises the risk for car crashes and near crashes. The study ...

Crash protection of stock car racing drivers--application of biomechanical analysis of Indy car crash research.

Science.gov (United States)

Melvin, John W; Begeman, Paul C; Faller, Ronald K; Sicking, Dean L; McClellan, Scott B; Maynard, Edwin; Donegan, Michael W; Mallott, Annette M; Gideon, Thomas W

2006-11-01

Biomechanical analysis of Indy car crashes using on-board impact recorders (Melvin et al. 1998, Melvin et al. 2001) indicates that Indy car driver protection in high-energy crashes can be achieved in frontal, side, and rear crashes with severities in the range of 100 to 135 G peak deceleration and velocity changes in the range of 50 to 70 mph. These crashes were predominantly single-car impacts with the rigid concrete walls of oval tracks. This impressive level of protection was found to be due to the unique combination of a very supportive and tight-fitting cockpit-seating package, a six-point belt restraint system, and effective head padding with an extremely strong chassis that defines the seat and cockpit of a modern Indy car. In 2000 and 2001, a series of fatal crashes in stock car racing created great concern for improving the crash protection for drivers in those racecars. Unlike the Indy car, the typical racing stock car features a more spacious driver cockpit due to its resemblance to the shape of a passenger car. The typical racing seat used in stock cars did not have the same configuration or support characteristics of the Indy car seat, and five-point belt restraints were used. The tubular steel space frame chassis of a stock car also differs from an Indy car's composite chassis structure in both form and mechanical behavior. This paper describes the application of results of the biomechanical analysis of the Indy car crash studies to the unique requirements of stock car racing driver crash protection. Sled test and full-scale crash test data using both Hybrid III frontal crash anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) and BioSID side crash ATDs for the purpose of evaluating countermeasures involving restraint systems, seats and head/neck restraints has been instrumental in guiding these developments. In addition, the development of deformable walls for oval tracks (the SAFER Barrier) is described as an adjunct to improved occupant restraint through control

Nonlinear Differential Equations and Feedback Control Design for the Urban-Rural Resident Pension Insurance in China

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Wang, Lijian

2015-12-01

Facing many problems of the urban-rural resident pension insurance system in China, one should firstly make sure that this system can be optimized. This paper, based on the modern control theory, sets up differential equations as models to describe the urban-rural resident pension insurance system, and discusses the globally asymptotic stability in the sense of Liapunov for the urban-rural resident pension insurance system in the new equilibrium point. This research sets the stage for our further discussion, and it is theoretically important and convenient for optimizing the urban-rural resident pension insurance system.

The Effect of Urban Heat Island on Climate Warming in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China

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Qunfang Huang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The Yangtze River Delta (YRD has experienced rapid urbanization and dramatic economic development since 1978 and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA has been one of the three largest urban agglomerations in China. We present evidence of a significant urban heat island (UHI effect on climate warming based on an analysis of the impacts of the urbanization rate, urban population, and land use changes on the warming rate of the daily average, minimal (nighttime and maximal (daytime air temperature in the YRDUA using 41 meteorological stations observation data. The effect of the UHI on climate warming shows a large spatial variability. The average warming rates of average air temperature of huge cities, megalopolises, large cities, medium-sized cities, and small cities are 0.483, 0.314 ± 0.030, 0.282 ± 0.042, 0.225 ± 0.044 and 0.179 ± 0.046 °C/decade during the period of 1957–2013, respectively. The average warming rates of huge cities and megalopolises are significantly higher than those of medium-sized cities and small cities, indicating that the UHI has a significant effect on climate warming (t-test, p < 0.05. Significantly positive correlations are found between the urbanization rate, population, built-up area and warming rate of average air temperature (p < 0.001. The average warming rate of average air temperature attributable to urbanization is 0.124 ± 0.074 °C/decade in the YRDUA. Urbanization has a measurable effect on the observed climate warming in the YRD aggravating the global climate warming.

Assessment of municipal infrastructure development and its critical influencing factors in urban China: A FA and STIRPAT approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Li

Full Text Available Municipal infrastructure is a fundamental facility for the normal operation and development of an urban city and is of significance for the stable progress of sustainable urbanization around the world, especially in developing countries. Based on the municipal infrastructure data of the prefecture-level cities in China, municipal infrastructure development is assessed comprehensively using a FA (factor analysis model, and then the stochastic model STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology is examined to investigate key factors that influence municipal infrastructure of cities in various stages of urbanization and economy. This study indicates that the municipal infrastructure development in urban China demonstrates typical characteristics of regional differentiation, in line with the economic development pattern. Municipal infrastructure development in cities is primarily influenced by income, industrialization and investment. For China and similar developing countries under transformation, national public investment remains the primary driving force of economy as well as the key influencing factor of municipal infrastructure. Contribution from urbanization and the relative consumption level, and the tertiary industry is still scanty, which is a crux issue for many developing countries under transformation. With economic growth and the transformation requirements, the influence of the conventional factors such as public investment and industrialization on municipal infrastructure development would be expected to decline, meanwhile, other factors like the consumption and tertiary industry driven model and the innovation society can become key contributors to municipal infrastructure sustainability.

Occurrence, distribution and seasonal variation of organophosphate flame retardants and plasticizers in urban surface water in Beijing, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Yali; Gao, Lihong; Li, Wenhui; Wang, Yuan; Liu, Jiemin; Cai, Yaqi

2016-01-01

The occurrence, spatial distribution and seasonal variation of 14 organophosphate esters (OPEs) were investigated in urban surface water (river and lake water) from July 2013 to June 2014 in Beijing, China. Sewage influent and effluent samples, as well as rainwater and road runoff samples were also analyzed as the potential sources of OPEs in surface water. Tris(2-chloro-1-methylethyl) phosphate (TCPP) and tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) were the most abundant OPEs with the average concentrations of 291 ng L"−"1 and 219 ng L"−"1, respectively. Relatively high concentrations of OPEs were detected in rivers located at southern and eastern urban of Beijing, which was probably attributed to the treated and untreated sewage discharge. Besides, higher levels of OPEs were observed in urban surface water in the summer, and the wet deposition (rainfall) was confirmed to be an important factor for this observation. Risk assessment showed low or medium risk of OPEs for the organisms (algae, crustacean and fish). - Highlights: • High levels of OPEs were detected in urban surface water of Beijing, China. • Seasonal variation revealed higher levels of OPEs in the summer. • Wastewater, rainwater and road runoff samples were analyzed as sources of OPEs. • The risks of OPEs to the organisms (algae, crustacean and fish) were assessed. - The occurrence, spatial distribution and seasonal variation of OPEs in urban surface water were investigated from densely populated big city (Beijing, China).

Assessment of municipal infrastructure development and its critical influencing factors in urban China: A FA and STIRPAT approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu; Zheng, Ji; Li, Fei; Jin, Xueting; Xu, Chen

2017-01-01

Municipal infrastructure is a fundamental facility for the normal operation and development of an urban city and is of significance for the stable progress of sustainable urbanization around the world, especially in developing countries. Based on the municipal infrastructure data of the prefecture-level cities in China, municipal infrastructure development is assessed comprehensively using a FA (factor analysis) model, and then the stochastic model STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology) is examined to investigate key factors that influence municipal infrastructure of cities in various stages of urbanization and economy. This study indicates that the municipal infrastructure development in urban China demonstrates typical characteristics of regional differentiation, in line with the economic development pattern. Municipal infrastructure development in cities is primarily influenced by income, industrialization and investment. For China and similar developing countries under transformation, national public investment remains the primary driving force of economy as well as the key influencing factor of municipal infrastructure. Contribution from urbanization and the relative consumption level, and the tertiary industry is still scanty, which is a crux issue for many developing countries under transformation. With economic growth and the transformation requirements, the influence of the conventional factors such as public investment and industrialization on municipal infrastructure development would be expected to decline, meanwhile, other factors like the consumption and tertiary industry driven model and the innovation society can become key contributors to municipal infrastructure sustainability.

Intelligent geocoding system to locate traffic crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, Xiao; Parker, Steven; Liu, Yi; Graettinger, Andrew J; Forde, Susie

2013-01-01

State agencies continue to face many challenges associated with new federal crash safety and highway performance monitoring requirements that use data from multiple and disparate systems across different platforms and locations. On a national level, the federal government has a long-term vision for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to report state route and off-state route crash data in a single network. In general, crashes occurring on state-owned or state maintained highways are a priority at the Federal and State level; therefore, state-route crashes are being geocoded by state DOTs. On the other hand, crashes occurring on off-state highway system do not always get geocoded due to limited resources and techniques. Creating and maintaining a statewide crash geographic information systems (GIS) map with state route and non-state route crashes is a complicated and expensive task. This study introduces an automatic crash mapping process, Crash-Mapping Automation Tool (C-MAT), where an algorithm translates location information from a police report crash record to a geospatial map and creates a pinpoint map for all crashes. The algorithm has approximate 83 percent mapping rate. An important application of this work is the ability to associate the mapped crash records to underlying business data, such as roadway inventory and traffic volumes. The integrated crash map is the foundation for effective and efficient crash analyzes to prevent highway crashes. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Impacts of Urbanization on Water Use and Energy-related CO2 Emissions of Residential Consumption in China: A Spatio-temporal Analysis during 2003-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, J.; Yin, H.; Varis, O.

2017-12-01

China has been undergoing unprecedented urbanization since the 1978 economic reform, especially with the present growth rate for the last decade at approximately 20 million people per year. This rapid and perennial progress has been raising soaring concerns on environmental sustainability, due to a severe nationwide deterioration of China's environment and ecosystems in the context of ceaselessly increasing demand for water and energy. It is therefore of prime necessity and importance to comprehend China's water and energy security under the effect of its dramatic demographic changes. Analyses of this issue still remain few and far between, and a comprehensive picture has not been available that would help understand China's recent development in urbanization, its spatial features and links to water and energy security, particularly regarding residential consumption, as well as national policy-making in the context of its water-energy nexus. Consequently, we addressed these knowledge gaps by performing an integrated and quantitative spatio-temporal analysis of the impacts of China's urbanization on water use of residential consumption (WURC) and energy-related CO2 emissions of residential consumption (ERCERC). We proposed per capita WURC and per capita ERCERC as potential national indicators for policy-making targets of its water and energy security. Our study, conducted over the period 2003-2012, for the first time demonstrated strong evidence of the significant impacts of China's urbanization on WURC and ERCERC. Its highlights can be portrayed as follows: (1) rural areas dominated per capita WURC at both national and provincial scales, with a significant increasing trend, while WURC share and per capita WURC in urban areas decreased, despite the fact that the urban population was soaring; (2) per capita ERCERC was significantly augmented in both urban and rural areas nationwide; and (3) per capita WURC and per capita ERCERC had a significant positive correlation

Grain size distribution of road-deposited sediment and its contribution to heavy metal pollution in urban runoff in Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hongtao; Li, Xuyong; Wang, Xiaomei; Tian, Di

2010-11-15

Pollutant washoff from road-deposited sediment (RDS) is an increasing problem associated with the rapid urbanization of China that results in urban non-point source pollution. Here, we analyzed the RDS grain size distribution and its potential impact on heavy metal pollution in urban runoff from impervious surfaces of urban villages, colleges and residences, and main traffic roads in the Haidian District, Beijing, China. RDS with smaller grain size had a higher metal concentration. Specifically, particles with the smallest grain size (runoff water accounted for greater than 70% of the metal mass in the total suspended solids (TSS). The heavy metal content in the TSS was 2.21-6.52% of that in the RDS. These findings will facilitate our understanding of the importance of RDS grain size distribution in heavy metal pollution caused by urban storm runoff. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observed and unobserved correlation between crash avoidance manoeuvers and crash severity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaplan, Sigal; Prato, Carlo Giacomo

2015-01-01

Understanding drivers’ responses to critical events, analyzing drivers’ abilities to perform corrective manoeuvers, and investigating the correlation between these manoeuvers and crash severity provide the opportunity of increasing the knowledge about how to avoid crash occurrence or at least mit...

