International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Research

18 pages, 2552 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of a Localized Food System and Food Waste Reduction in a Water-Scarce Region Using Diet Optimization Models

by Felix Haifeng Liao, Robert Heinse, Darin Saul, Soren Newman, Li Huang, Colette DePhelps and Steven Peterson

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(10), 5890; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105890 - 20 May 2023

Viewed by 2178

Abstract

Despite growing interest in fresh local produce across the United States, scaling up local agricultural development might impose new environmental pressures on increasingly scarce water and land resources in specific localities. Drawing upon the case of the Palouse of the US Inland Northwest, [...] Read more.

Despite growing interest in fresh local produce across the United States, scaling up local agricultural development might impose new environmental pressures on increasingly scarce water and land resources in specific localities. Drawing upon the case of the Palouse of the US Inland Northwest, this study evaluates land and water footprints of local foods along with food waste reduction in a water-scarce region. We used both non-robust and robust diet-optimization techniques to estimate the minimum amounts of irrigation water necessary to grow foods locally and to satisfy the local population’s caloric or nutrition needs. Our modeling results indicate that, on an annual basis, an increase of less than 5% of the current freshwater withdrawal on the Palouse could satisfy 10% of the local population’s aspirational demand for locally grown food products, while more than 35% of local foods (by mass) may be wasted. Furthermore, reducing food waste by 50% could simultaneously reduce water use by up to 24%, cropland use by 13%, and pastureland use by 20%. Our findings not only provide intriguing information for access to local food but could also be used to stimulate new efforts to increase consumers’ and retailers’ awareness of environmental benefits associated with food waste reduction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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16 pages, 1130 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Who Gets the Flu? Individualized Validation of Influenza-like Illness in Urban Spaces

by Shiran Zhong, Fenglong Ma, Jing Gao and Ling Bian

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(10), 5865; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105865 - 18 May 2023

Viewed by 2012

Abstract

Urban dwellers are exposed to communicable diseases, such as influenza, in various urban spaces. Current disease models are able to predict health outcomes at the individual scale but are mostly validated at coarse scales due to the lack of fine-scaled ground truth data. [...] Read more.

Urban dwellers are exposed to communicable diseases, such as influenza, in various urban spaces. Current disease models are able to predict health outcomes at the individual scale but are mostly validated at coarse scales due to the lack of fine-scaled ground truth data. Further, a large number of transmission-driving factors have been considered in these models. Because of the lack of individual-scaled validations, the effectiveness of factors at their intended scale is not substantiated. These gaps significantly undermine the efficacy of the models in assessing the vulnerability of individuals, communities, and urban society. The objectives of this study are twofold. First, we aim to model and, most importantly, validate influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms at the individual scale based on four sets of transmission-driving factors pertinent to home–work space, service space, ambient environment, and demographics. The effort is supported by an ensemble approach. For the second objective, we investigate the effectiveness of the factor sets through an impact analysis. The validation accuracy reaches 73.2–95.1%. The validation substantiates the effectiveness of factors pertinent to urban spaces and unveils the underlying mechanism that connects urban spaces and population health. With more fine-scaled health data becoming available, the findings of this study may see increasing value in informing policies that improve population health and urban livability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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27 pages, 770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Climate Change Belief and the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) on Eco-Tourism Attitudes of Tourists: Moderator Role of Green Self-Identity

by Abdullah Tarinc, Gozde Seval Ergun, Arif Aytekin, Ali Keles, Ozlem Ozbek, Huseyin