Statistical analysis of vehicle crashes in Mississippi based on crash data from 2010 to 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-15

Traffic crash data from 2010 to 2014 were collected by Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and extracted for the study. Three tasks were conducted in this study: (1) geographic distribution of crashes; (2) descriptive statistics of crash ...

Benefit distribution of social health insurance: evidence from china's urban resident basic medical insurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Jay; Tian, Sen; Zhou, Qin; Han, Wei

2016-09-01

Equity is one of the essential objectives of the social health insurance. This article evaluates the benefit distribution of the China's Urban Residents' Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI), covering 300 million urban populations. Using the URBMI Household Survey data fielded between 2007 and 2011, we estimate the benefit distribution by the two-part model, and find that the URBMI beneficiaries from lower income groups benefited less than that of higher income groups. In other words, government subsidy that was supposed to promote the universal coverage of health care flew more to the rich. Our study provides new evidence on China's health insurance system reform, and it bears meaningful policy implication for other developing countries facing similar challenges on the way to universal coverage of health insurance. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Assessing the ecosystem service of air pollutant removal by urban trees in Guangzhou (China).

Science.gov (United States)

Jim, C Y; Chen, Wendy Y

2008-09-01

In Chinese cities, air pollution has become a serious and aggravating environmental problem undermining the sustainability of urban ecosystems and the quality of urban life. Besides technical solutions to abate air pollution, urban vegetation is increasingly recognized as an alternative ameliorative method by removing some pollutants mainly through dry deposition process. This paper assesses the capability and monetary value of this ecosystem service in Guangzhou city in South China. The results indicated an annual removal of SO(2), NO(2) and total suspended particulates at about 312.03 Mg, and the benefits were valued at RMB90.19 thousand (US$1.00=RMB8.26). More removal was realized by recreational land use due to a higher tree cover. Higher concentration of pollutants in the dry winter months induced more removal. The lower cost of pollution abatement in China generated a relatively subdued monetary value of this environmental benefit in comparison with developed countries. Younger districts with more extensive urban trees stripped more pollutants from the air, and this capacity was anticipated to increase further as their trees gradually reach final dimensions and establish a greater tree cover. Tree cover and pollutant concentration constitute the main factors in pollutant removal by urban trees. The efficiency of atmospheric cleansing by trees in congested Chinese cities could be improved by planting more trees other than shrubs or grass, diversifying species composition and biomass structure, and providing sound green space management. The implications for greenery design were discussed with a view to maximizing this ecosystem service in Chinese cities and other developing metropolises.

European Urban Fictions in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dieter Hassenpflug

2008-11-01

pragmatisme qu’une vraie compétence culturelle. On offre ici ce qui est souhaité par le client chinois : une ville composée de voisinages clos, avec une scène urbaine commercialisée et ouverte, d’architectures et de textures européennes scannées voire imitées. Pourquoi alors ces fictions urbaines ? Parce qu’aujourd’hui en Chine, la présence de l’Autre, de l’Etranger, est vécue comme une libération et en aucun cas comme une menace. Mais également parce que, dans le monde contemporain dans lequel la notion de l’identité de marque (‘branding’ fait depuis longtemps partie de la normalité, le symbole de l’exotisme est vu comme une forme de distinction sociale par les membres des nouvelles classes moyennes et supérieures. À pioneering spirit has risen in China. À tremendous redistribution of people from the country to the city is in progress. More than 200 million migrant laborers are currently pushing into the sprawling metropolises. In order to provide relief for the urban cores, satellite cities ― both within and outside of the city fringe ― are springing up like mushrooms all across the country. By doing so, often new, postmodern methods are implemented, which differ distinctively from Western satellite city planning from the 19 th and 20 th century. Through “theme cities” the attempt is made to implant the spatial images and lifestyles of foreign cultures into China. This contribution describes and analyses the spatial implications of the transposition of European urban concepts and textures to China. This is exemplified by presenting three theme cities of the ‘One City, Nine Villages-Plan’ of Shanghai, the ‘German city’ Anting, the ‘English city’ Taiwushi, and the ‘Swedish city’ Luodian. This research is complemented by introducing the Dutch urban copy in Shenyang in northern China and a brief visit to the theme park ‘Window of the World’ in southern China. The case of the German city Anting proves how

Design of the crashworthy structure of an urban aircraft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shang Bairong

2017-01-01

Full Text Available With the development of general aviation, the urban aircraft is around the corner. The urban aircraft with composite is considered as an ultralight vehicle and the crashworthiness is of vital importance for such an ultralight aircraft. Composites are being widely and increasingly used in the aerospace industry because of their advantages that include the high specific strength and stiffness over traditional metallic materials. Besides, composites have the potential for absorbing the energy in a crash event. The crashworthiness of the cockpit section is analyzed in this paper and some modifications in the subfloor have been made to improve the survivability of the pilot. Advances in commercial softwares have enabled engineers to simulate crash events. The three-dimensional structure model is established by use of CATIA software and the crash process is simulated by MSC/DYTRAN. By comparing the crashworthiness of composite structures, reliable basis is provided for the design of a safe and sound structure.

The October 2014 United States Treasury bond flash crash and the contributory effect of mini flash crashes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zachary S Levine

Full Text Available We investigate the causal uncertainty surrounding the flash crash in the U.S. Treasury bond market on October 15, 2014, and the unresolved concern that no clear link has been identified between the start of the flash crash at 9:33 and the opening of the U.S. equity market at 9:30. We consider the contributory effect of mini flash crashes in equity markets, and find that the number of equity mini flash crashes in the three-minute window between market open and the Treasury Flash Crash was 2.6 times larger than the number experienced in any other three-minute window in the prior ten weekdays. We argue that (a this statistically significant finding suggests that mini flash crashes in equity markets both predicted and contributed to the October 2014 U.S. Treasury Bond Flash Crash, and (b mini-flash crashes are important phenomena with negative externalities that deserve much greater scholarly attention.

The October 2014 United States Treasury bond flash crash and the contributory effect of mini flash crashes.

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Zachary S; Hale, Scott A; Floridi, Luciano

2017-01-01

We investigate the causal uncertainty surrounding the flash crash in the U.S. Treasury bond market on October 15, 2014, and the unresolved concern that no clear link has been identified between the start of the flash crash at 9:33 and the opening of the U.S. equity market at 9:30. We consider the contributory effect of mini flash crashes in equity markets, and find that the number of equity mini flash crashes in the three-minute window between market open and the Treasury Flash Crash was 2.6 times larger than the number experienced in any other three-minute window in the prior ten weekdays. We argue that (a) this statistically significant finding suggests that mini flash crashes in equity markets both predicted and contributed to the October 2014 U.S. Treasury Bond Flash Crash, and (b) mini-flash crashes are important phenomena with negative externalities that deserve much greater scholarly attention.

Rural-urban difference in the use of annual physical examination among seniors in Shandong, China: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Dandan; Chu, Jie; Zhou, Chengchao; Qian, Yangyang; Zhang, Li; Sun, Long

2017-05-23

Regular physical examination contributes to early detection and timely treatment, which is helpful in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing diseases. The objective of this study is to compare the annual physical examination (APE) use between rural and urban elderly in China. A total of 3,922 participants (60+) were randomly selected from three urban districts and three rural counties in Shandong Province, China, and were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. We performed unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models to examine the difference in the utilization of APE between rural and urban elderly. Two adjusted logistic regression models were employed to identify the factors associated with APE use in rural and urban seniors respectively. The utilization rates of APE in rural and urban elderly are 37.4% and 76.2% respectively. Factors including education level, exercise, watching TV, and number of non-communicable chronic conditions, are associated with APE use both in rural and urban elderly. Hospitalization, self-reported economic status, and health insurance are found to be significant (p Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) (p urban areas. There is a big difference in APE utilization between rural and urban elderly. Interventions targeting identified at-risk subgroups, especially for those rural elderly, are essential to reduce such a gap. To improve health literacy might be helpful to increase the utilization rate of APE among the elderly.

Modeling the Impacts of Urbanization and Industrial Transformation on Water Resources in China: An Integrated Hydro-Economic CGE Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Jiang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Pressure on existing water resources in China is expected to increase with undergoing rapid demographic transformation, economic development, and global climate changes. We investigate the economy-wide impacts of projected urban population growth and economic structural change on water use and allocation in China. Using a multi-regional CGE (Computable General Equilibrium model, TERM (The Enormous Regional Model, we explore the implications of selected future water scenarios for China’s nine watershed regions. Our results indicate that urbanization and industrial transformation in China will raise the opportunity cost of water use and increase the competition for water between non-agricultural users and irrigation water users. The growth in water demand for domestic and industrial uses reduces the amount of water allocated to agriculture, particularly lower-value and water-intensive field crops. As a response, farmers have the incentive to shift their agricultural operations from traditional field crop production to higher-value livestock or intensive crop production. In addition, our results suggest that growing water demand due to urbanization and industrial transformation will raise the shadow price of water in all nine river basins. Finally, we find that national economic growth is largely attributable to urbanization and non-agricultural productivity growth.

Airplane crash

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, P.

1975-01-01

In May, 1974, a severe airplane crash occurred near Springfield, llinois; the crew of three and a courier were killed. The plane was carrying a large container of controlled water with a slight amount of 60 Co. A survey of the crash site by Air Force detectives and the radiological assistance team from Wright--Patterson Air Force Base indicated no radioactivity. Experiences of the incident were used to develop guidelines for future emergency preparedness

Emergence of Mobility Services in Urban China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jean-Francois Doulet

2010-01-01

This article points out the limits of top-down strategies in China rooted in the construction of large-scale transportation facilities, primarily road networks. It helps to identify emerging trends that show a shift from a "hardware" approach, which focuses mainly on heavy in- frastructure investments, to a "software" approach, which rather relies on improving travel conditions. Based on the description of three existing mobility services that won awards in the 2010 "Better Mobility, Better Life" Prize for Innovative Urban Mobility Solutions, this article assesses these bottom-up, multi-participation strategies, and the effects of these "soft strategies" on improving travel conditions, reducing car dependency, building communities, etc. Finally, it concludes that these soft measures can contribute to the building of a harmonious society and low-carbon cities, and should receive more attention and support.

[Breeding ecology of Chinese Bulbul in the urban environment of Hangzhou, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Lan, Si-Si; Zhang, Qin; Huang, Qin; Chen, Shui-Hua

2013-06-01

The Chinese Bulbul, Pycnonotus sinensis, is one of the most abundant and widely distributed birds of south China, settling even in dense urban areas. From March-July 2012, we surveyed the Chinese Bulbul in the urban environment of Hangzhou, China, to gain a clearer perspective on their breeding ecology. Totally, 117 nests were found, mainly on the trees of Osmanthus fragrans (84.6%, n=117) in residential areas,street tree strips, and green belt. Our results include several noteworthy observations: nest height from the ground was 3.16±0.91 m (n=117); egg-laying begins in early April with peak times from April 11-25; and the nesting period was 11.85±1.12 days (n=47). In terms of fertility and reproduction, we also observed that the average incubation period was 11.34±1.12 days (n=32); average clutch size was 3.37±0.48 eggs (n=103); hatching success 68.3%, fledging rate 52.1%, and the total breeding success 35.58% (n=117). The main causes of breeding failure included egg and fledgling predation, as well as human disturbance.

Road crash costs.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2010-01-01

Road crashes result in all kinds of social costs, such as medical costs, production loss, human losses, property damage, settlement costs and costs due to congestion. Studies into road crash costs and their trends are carried out quite regularly. In 2009, the costs amounted to € 12.5 billion, or

Woody Vegetation Composition and Structure in Peri-urban Chongming Island, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Min; Escobedo, Francisco J.; Wang, Ruijing; Zhou, Qiaolan; Lin, Wenpeng; Gao, Jun

2013-05-01

Chongming, the world's largest alluvial island, is located within the municipality of Shanghai, China. Recent projects have now linked peri-urban Chongming to Shanghai's urban core and as a result will soon undergo substantial changes from urbanization. We quantitatively analyzed the structure and composition of woody vegetation across subtropical, peri-urban Chongming as a basis for sustainable management of these rapidly urbanizing subtropical ecosystems elsewhere. We used 178 permanent, random plots to statistically and spatially analyze woody plant composition and tree structure across the 1,041 km2 of Chongming. A total of 2,251 woody plants were measured comprising 42 species in 37 genera. We statistically and geospatially analyzed field data according to land uses and modeled air pollution removal by trees. Average tree diameter at breast height, total height, and crown widths on transportation land uses were greater than other land uses. These same values were lowest on forest land use and greater tree cover was associated with areas of increased anthropogenic activity. Less than 20 % of the woody vegetation was exotic and a species richness index was significantly different between land uses due to legacy effects. Composition of agriculture and forest land uses were similar to residential and transportation. Tree cover across Chongming was also estimated to annually remove 1,400 tons of air pollutants. We propose that this integrated and quantitative method can be used in other subtropical, peri-urban areas in developing countries to establish baseline trends for future sustainability objectives and to monitor the effects of urbanization and climate change.

Environment and Personal Well-being in Urban China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yang Yuwen; Yang Wenya

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between environment and personal well-being using a sample of 562 urban employees from three cities in Liaoning province in the People＇s Republic of China. In contrast to previous studies, this study controlled positive affectivity （PA）, negative affectivity （NA）, job satisfaction and Big Five personality traits. In addition, the research variables of personal well-being index （PWI）, positive affectivity, negative affectivity, job satisfaction, Big Five, and environmental satisfaction are measured with multi-item scales. The research finds that environmental satisfaction is positively related to personal well-being, suggesting that improvement of the natural surroundings in the cities can improve people＇s well-being.

Framework for integration of urban planning, strategic environmental assessment and ecological planning for urban sustainability within the context of China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jia; Bao Cunkuan; Shu Tingfei; Yun Xiaoxue; Jiang Dahe; Brwon, Lex

2011-01-01

Sustainable development or sustainability has been highlighted as an essential principle in urban master planning, with increasing recognition that uncontrollable urbanization may well give rise to various issues such as overexploitation of natural resources, ecosystem destruction, environmental pollution and large-scale climate change. Thus, it is deemed necessary to modify the existing urban and regional administrative system so as to cope with the challenges urban planning is being confronted with and realize the purpose of urban sustainability. This paper contributed to proposing a mechanism which helps to make urban planning with full consideration of issues with respect to sustainable development. We suggested that the integration of urban planning, SEA and ecological planning be a multi-win strategy to offset deficiency of each mentioned political tool being individually applied. We also proposed a framework where SEA and ecological planning are fully incorporated into urban planning, which forms a two-way constraint mechanism to ascertain environmental quality of urban planning, although in practice, planning and SEA processes may conditionally be unified. Moreover, as shown in the case study, the integration of the three political tools may be constrained due to slow changes in the contextual factors, in particular the political and cultural dimensions. Currently within the context of China, there may be three major elements which facilitate integration of the three political tools, which are (1) regulatory requirement of PEIA on urban planning, (2) the promotion or strong administrative support from government on eco-district building, and (3) the willingness of urban planners to collaborate with SEA experts or ecologists.

Barrier-relevant crash modification factors and average costs of crashes on arterial roads in Indiana.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Yaotian; Tarko, Andrew P

2018-02-01

The objective of this study was to develop crash modification factors (CMFs) and estimate the average crash costs applicable to a wide range of road-barrier scenarios that involved three types of road barriers (concrete barriers, W-beam guardrails, and high-tension cable barriers) to produce a suitable basis for comparing barrier-oriented design alternatives and road improvements. The intention was to perform the most comprehensive and in-depth analysis allowed by the cross-sectional method and the crash data available in Indiana. To accomplish this objective and to use the available data efficiently, the effects of barrier were estimated on the frequency of barrier-relevant (BR) crashes, the types of harmful events and their occurrence during a BR crash, and the severity of BR crash outcomes. The harmful events component added depth to the analysis by connecting the crash onset with its outcome. Further improvement of the analysis was accomplished by considering the crash outcome severity of all the individuals involved in a crash and not just drivers, utilizing hospital data, and pairing the observations with and without road barriers along same or similar road segments to better control the unobserved heterogeneity. This study confirmed that the total number of BR crashes tended to be higher where medians had installed barriers, mainly due to collisions with barriers and, in some cases, with other vehicles after redirecting vehicles back to traffic. These undesirable effects of barriers were surpassed by the positive results of reducing cross-median crashes, rollover events, and collisions with roadside hazards. The average cost of a crash (unit cost) was reduced by 50% with cable barriers installed in medians wider than 50ft. A similar effect was concluded for concrete barriers and guardrails installed in medians narrower than 50ft. The studied roadside guardrails also reduced the unit cost by 20%-30%. Median cable barriers were found to be the most effective

Building-Based Analysis of the Spatial Provision of Urban Parks in Shenzhen, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenxiu Gao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Urban parks provide important environmental, social, and economic benefits to people and urban areas. The literature demonstrates that proximity to urban parks is one of the key factors influencing people’s willingness to use them. Therefore, the provision of urban parks near residential areas and workplaces is one of the key factors influencing quality of life. This study designed a solution based on the spatial association between urban parks and buildings where people live or work to identify whether people in different buildings have nearby urban parks available for their daily lives. A building density map based on building floor area (BFA was used to illustrate the spatial distribution of urban parks and five indices were designed to measure the scales, service coverage and potential service loads of urban parks and reveal areas lacking urban park services in an acceptable walking distance. With such solution, we investigated the provision of urban parks in ten districts of Shenzhen in China, which has grown from several small villages to a megacity in only 30 years. The results indicate that the spatial provision of urban parks in Shenzhen is not sufficient since people in about 65% of the buildings cannot access urban parks by walking 10-min. The distribution and service coverage of the existing urban parks is not balanced at the district level. In some districts, the existing urban parks have good numbers of potential users and even have large service loads, while in some districts, the building densities surrounding the existing parks are quite low and at the same time there is no urban parks nearby some high-density areas.

Building-Based Analysis of the Spatial Provision of Urban Parks in Shenzhen, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wenxiu; Lyu, Qiang; Fan, Xiang; Yang, Xiaochun; Liu, Jiangtao; Zhang, Xirui

2017-12-06

Urban parks provide important environmental, social, and economic benefits to people and urban areas. The literature demonstrates that proximity to urban parks is one of the key factors influencing people's willingness to use them. Therefore, the provision of urban parks near residential areas and workplaces is one of the key factors influencing quality of life. This study designed a solution based on the spatial association between urban parks and buildings where people live or work to identify whether people in different buildings have nearby urban parks available for their daily lives. A building density map based on building floor area (BFA) was used to illustrate the spatial distribution of urban parks and five indices were designed to measure the scales, service coverage and potential service loads of urban parks and reveal areas lacking urban park services in an acceptable walking distance. With such solution, we investigated the provision of urban parks in ten districts of Shenzhen in China, which has grown from several small villages to a megacity in only 30 years. The results indicate that the spatial provision of urban parks in Shenzhen is not sufficient since people in about 65% of the buildings cannot access urban parks by walking 10-min. The distribution and service coverage of the existing urban parks is not balanced at the district level. In some districts, the existing urban parks have good numbers of potential users and even have large service loads, while in some districts, the building densities surrounding the existing parks are quite low and at the same time there is no urban parks nearby some high-density areas.

Exploring the relationship between urbanization and energy consumption in China using ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) and FDM (factor decomposition model)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yaobin

2009-01-01

The paper develops a function of energy consumption, population growth, economic growth and urbanization process, and provides fresh empirical evidences for urbanization and energy consumption for China over the period 1978-2008 through the use of ARDL testing approach and factor decomposition model. The results of the bounds test show that there is a stable long run relationship amongst total energy consumption, population, GDP (Gross domestic product) and urbanization level when total energy consumption is the dependent variable in China. The results of the causality test with ECM (error correction model) specification, the short run and long run dynamics of the interested variables are tested, indicating that there exists only a unidirectional Granger causality running from urbanization to total energy consumption both in the long run and in the short run. At present, the contribution share which urbanization drags the energy consumption is smaller than that in the past, and the intensity holds a downward trend. Therefore, together with enhancing energy efficiency, accelerating the urbanization process that can cut reliance on resource and energy dependent industries is a fundamental strategy to solve the sustainable development dilemma between energy consumption and urbanization.

Exploring the relationship between urbanization and energy consumption in China using ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) and FDM (factor decomposition model)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yaobin [Research Center of the Central China Economic Development, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047 (China)

2009-11-15

The paper develops a function of energy consumption, population growth, economic growth and urbanization process, and provides fresh empirical evidences for urbanization and energy consumption for China over the period 1978-2008 through the use of ARDL testing approach and factor decomposition model. The results of the bounds test show that there is a stable long run relationship amongst total energy consumption, population, GDP (Gross domestic product) and urbanization level when total energy consumption is the dependent variable in China. The results of the causality test with ECM (error correction model) specification, the short run and long run dynamics of the interested variables are tested, indicating that there exists only a unidirectional Granger causality running from urbanization to total energy consumption both in the long run and in the short run. At present, the contribution share which urbanization drags the energy consumption is smaller than that in the past, and the intensity holds a downward trend. Therefore, together with enhancing energy efficiency, accelerating the urbanization process that can cut reliance on resource and energy dependent industries is a fundamental strategy to solve the sustainable development dilemma between energy consumption and urbanization. (author)

Monitoring of urban heat island over Shenzhen, China using remotely sensed measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Weimin; Hong, Liang; Yang, Lijun; He, Lihuan; Dong, Guihua

2016-05-01

In the past three decades, the Shenzhen city, which is located in south of China, has experienced a rapid urbanization process characterized by sharp decrease in farmland and increases in urban area. This rapid urbanization is one of the main causes of many environmental and ecological problems including urban heat island (UHI). Therefore, the monitoring of rapid urbanization regions and the environment is of critical importance for their sustainable development. In this study, Landsat-8 OLI and TIR images, which were acquired on 2013, are used to monitor urban heat island. After radiometric calibration and atmospheric correction with a simplified method for the atmospheric correction (SMAC) are applied to OLI image, an index-based build-up index (IBI), which is based on the soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), the modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI) and the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI), is employed to extract the build-up land features with a given thresholds. A single-channel algorithm is used to retrieve land surface temperature while the land surface emissivity is derived from a normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) thresholds method. Surface urban heat island index (SUHII) and urban heat island ratio index (URI) are computed for ten districts of Shenzhen based on build-up land distribution and land surface temperature data. A correlation analysis is conducted between heat island index (including SUHII and URI) and socio-economic statistics (including total population and population density) also are included in this analysis. The results show that, a weak relationship between urban heat island and socio-economic statistics are found.

Improving Urban Water Environment in Eastern China by Blending Traditional with Modern Landscape Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jiajie; Yu, Junjun; Tian, Yuan; Zhao, Cai; Wang, Hao

2017-01-01

As a fundamental part of greenspace, urban water landscape contributes greatly to the ecological system and at the same time supplies a leisure area for residents. The paper did an analysis on the number of aquatic plant communities, the form of water spaces, and water quality condition by investigating 135 quadrats (90 at amphibious boundary and the land, 45 in the water) in 45 transects of 15 urban and suburban parks. We found that water spaces had monotonous forms with low biodiversity and poor water quality. In addition, urban water landscapes hardly provided ecological functions given excessive construction. Accordingly, a proposition to connect tradition with modernism in the improvement and innovation of urban water landscape planning was put forward, and further, the way to achieve it was explored. By taking Qinhu Wetland Park as a case, the principles and specific planning methods on macro- and microperspectives were discussed to guide the development of urban landscape in eastern China.

Improving Urban Water Environment in Eastern China by Blending Traditional with Modern Landscape Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiajie Cao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As a fundamental part of greenspace, urban water landscape contributes greatly to the ecological system and at the same time supplies a leisure area for residents. The paper did an analysis on the number of aquatic plant communities, the form of water spaces, and water quality condition by investigating 135 quadrats (90 at amphibious boundary and the land, 45 in the water in 45 transects of 15 urban and suburban parks. We found that water spaces had monotonous forms with low biodiversity and poor water quality. In addition, urban water landscapes hardly provided ecological functions given excessive construction. Accordingly, a proposition to connect tradition with modernism in the improvement and innovation of urban water landscape planning was put forward, and further, the way to achieve it was explored. By taking Qinhu Wetland Park as a case, the principles and specific planning methods on macro- and microperspectives were discussed to guide the development of urban landscape in eastern China.

Reporting on cyclist crashes in Australian newspapers.

Science.gov (United States)

Boufous, Soufiane; Aboss, Ahmad; Montgomery, Victoria

2016-10-01

To assess information on cyclist crashes reported in Australian newspapers. The Factiva news archive was searched for articles on cyclist crashes published in major Australian newspapers between 2010 and 2013. Information on the circumstances of cyclist crashes were extracted and coded. A total of 160 cyclist crashes were covered by 198 newspaper articles, with 44% of crashes resulting in cyclist fatalities. Crashes reported by more than one newspaper were more likely to involve public figures or protracted court cases. Individual characteristics of cyclists as well as the location of the crash were reported for more than 80% of crashes. The road user at fault was reported for more than half of crashes. In contrast, information on helmet use, alcohol and cycling lanes was mentioned for only about 10% of crashes. Fewer than one in five articles mentioned prevention strategies including education campaigns, legislative and infrastructure changes. Australian newspapers tend to focus on the most dramatic and more 'newsworthy' aspects of cyclist crashes. Cycling advocates need to work with journalists to improve the quality of this coverage. Better communication between cycling advocates and journalists is likely to have a positive impact on the safety and the uptake of cycling in the community. © 2016 Public Health Association of Australia.

Motor Carrier Crash Data -

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Contains data on large trucks and buses involved in Federally reportable crashes as per Title 49 U.S.C. Part 390.5 (crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle, and...

Managing urban energy system: A case of Suzhou in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Sai; Zhang Tianzhu

2011-01-01

Managing urban energy system is vital for energy conservation and CO 2 reduction. Integrating energy input-output model with carbon emission pinch analysis, we propose a framework for managing urban energy system. This framework could analyze current energy demands and CO 2 emissions, predict their future possibilities and optimize energy mix of key sectors under CO 2 emission constraints. Key sectors are identified by the energy input-output table from both direct and accumulative perspectives. Moreover, taking Suzhou, a typical manufacturing center and export-oriented city in China, as a case example, energy metabolism of Suzhou in 2020 is predicted using energy input-output model. And three sectors named Coking, Smelting and pressing of metals and Production and supply of electric power are identified to have big effects on CO 2 emissions. Subsequently, energy mix of three identified key sectors is optimized under CO 2 emission constraints by the carbon emission pinch analysis. According to the results, clean energy sources will occupy a great position in Suzhou's future energy demands. And the reuse of wastes as energy sources should be limited to achieve CO 2 mitigation targets. Finally, policy implications of results and future work are discussed. - Research highlights: → We construct a framework for sustainable energy system management. → We apply the framework in a typical manufacturing center named Suzhou in China. → Key sectors for CO 2 emissions are identified, and energy mix is optimized. → Policy implications of results and future work are discussed.

Patterns of severe injury in pediatric car crash victims: Crash Injury Research Engineering Network database.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, J Kristine; Jing, Yuezhou; Wang, Stewart; Ehrlich, Peter F

2006-02-01

Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) account for 50% of pediatric trauma. Safety improvements are typically tested with child crash dummies using an in vitro model. The Crash Injury Research Engineering Network (CIREN) provides an in vivo validation process. Previous research suggest that children in lateral crashes or front-seat locations have higher Injury Severity Scale scores and lower Glasgow Coma Scale scores than those in frontal-impact crashes. However, specific injury patterns and crash characteristics have not been characterized. Data were collected from the CIREN multidisciplinary crash reconstruction network (10 pediatric trauma centers). Injuries were examined with regard to crash direction (frontal/lateral), restraint use, seat location, and change in velocity at impact (DeltaV). Injuries were limited to Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores of 3 or higher and included head, thoracic, abdominal, pelvic, spine, and long bone (orthopedic) injuries. Standard age groupings (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, and 15-18 years) were used. Statistical analyses used Fisher's Exact test and multiple logistic regressions. Four hundred seventeen MVCs with 2500 injuries were analyzed (males = 219, females = 198). Controlling for DeltaV and age, children in lateral-impact crashes (n = 232) were significantly more likely to suffer severe injuries to the head and thorax as compared with children in frontal crashes (n = 185), who were more likely to suffer severe spine and orthopedic injuries. Children in a front-seat (n = 236) vs those in a back-seat (n = 169) position had more injuries to the thoracic (27% vs 17%), abdominal (21% vs 13%), pelvic (11% vs 1%), and orthopedic (28% vs 10%) regions (P < .05 for all). Seat belts were protective for pelvic (5% vs 12% unbelted) and orthopedic (15% vs 40%) injuries (odds ratio = 3, P < .01 for both). A reproducible pattern of injury is noted for children involved in lateral-impact crashes characterized by head and chest injuries. The Injury Severity

Two Aspects of the Rural-Urban Divide and Educational Stratification in China: A Trajectory Analysis*

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Hao, Lingxin; Hu, Alfred; Lo, Jamie

2015-01-01

Contextualized in China’s social change of the past half-century, this paper develops the notion of dichotomous inequality to conceptualize the two aspects of China’s rural-urban divide in educational inequality—the household registration system (hukou) assigns people to a top-bottom hierarchy, and the rural-urban schooling system institutionalizes unequal resource distribution and diverse school mission. Based on this conceptualization, we formulate a Chinese version of the maximally maintained inequality (MMI) hypothesis. We capitalize on individual educational history data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2008 and conduct a trajectory analysis using the generalized mixture modeling to estimate the differential effects of the two aspects of rural-urban divide on educational inequality in China. Findings indicate that (1) the sorting mechanism of the rural hukou places rural-hukou people in the very bottom of educational stratification, (2) the penalty of attending rural pre-tertiary school increases with educational stages, and (3) there is a cumulative disadvantage of rural hukou and rural school. Overall, our findings attest to the Chinese-version MMI and the behind principle of inequality reproduction. PMID:26166835

House Church: Investigating Chinese Urban Christians’ Choice of Religious Practicing Site in Wuhan, China

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Junqiang Han

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we discuss the reasons why urban Christians choose certain sites for religious activities and explain the rapid development of house churches in urban areas in China from the perspective of individual Christians, through survey data obtained by the Chinese Urban Research Center for Ethnic and Religious Affairs Management in the city of Wuhan. We found that Christians who attend religious activities in urban house churches are generally younger in age, higher in education level, and more likely to be working in independent, private, or foreign-invested enterprises. Further investigation reveals that “Three-Self churches” are few in number and poorly planned geographically, resulting in very limited service abilities, thus being far from satisfactory for all believers. Moreover, the activities of such churches are unvaried and lack attractiveness. On the other hand, in house churches, Christians are able to build tight-knit social networks and house churches are more competitively aware in the “religious market”, leading some urban Christians to choose house churches, thereby inciting the fast development of house churches in Chinese urban areas.

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Method Effects, Factorial Structure and Scale Invariance Across Migrant Child and Urban Child Populations in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yang; Zuo, Bin; Wen, Fangfang; Yan, Lei

2017-01-01

Using confirmatory factor analyses, this study examined the method effects on a Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965 ) in a sample of migrant and urban children in China. In all, 982 children completed the RSES, and 9 models and 9 corresponding variants were specified and tested. The results indicated that the method effects are associated with both positively and negatively worded items and that Item 8 should be treated as a positively worded item. Additionally, the method effects models were invariant across migrant and urban children in China.

Wet nitrogen deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Ouping; Zhang, Shirong; Deng, Liangji; Zhang, Chunlong; Fei, Jianbo

2018-03-01

Understanding of the spatial and temporal variation of the flux of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is essential for assessment of its impact on ecosystems. However, little attention has been paid to the variability of N deposition across urban-intensive agricultural-rural transects. A continuous 2-year observational study (from January 2015 to December 2016) was conducted to determine wet N deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China. Significantly spatial and temporal variations were found in the research area. Along the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect, the TN and NH 4 + -N deposition first increased and then decreased, and the NO 3 - -N and dissolved organic N (DON) deposition decreased continuously. Wet N deposition was mainly affected by the districts of agro-facilities, roads and build up lands. Wet NH 4 + -N deposition had non-seasonal emission sources including industrial emissions and urban excretory wastes in urban districts and seasonal emission sources such as fertilizer and manure volatilization in the other districts. However, wet NO 3 - -N deposition had seasonal emission sources such as industrial emissions and fireworks in urban district and non-seasonal emission sources such as transportation in the other districts. Deposition of DON was likely to have had similar sources to NO 3 - -N deposition in rural district, and high-temperature-dependent sources in urban and intensive agricultural districts. Considering the annual wet TN deposition in the intensive agricultural district was about 11.1% of the annual N fertilizer input, N fertilizer rates of crops should be reduced in this region to avoid the excessive application, and the risk of N emissions to the environment.

STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN URBANIZATION PROCESS IN CHINA

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

CHE Xiu-zhen; SHANG Jin-cheng

2004-01-01

This paper reviewed the development of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in China, expounded its functions and regional characteristics, and discussed the targets of SEA in the process of urbanization,and the main assessment indicators, procedures, techniques and methodologies of SEA. It concluded that SEA could be improved by the following recommendations: incorporating SEA in decision-making process, selecting experimental units for SEA trial run, and developing strategic evaluation tools and techniques. SEA can provide appropriate and up-to-date information on the impact of human activity on environment in the process of urbanization, and develop a plan of action targeting implementation of intervention for the rehabilitation and preservation of the ecological stability of a city. Therefore, SEA can be a supporting tool for decision-making toward achieving sustainable development.

Neighborhood Influences on Vehicle-Pedestrian Crash Severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Toran Pour, Alireza; Moridpour, Sara; Tay, Richard; Rajabifard, Abbas

2017-12-01

Socioeconomic factors are known to be contributing factors for vehicle-pedestrian crashes. Although several studies have examined the socioeconomic factors related to the location of the crashes, limited studies have considered the socioeconomic factors of the neighborhood where the road users live in vehicle-pedestrian crash modelling. This research aims to identify the socioeconomic factors related to both the neighborhoods where the road users live and where crashes occur that have an influence on vehicle-pedestrian crash severity. Data on vehicle-pedestrian crashes that occurred at mid-blocks in Melbourne, Australia, was analyzed. Neighborhood factors associated with road users' residents and location of crash were investigated using boosted regression tree (BRT). Furthermore, partial dependence plots were applied to illustrate the interactions between these factors. We found that socioeconomic factors accounted for 60% of the 20 top contributing factors to vehicle-pedestrian crashes. This research reveals that socioeconomic factors of the neighborhoods where the road users live and where the crashes occur are important in determining the severity of the crashes, with the former having a greater influence. Hence, road safety countermeasures, especially those focussing on the road users, should be targeted at these high-risk neighborhoods.

Naturalistic Assessment of Novice Teenage Crash Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Suzanne E.; Simons-Morton, Bruce G.; Klauer, Sheila E.; Ouimet, Marie Claude; Dingus, Thomas A.

2011-01-01

Background Crash risk is highest during the first months after licensure. Current knowledge about teenagers’ driving exposure and the factors increasing their crash risk is based on self-reported data and crash database analyses. While these research tools are useful, new developments in naturalistic technologies have allowed researchers to examine newly-licensed teenagers’ exposure and crash risk factors in greater detail. The Naturalistic Teenage Driving Study (NTDS) described in this paper is the first study to follow a group of newly-licensed teenagers continuously for 18 months after licensure. The goals of this paper are to compare the crash and near-crash experience of drivers in the NTDS to national trends, to describe the methods and lessons learned in the NTDS, and to provide initial data on driving exposure for these drivers. Methods A data acquisition system was installed in the vehicles of 42 newly-licensed teenage drivers 16 years of age during their first 18 months of independent driving. It consisted of cameras, sensors (accelerometers, GPS, yaw, front radar, lane position, and various sensors obtained via the vehicle network), and a computer with removable hard drive. Data on the driving of participating parents was also collected when they drove the instrumented vehicle. Findings The primary findings after 18 months included the following: (1) crash and near-crash rates among teenage participants were significantly higher during the first six months of the study than the final 12 months, mirroring the national trends; (2) crash and near-crash rates were significantly higher for teenage than adult (parent) participants, also reflecting national trends; (3) teenaged driving exposure averaged between 507-710 kilometers (315-441 miles) per month over the study period, but varied substantially between participants with standard errors representing 8-14 percent of the mean; and (4) crash and near-crash types were very similar for male and female

From “Crash!” to Crash: Adapting the Adaptation

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Ljubica Matek

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The paper focuses on J.G. Ballard’s various adaptations of his own material related to the issue of the sexual and sensual nature of an automobile crash, and suggests that adaptation is one of the key methods in art and literature which can be used as a means of contemplating and developing various aesthetic and political ideas. Ballard’s short story “Crash!” was first published in the ICA’s (Institute of Contemporary Arts Eventsheet in February 1969, and later became a chapter of his experimental novel The Atrocity Exhibition (1970. At the same time, Ballard adapts the idea into the “Crashed Cars” exhibition (1970 in London. The short story was then adapted into a short film, Crash!, directed by Harley Cokeliss (1971 and starring Ballard himself, to be finally adapted into the novel Crash (1973. Ballard’s adaptation of his initial ideas across literary forms and media testifies to the importance of adaptation as a process and method of creating art. Thus, rather than suggesting that adaptations merely “breathe life” into the written word, the paper points to the conclusion that the form and content are mutually influential and that, in this case, the novel itself is an adaptation, rather than a hypotext (which it becomes in 1996 to David Cronenberg as he adapts it to film. The complexity of the relationship between the source text and its many adaptations has already contributed to the deconstruction, in Derrida’s terms, of the hierarchy (opposition between the original and the copy. Rather, Ballard’s crossmedial and transmedial adaptations of his own ideas show how, as Ray would suggest, an adaptation cites the source and grafts it into a new context, giving it a new function, both aesthetic and political.

Cross-country VFR crashes: pilot and contextual factors.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Hare, David; Owen, Douglas

2002-04-01

General Aviation (GA) cross-country crashes, particularly those involving weather, continue to be a major source of fatalities, with a fatality rate more than four times greater than for GA crashes in general. There has been much speculation and little solid evidence on the causes of these crashes. We have designed a program of laboratory and database research into the causes of cross-country weather-related crashes including an analysis of air crashes in New Zealand between 1988 and 2000. There were 1308 reported occurrences in this period. We examined in detail 77 crashes where it could be determined that the aircraft was on a cross-country flight. In our first analysis we compared the characteristics of crashes that occurred in response to externally driven failures with crashes where the aircraft continued to be flown at the pilot's discretion up until the point of the crash. Clear differences were found for visibility, altitude, crash severity, and for several pilot characteristics. These differences are highly consistent with those found for previous research on pilot characteristics and crash involvement. In the second analysis we made comparisons between the weather-related and nonweather-related crashes in the discretionary control group and between subcategories of weather-related crashes. These data show that weather-related crashes occur further into the flight and closer to the planned destination than other kinds of cross-country crashes in GA. Pilots involved in these crashes are younger and have more recent flight time than pilots involved in other crashes. Their increased involvement cannot be explained simply by exposure (flight-time) but must be due to other factors.

Social Capital and Health Outcomes among Older Adults in China: The Urban-Rural Dimension

Science.gov (United States)

Norstrand, Julie A.; Xu, Qingwen

2012-01-01

Purpose: This study examines different types of individual-level social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) and their relationships with physical and emotional health among older Chinese living in urban and rural settings. Design and Methods: Using the 2005 China General Social Survey, physical and emotional health were regressed on social…

Maternal Parenting and Social, School, and Psychological Adjustment of Migrant Children in Urban China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Siman; Chen, Xinyin; Wang, Li

2015-01-01

This study examined the relations of maternal warmth, behavioral control, and encouragement of sociability to social, school, and psychological adjustment in migrant children in China. The participants were 284 rural-to-urban migrant children (M age = 11 years, 149 boys) in migrant children's schools and their mothers. Data on parenting were…

Influences of Urban Expansion on Cultivated Lands in China Since 1970S

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, F.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Yu, S.; Wang, X.; Zuo, L.

2018-04-01

Urban expansion has far-reaching influences on cultivated lands, and has a serious effect on grain output and safety. However, relatively little attention has been paid to monitor cultivated land losses through urban expansion over a long timeframe and multi-frequency, especially its differences on national scale systematically. In this work, the characteristics of Chinese cultivated land dynamics were described using annual occupied area per city, contribution rate of cultivated lands to urban expansion and the classification method of basic trend of cultivated land losses. Results indicate that: (1) in the past four decades, large amount of cultivated lands have been occupied during the urban expansion process, and have become the first land source for Chinese urban expansion. (2) Cultivated land loss among municipalities, provincial capitals and other cities was obviously different. The higher of cities' administrative level was, the more obvious of cultivated land loss in these cities appeared, and the earlier of acceleration loss stage of cultivated lands occurred. (3) Cultivated land loss in five population-size cities was unbalanced, representing obviously different loss process and contribution on urban expansion. The bigger of cities' population size was, the more obvious of cultivated land loss in these cities appeared, and the earlier of acceleration loss stage of cultivated lands occurred. (4) Cultivated land losses during urban expansion process were imbalanced in China, and were classified into seven trends. (5) Chinese cultivated land protection has been carried out from the awakening stage to the deep implementation stage.

Masturbation in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Aniruddha; Parish, William L; Laumann, Edward O

2009-02-01

This study examined the prevalence and sources of masturbatory practice in a nationally representative sample from China completed in the year 2000, with analysis of sources focused on 2,828 urban respondents aged 20-59. In this subpopulation, 13% (95% CI, 10-18) of women and 35% (CI, 26-44) of men reported any masturbation in the preceding year. Prevalence for people in their 20s was higher, and closer to US and European levels, especially for men. Particularly for women, masturbation not only compensated for absent partners but also complemented the high sexual interests of a subset of participants. For both women and men, practicing masturbation appeared to be a two-step process. In the first step, events such as sexual contact in childhood, early puberty, and early sex were related to sexualization and the "gateway event" of adolescent masturbation. In the second step, other factors, such as liberal sexual values and sexual knowledge, further increased the current probability of masturbation. Overall, the results suggest that masturbation is readily adopted even at more modest levels of economic and social development, that masturbation is often more than simply compensatory behavior for regular partnered sex, that masturbatory patterns are heavily influenced by early sexualization, and that a complex model is needed to comprehend masturbatory practice, particularly for women.

Mass extinction efficiency and extinction hygroscopicity of ambient PM2.5 in urban China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Zhen; Ma, Xin; He, Yujie; Jiang, Jingkun; Wang, Xiaoliang; Wang, Yungang; Sheng, Li; Hu, Jiangkai; Yan, Naiqiang

2017-07-01

The ambient PM 2.5 pollution problem in China has drawn substantial international attentions. The mass extinction efficiency (MEE) and hygroscopicity factor (f(RH)) of PM 2.5 can be readily applied to study the impacts on atmospheric visibility and climate. The few previous investigations in China only reported results from pilot studies and are lack of spatial representativeness. In this study, hourly average ambient PM 2.5 mass concentration, relative humidity, and atmospheric visibility data from China national air quality and meteorological monitoring networks were retrieved and analyzed. It includes 24 major Chinese cities from nine city-clusters with the period of October 2013 to September 2014. Annual average extinction coefficient in urban China was 759.3±258.3Mm -1 , mainly caused by dry PM 2.5 (305.8.2±131.0Mm -1 ) and its hygroscopicity (414.6±188.1Mm -1 ). High extinction coefficient values were resulted from both high ambient PM 2.5 concentration (68.5±21.7µg/m 3 ) and high relative humidity (69.7±8.6%). The PM 2.5 mass extinction efficiency varied from 2.87 to 6.64m 2 /g with an average of 4.40±0.84m 2 /g. The average extinction hygroscopic factor f(RH=80%) was 2.63±0.45. The levels of PM 2.5 mass extinction efficiency and hygroscopic factor in China were in comparable range with those found in developed countries in spite of the significant diversities among all 24 cities. Our findings help to establish quantitative relationship between ambient extinction coefficient (visual range) and PM 2.5 & relative humidity. It will reduce the uncertainty of extinction coefficient estimation of ambient PM 2.5 in urban China which is essential for the research of haze pollution and climate radiative forcing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sleep-related vehicle crashes on low speed roads.

Science.gov (United States)

Filtness, A J; Armstrong, K A; Watson, A; Smith, S S

2017-02-01

Very little is known about the characteristics of sleep related (SR) crashes occurring on low speed roads compared with current understanding of the role of sleep in crashes occurring on high speed roads e.g. motorways. To address this gap, analyses were undertaken to identify the differences and similarities between (1) SR crashes occurring on roads with low (≤60km/h) and high (≥100km/h) speed limits, and (2) SR crashes and not-SR crashes occurring on roads with low speed limits. Police reports of all crashes occurring on low and high speed roads over a ten year period between 2000 and 2009 were examined for Queensland, Australia. Attending police officers identified all crash attributes, including 'fatigue/fell asleep', which indicates that the police believe the crash to have a causal factor relating to falling asleep, sleepiness due to sleep loss, time of day, or fatigue. Driver or rider involvement in crashes was classified as SR or not-SR. All crash-associated variables were compared using Chi-square tests (Cramer's V=effect size). A series of logistic regression was performed, with driver and crash characteristics as predictors of crash category. A conservative alpha level of 0.001 determined statistical significance. There were 440,855 drivers or riders involved in a crash during this time; 6923 (1.6%) were attributed as SR. SR crashes on low speed roads have similar characteristics to those on high speed roads with young (16-24y) males consistently over represented. SR crashes on low speed roads are noticeably different to not-SR crashes in the same speed zone in that male and young novice drivers are over represented and outcomes are more severe. Of all the SR crashes identified, 41% occurred on low speed roads. SR crashes are not confined to high speed roads. Low speed SR crashes warrant specific investigation because they occur in densely populated areas, exposing a greater number of people to risk and have more severe outcomes than not-SR crashes

Object-based change detection in rapid urbanization regions with remotely sensed observations: a case study of Shenzhen, China

Science.gov (United States)

He, Lihuang; Dong, Guihua; Wang, Wei-Min; Yang, Lijun; Liang, Hong

2013-10-01

China, the most populous country on Earth, has experienced rapid urbanization which is one of the main causes of many environmental and ecological problems. Therefore, the monitoring of rapid urbanization regions and the environment is of critical importance for their sustainable development. In this study, the object-based classification is employed to detect the change of land cover in Shenzhen, which is located in South China and has been urbanized rapidly in recent three decades. First, four Landsat TM images, which were acquired on 1990, 2000 and 2010, respectively, are selected from the image database. Atmospheric corrections are conducted on these images with improved dark-object subtraction technique and surface meteorological observations. Geometric correction is processed with ground control points derived from topographic maps. Second, a region growing multi-resolution segmentation and a soft nearest neighbour classifier are used to finish object-based classification. After analyzing the fraction of difference classes over time series, we conclude that the comparison of derived land cover classes with socio-economic statistics demonstrates the strong positive correlation between built-up classes and urban population as well as gross GDP and GDPs in second and tertiary industries. Two different mechanisms of urbanization, namely new land development and redevelopment, are revealed. Consequently, we found that, the districts of Shenzhen were urbanized through different mechanisms.

Impact of pavement conditions on crash severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yingfeng; Liu, Chunxiao; Ding, Liang

2013-10-01

Pavement condition has been known as a key factor related to ride quality, but it is less clear how exactly pavement conditions are related to traffic crashes. The researchers used Geographic Information System (GIS) to link Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Crash Record Information System (CRIS) data and Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) data, which provided an opportunity to examine the impact of pavement conditions on traffic crashes in depth. The study analyzed the correlation between several key pavement condition ratings or scores and crash severity based on a large number of crashes in Texas between 2008 and 2009. The results in general suggested that poor pavement condition scores and ratings were associated with proportionally more severe crashes, but very poor pavement conditions were actually associated with less severe crashes. Very good pavement conditions might induce speeding behaviors and therefore could have caused more severe crashes, especially on non-freeway arterials and during favorable driving conditions. In addition, the results showed that the effects of pavement conditions on crash severity were more evident for passenger vehicles than for commercial vehicles. These results provide insights on how pavement conditions may have contributed to crashes, which may be valuable for safety improvement during pavement design and maintenance. Readers should notice that, although the study found statistically significant effects of pavement variables on crash severity, the effects were rather minor in reality as suggested by frequency analyses. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural Renewal of China in the Context of Rural-Urban Integration: Governance Fit and Performance Differences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rongyu Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, rural-urban integrated development has become a vital national strategy in China. In this context, many regions have implemented rural renewal projects to enhance the vitality and development of rural areas. The objective of this study is to reveal the reasons why different rural renewal modes have emerged in contemporary China and assess their ability to facilitate rural-urban integration. An analytical framework, the Institution of Sustainability (IoS and a comparative analysis of two cases are used for the rural renewal evaluation. Our findings indicate that the properties of transactions and the characteristics of the actors involved jointly determine the governance structures of rural renewal. Furthermore, different governance structures contribute to performance differences, particularly differences in the physical outcomes, distribution effects and process efficiency. Finally, we suggest relevant policy recommendations.

A Comprehensive Quantitative Evaluation of New Sustainable Urbanization Level in 20 Chinese Urban Agglomerations

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Cong Xu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available On 16 March 2014, the State Council of China launched its first urbanization planning initiative dubbed “National New Urbanization Planning (2014–2020” (NNUP. NNUP put forward 20 urban agglomerations and a sustainable development approach aiming to transform traditional Chinese urbanization to sustainable new urbanization. This study quantitatively evaluates the level of sustainability of the present new urbanization process in 20 Chinese urban agglomerations and provides some positive suggestions for the achievement of sustainable new urbanization. A three-level index system which is based on six fundamental elements in a city and a Full Permutation Polygon Synthetic Indicator evaluation method are adopted. The results show that China is undergoing a new urbanization process with a low level of sustainability and there are many problems remaining from traditional urbanization processes. There exists a polarized phenomenon in the urbanization of 20 urban agglomerations. Based on their own development patterns, the 20 urban agglomerations can be divided into seven categories. Every category has its own development characteristics. The analyses also show that waste of water resources, abuse of land resources, and air pollution are three big problems that are closely linked to traditional Chinese urbanization processes. To achieve sustainable new urbanization in China, four relevant suggestions and comments have been provided.

The combined benefits of motorcycle antilock braking systems (ABS) in preventing crashes and reducing crash severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzi, Matteo; Kullgren, Anders; Tingvall, Claes

2016-01-01

Several studies have reported the benefits of motorcycle antilock braking systems (ABS) in reducing injury crashes, due to improved stability and braking performance. Both aspects may prevent crashes but may also reduce the crash severity when a collision occurs. However, it is still unknown to what extent the reductions in injury crashes with ABS may be due to a combination of these mechanisms. Swedish hospital and police reports (2003-2012) were used. The risk for permanent medical impairment (RPMI) was calculated, showing the risk of at least 1 or 10% permanent medical impairment. In total, 165 crashes involving ABS-equipped motorcycles were compared with 500 crashes with similar motorcycles without ABS. The analysis was performed in 3 steps. First, the reduction in emergency care visits with ABS was calculated using an induced exposure approach. Secondly, the injury mitigating effects of ABS were investigated. The mean RPMI 1+ and RPMI 10+ were analyzed for different crash types. The distributions of impairing injuries (PMI 1+) and severely impairing injuries (PMI 10+) were also analyzed. In the third step, the total reduction of PMI 1+ and PMI 10+ injured motorcyclists was calculated by combining the reductions found in the previous steps. An additional analysis of combined braking systems (CBS) together with ABS was also performed. The results showed that emergency care visits were reduced by 47% with ABS. In the second step, it was found that the mean RPMI 1+ and RPMI 10+ with ABS were 15 and 37% lower, respectively. Finally, the third step showed that the total reductions in terms of crash avoidance and mitigation of PMI 1+ and PMI 10+ injured motorcyclists with ABS were 67 and 55%, respectively. However, PMI 1+ and PMI 10+ leg injuries were not reduced by ABS to the same extent. Indications were found suggesting that the benefits of ABS together with CBS may be greater than ABS alone. This article indicated that motorcycle ABS reduced impairing injuries

Comparing the urbanization and global warming impacts on extreme rainfall characteristics in Southern China Pearl River Delta megacity based on dynamical downscaling

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Fung, K. Y.; Tam, C. Y.; Wang, Z.

2017-12-01

It is well known that urban land use can significantly influence the local temperature, precipitation and meteorology through altering land-atmosphere exchange of momentum, moisture and heat in urban areas. In recent decades, there has been a substantial increase ( 5-10%) on the intensity of extreme rainfall over Southeast China; it is projected to increase further according to the latest IPCC reports. In this study, we assess how urbanization and global warming together might impact on heavy precipitation characteristics over the highly urbanized Pearl River Delta (PRD) megacity, located in southern China. This is done by dynamically downscaling GFDL-ESM2M simulations for the present and future (RCP8.5) climate scenarios, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM). Over the PRD area, the WRF model is integrated at a resolution of 2km x 2km. To focus on extreme events, episodes covering daily rainfall intensity above the 99th percentile in Southeast China in the GFDL-ESM2M daily precipitation datasets were first identified. These extreme episodes were then dynamically downscaled in two parallel experiments with the following model designs: one with anthropogenic heat flux (AH) = 0 Wm-2 and the other with peak AH = 300 Wm-2 in the AH diurnal cycle over the urban domain. Results show that, with AH in urban area, the urban 2m-temperature can rise by about 2oC. This in turn leads to an increase of the mean as well as the extreme rain rates by 10-15% in urban domain. The latter is comparable to the impact of global warming alone, according to downscaling experiments for the RCP8.5 scenario. Implications of our results on urban effects on extreme rainfall under a warming background climate will be discussed.

Application of a random effects negative binomial model to examine tram-involved crash frequency on route sections in Melbourne, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Naznin, Farhana; Currie, Graham; Logan, David; Sarvi, Majid

2016-07-01

Safety is a key concern in the design, operation and development of light rail systems including trams or streetcars as they impose crash risks on road users in terms of crash frequency and severity. The aim of this study is to identify key traffic, transit and route factors that influence tram-involved crash frequencies along tram route sections in Melbourne. A random effects negative binomial (RENB) regression model was developed to analyze crash frequency data obtained from Yarra Trams, the tram operator in Melbourne. The RENB modelling approach can account for spatial and temporal variations within observation groups in panel count data structures by assuming that group specific effects are randomly distributed across locations. The results identify many significant factors effecting tram-involved crash frequency including tram service frequency (2.71), tram stop spacing (-0.42), tram route section length (0.31), tram signal priority (-0.25), general traffic volume (0.18), tram lane priority (-0.15) and ratio of platform tram stops (-0.09). Findings provide useful insights on route section level tram-involved crashes in an urban tram or streetcar operating environment. The method described represents a useful planning tool for transit agencies hoping to improve safety performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on the Delimitation of the Urban Development Boundary in a Special Economic Zone: A Case Study of the Central Urban Area of Doumen in Zhuhai, China

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Biao Zheng

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Since it implemented open-door policies, China has become the fastest growing economy in the world, and its urbanization level has steadily improved. Taking a special economic zone as the object of study, this paper delineates the urban development boundary of the Central Urban Area of Doumen. Using multiple models and methods, the urban development rigid and elastic boundaries are delineated separately, with the rigid boundary serving as the premise and foundation for delineating the elastic boundary. The results are as follows. First, the scale of the urban development rigid boundary is 79.60 km². Moreover, the scales of the urban development elastic boundaries in 2020 and 2026 are 24.51 km² and 28.53 km², respectively. Second, by delimiting the urban development elastic boundary, the compactness of urban land will be improved. Third, the urban development boundary of this paper is reasonable in theory. This paper suggests that the urban development boundary can curb urban sprawl and guide rational urban development, which is conducive to optimizing an urban spatial layout.

A Bayesian network based framework for real-time crash prediction on the basic freeway segments of urban expressways.

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Hossain, Moinul; Muromachi, Yasunori

2012-03-01

The concept of measuring the crash risk for a very short time window in near future is gaining more practicality due to the recent advancements in the fields of information systems and traffic sensor technology. Although some real-time crash prediction models have already been proposed, they are still primitive in nature and require substantial improvements to be implemented in real-life. This manuscript investigates the major shortcomings of the existing models and offers solutions to overcome them with an improved framework and modeling method. It employs random multinomial logit model to identify the most important predictors as well as the most suitable detector locations to acquire data to build such a model. Afterwards, it applies Bayesian belief net (BBN) to build the real-time crash prediction model. The model has been constructed using high resolution detector data collected from Shibuya 3 and Shinjuku 4 expressways under the jurisdiction of Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited, Japan. It has been specifically built for the basic freeway segments and it predicts the chance of formation of a hazardous traffic condition within the next 4-9 min for a particular 250 meter long road section. The performance evaluation results reflect that at an average threshold value the model is able to successful classify 66% of the future crashes with a false alarm rate less than 20%. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The downside of marketization: a multilevel analysis of housing tenure and types in reform-era urban China.

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Fu, Qiang; Zhu, Yushu; Ren, Qiang

2015-01-01

Based on data from the 2005 National Population Sample Survey and compiled covariates of 205 prefectures, this research adopted principal-component and multilevel-logistic analyses to study homeownership in urban China. Although the housing reform has severed the link between work units and residence, working in state sectors (government, state-owned enterprises and collective firms) remained significant in determining a household's entitlement to reform-era housing with heavy subsidies or better qualities. While the prefecture-level index of marketization reduced local homeownership of self-built housing, affordable housing and privatized housing, its effect is moderated by cross-level interactions with income, education and working in state sectors across different types of housing. Meanwhile, the index of political and market connections promoted all types of homeownership except for self-built housing. By situating the downside of marketization within a context of urban transformation, this research not only challenges the teleological premise of the neoliberal market transition theory but calls for research on institutional dynamics and social consequences of urban transformation in China. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Redistribution, Growth, and Inclusion : The Development of the Urban Housing System in China, 1949-2015

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deng, W.; Hoekstra, J.S.C.M.; Elsinga, M.G.

2017-01-01

This paper explains the development of the urban housing system in China from 1949 to 2011 with an emphasis on the factors driving housing inequality in each policy period. We argue that the logic underpinning the housing policy had shifted from socialist redistribution to the stimulation of growth

Reducing the environmental impact of trials: a comparison of the carbon footprint of the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 clinical trials

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background All sectors of the economy, including the health research sector, must reduce their carbon emissions. The UK National Institute for Health Research has recently prepared guidelines on how to minimize the carbon footprint of research. We compare the carbon emissions from two international clinical trials in order to identify where emissions reductions can be made. Methods We conducted a carbon audit of two clinical trials (the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 trials), quantifying the carbon dioxide emissions produced over a one-year audit period. Carbon emissions arising from the coordination centre, freight delivery, trial-related travel and commuting were calculated and compared. Results The total emissions in carbon dioxide equivalents during the one-year audit period were 181.3 tonnes for CRASH-1 and 108.2 tonnes for CRASH-2. In total, CRASH-1 emitted 924.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared with 508.5 tonnes for CRASH-2. The CRASH-1 trial recruited 10,008 patients over 5.1 years, corresponding to 92 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The CRASH-2 trial recruited 20,211 patients over 4.7 years, corresponding to 25 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The largest contributor to emissions in CRASH-1 was freight delivery of trial materials (86.0 tonnes, 48% of total emissions), whereas the largest contributor in CRASH-2 was energy use by the trial coordination centre (54.6 tonnes, 30% of total emissions). Conclusions Faster patient recruitment in the CRASH-2 trial largely accounted for its greatly increased carbon efficiency in terms of emissions per randomized patient. Lighter trial materials and web-based data entry also contributed to the overall lower carbon emissions in CRASH-2 as compared to CRASH-1. Trial Registration Numbers CRASH-1: ISRCTN74459797 CRASH-2: ISRCTN86750102 PMID:21291517

Reducing the environmental impact of trials: a comparison of the carbon footprint of the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 clinical trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberts Ian

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background All sectors of the economy, including the health research sector, must reduce their carbon emissions. The UK National Institute for Health Research has recently prepared guidelines on how to minimize the carbon footprint of research. We compare the carbon emissions from two international clinical trials in order to identify where emissions reductions can be made. Methods We conducted a carbon audit of two clinical trials (the CRASH-1 and CRASH-2 trials, quantifying the carbon dioxide emissions produced over a one-year audit period. Carbon emissions arising from the coordination centre, freight delivery, trial-related travel and commuting were calculated and compared. Results The total emissions in carbon dioxide equivalents during the one-year audit period were 181.3 tonnes for CRASH-1 and 108.2 tonnes for CRASH-2. In total, CRASH-1 emitted 924.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents compared with 508.5 tonnes for CRASH-2. The CRASH-1 trial recruited 10,008 patients over 5.1 years, corresponding to 92 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The CRASH-2 trial recruited 20,211 patients over 4.7 years, corresponding to 25 kg of carbon dioxide per randomized patient. The largest contributor to emissions in CRASH-1 was freight delivery of trial materials (86.0 tonnes, 48% of total emissions, whereas the largest contributor in CRASH-2 was energy use by the trial coordination centre (54.6 tonnes, 30% of total emissions. Conclusions Faster patient recruitment in the CRASH-2 trial largely accounted for its greatly increased carbon efficiency in terms of emissions per randomized patient. Lighter trial materials and web-based data entry also contributed to the overall lower carbon emissions in CRASH-2 as compared to CRASH-1. Trial Registration Numbers CRASH-1: ISRCTN74459797 CRASH-2: ISRCTN86750102

Conscientious personality and young drivers’ crash risk

OpenAIRE

Ehsani, Johnathon P.; Li, Kaigang; Simons-Morton, Bruce; Tree-McGrath, Cheyenne Fox; Perlus, Jessamyn; O’Brien, Fearghal; Klauer, Sheila G.

2015-01-01

Personality characteristics are associated with many risk behaviors. However, the relationship between personality traits, risky driving behavior, and crash risk is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between personality, risky driving behavior, and crashes and near-crashes, using naturalistic driving research methods. Method: Participants' driving exposure, kinematic risky driving (KRD), high-risk secondary task engagement, and the frequency of crashes...

Occurrence and distribution of antibiotics in urban soil in Beijing and Shanghai, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Lihong; Shi, Yali; Li, Wenhui; Liu, Jiemin; Cai, Yaqi

2015-08-01

The recycling of reclaimed wastewater for irrigation and road cleaning is an important strategy to minimize water scarcity in megacities. However, little is known regarding the potential accumulation of antibiotics contained in reclaimed wastewater in urban soil. We investigated the occurrence and distribution of eight quinolones (QNs), nine sulfonamides (SAs), and five macrolides (MLs) antibiotics in urban surface soil in Beijing and Shanghai, China. QNs, especially norfloxacin (NOR), ofloxacin (OFL), and ciprofloxacin (CIP) were the predominant antibiotics in urban surface soil, and NOR revealed the highest average concentration of 94.6 μg kg(-1). The antibiotic concentrations in urban soil in our study were higher than those detected in agricultural soils after long-term wastewater irrigation and manure fertilization. The concentrations of antibiotics in Shanghai urban soil showed a significant negative correlation with soil pH and a positive correlation with total organic carbon (TOC), reflecting the effect of speciation and soil organic matter content on sorption and retention. In addition, antibiotic concentrations in the urban soil were positively correlated with heavy metal contents, likely due to their coexistence in reclaimed wastewater and the promoting effect of metals on the sorption of antibiotics. In several soil samples, NOR, OFL, CIP, enrofloxacin (ENR), and fleroxacin (FLE) showed higher concentrations than the trigger value of 100 μg kg(-1) in soil, indicating a potential risk for the environment.

Valuing Urban Landscape Using Subjective Well-Being Data: Empirical Evidence from Dalian, China

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Erda Wang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It has been well recognized that the urban landscape ecosystem is able to make a great contribution to the quality of life for people who live in the city and beyond, thus it can potentially accrue a significant economic value to the human well-being. However, due to its public good nature, it is difficult to monetizing its values in a systematic manner. In this paper, we attempt to assess the economic value of the urban landscape through people’s life satisfaction approach utilizing a large sample of dataset complied from the general public survey in Dalian City which is one of the well-known tourism cities in China. The results indicate that most of the urban landscape attributes impose significant effects on people’s life satisfaction, thus accruing a considerable amount of value to the local residents. Taking a 10-point ranking scale for the urban landscape quality as an example, the household willingness to pay on average reaches ¥24,579 per annum for one point of ranking level increase. Relative to the low level of household income, those high-income households are much keener to the changes of the landscape quality. If the urban landscape quality is disaggregated into five levels, household’s marginal willingness-to-pay diminishes as the urban landscape’s rank level is improved.

Crashes and near-crashes on horizontal curves along rural two-lane highways: Analysis of naturalistic driving data.

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Wang, Bo; Hallmark, Shauna; Savolainen, Peter; Dong, Jing

2017-12-01

Prior research has shown the probability of a crash occurring on horizontal curves to be significantly higher than on similar tangent segments, and a disproportionally higher number of curve-related crashes occurred in rural areas. Challenges arise when analyzing the safety of horizontal curves due to imprecision in integrating information as to the temporal and spatial characteristics of each crash with specific curves. The second Strategic Highway Research Program(SHRP 2) conducted a large-scale naturalistic driving study (NDS),which provides a unique opportunity to better understand the contributing factors leading to crash or near-crash events. This study utilizes high-resolution behavioral data from the NDS to identify factors associated with 108 safety critical events (i.e., crashes or near-crashes) on rural two-lane curves. A case-control approach is utilized wherein these events are compared to 216 normal, baseline-driving events. The variables examined in this study include driver demographic characteristics, details of the traffic environment and roadway geometry, as well as driver behaviors such as in-vehicle distractions. Logistic regression models are estimated to discern those factors affecting the likelihood of a driver being crash-involved. These factors include high-risk behaviors, such as speeding and visual distractions, as well as curve design elements and other roadway characteristics such as pavement surface conditions. This paper successfully integrated driver behavior, vehicle characteristics, and roadway environments into the same model. Logistic regression model was found to be an effective way to investigate crash risks using naturalistic driving data. This paper revealed a number of contributing factors to crashes on rural two-lane curves, which has important implications in traffic safety policy and curve geometry design. This paper also discussed limitations and lessons learned from working with the SHRP 2 NDS data. It will benefit

Impacts of future climate change on urban flood volumes in Hohhot in northern China: benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptations

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Zhou, Qianqian; Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

2018-01-01

As China becomes increasingly urbanised, flooding has become a regular occurrence in its major cities. Assessing the effects of future climate change on urban flood volumes is crucial to informing better management of such disasters given the severity of the devastating impacts of flooding (e.g. the 2016 flooding events across China). Although recent studies have investigated the impacts of future climate change on urban flooding, the effects of both climate change mitigation and adaptation have rarely been accounted for together in a consistent framework. In this study, we assess the benefits of mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and locally adapting to climate change by modifying drainage systems to reduce urban flooding under various climate change scenarios through a case study conducted in northern China. The urban drainage model - Storm Water Management Model - was used to simulate urban flood volumes using current and two adapted drainage systems (i.e. pipe enlargement and low-impact development, LID), driven by bias-corrected meteorological forcing from five general circulation models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 archive. Results indicate that urban flood volume is projected to increase by 52 % over 2020-2040 compared to the volume in 1971-2000 under the business-as-usual scenario (i.e. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5). The magnitudes of urban flood volumes are found to increase nonlinearly with changes in precipitation intensity. On average, the projected flood volume under RCP 2.6 is 13 % less than that under RCP 8.5, demonstrating the benefits of global-scale climate change mitigation efforts in reducing local urban flood volumes. Comparison of reduced flood volumes between climate change mitigation and local adaptation (by improving drainage systems) scenarios suggests that local adaptation is more effective than climate change mitigation in reducing future flood volumes. This has

CRASH SAFETY OF A TYPICAL BAY TABLE IN A RAILWAY VEHICLE

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Emmanuel MATSIKA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Increasingly, urban and high speed trains are incorporating tables (workstations as common railway vehicle interior furniture because passengers prefer seating by bay tables. Among table design characteristics, the most challenging is meeting crashworthiness requirements. Past accident data and sled test results have shown that in the event of railway vehicle frontal impact, occupants located in the bay seating are exposed to chest and abdominal injuries upon contact with tables resulting from secondary collision. In some cases tables have tended to be structurally weak; they easily detach from the side walls and/or floor mounting. Subsequently these become unguided missiles that strike occupants, resulting in injuries. This paper presents an analysis of the crash performance of a typical bay table. The results provide some understanding of the table’s crash safety, giving an indication of its impact aggression. Table materials are characterised using quasi-static compressive tests. In addition, experimental dynamic (impact tests are conducted using a pendulum representing a body block (mass. The results provide information about the possible loading of the table on the occupant in the event of a crash. Contact forces are compared with chest and abdominal injury tolerance thresholds to infer the collision injury potential. Recommendations are then made on design of bay tables to meet the “functional-strength-and-safety balance”.

Omitted variable bias in crash reduction factors.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

Transportation planners and traffic engineers are increasingly turning to crash reduction factors to evaluate changes in road : geometric and design features in order to reduce crashes. Crash reduction factors are typically estimated based on segment...

Understanding traffic crash under-reporting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Janstrup, Kira Hyldekær; Kaplan, Sigal; Hels, Tove

2016-01-01

Objective: This study aligns to the body of research dedicated to estimating the underreporting of road crash injuries and adds the perspective of understanding individual and crash factors contributing to the decision to report a crash to the police, the hospital, or both. Method: This study foc...... policy measures aimed at increasing the reporting rate by targeting specific road user groups (e.g., males, young road users) or specific situational factors (e.g., slight injuries, arm injuries, leg injuries, weekend)....

Assessment Framework and Decision—Support System for Consolidating Urban-Rural Construction Land in Coastal China

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Fangfang Cai

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Urbanization transforms urban-rural landscape and profoundly affects ecological processes. To maintain a sustainable urbanization, two important issues of land-use need to be quantified: the comprehensive variation of urban-rural construction land and the specific models for consolidating these lands. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework to assess the change of urban-rural construction land and build a decision-support system for consolidating these lands. Four sub-layers were first built in the assessment framework, including the characteristic layer, the coordination layer, the potential layer and the urgency layer. Each layer encompassed specific indices for evaluating the change of urban-rural construction land in different aspects. The entropy method was then applied to the data resources from Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper images, statistical data and overall land-use and land consolidation planning of Nantong city in coastal China to allocate weightings to the indices in each sub-layer. Finally, the decision-support system was built based on the assessment results and the degree of importance for consolidating urban and rural construction land, respectively. The results of our study show an overall investigation and quantitative description of the change of urban-rural construction land and provide an effective framework for land consolidation and land use management.

[Carbon footprint of buildings in the urban agglomeration of central Liaoning, China].

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Shi, Yu; Yun, Ying Xia; Liu, Chong; Chu, Ya Qi

2017-06-18

With the development of urbanization in China, buildings consumed lots of material and energy. How to estimate carbon emission of buildings is an important scientific problem. Carbon footprint of the central Liaoning agglomeration was studied with carbon footprint approach, geographic information system (GIS) and high-resolution remote sensing (HRRS) technology. The results showed that the construction carbon footprint coefficient of central Liaoning urban agglomeration was 269.16 kg·m -2 . The approach of interpreting total building area and spatial distribution with HRRS was effective, and the accuracy was 89%. The extraction approach was critical for total carbon footprint and spatial distribution estimation. The building area and total carbon footprint of central Liaoning urban agglomeration in descending order was Shenyang, Anshan, Fushun, Liao-yang, Yingkou, Tieling and Benxi. The annual average increment of footprint from 2011 to 2013 in descending order was Shenyang, Benxi, Fushun, Anshan, Tieling, Yingkou and Liaoyang. The accurate estimation of construction carbon footprint spatial and its distribution was of significance for the planning and optimization of carbon emission reduction.

Urban Household Carbon Emission and Contributing Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xibao; Tan, Yan; Chen, Shuang; Yang, Guishan; Su, Weizhong

2015-01-01

Carbon reduction at the household level is an integral part of carbon mitigation. This study analyses the characteristics, effects, contributing factors and policies for urban household carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire surveys in three cities in the region – Nanjing, Ningbo, and Changzhou in 2011. The survey data was first used to estimate the magnitude of household carbon emissions in different urban contexts. It then examined how, and to what extent, each set of demographic, economic, behavioral/cognitive and spatial factors influence carbon emissions at the household level. The average of urban household carbon emissions in the region was estimated to be 5.96 tonnes CO2 in 2010. Energy consumption, daily commuting, garbage disposal and long-distance travel accounted for 51.2%, 21.3%, 16.0% and 11.5% of the total emission, respectively. Regulating rapidly growing car-holdings of urban households, stabilizing population growth, and transiting residents’ low-carbon awareness to household behavior in energy saving and other spheres of consumption in the context of rapid population aging and the growing middle income class are suggested as critical measures for carbon mitigation among urban households in the Yangtze River Delta. PMID:25884853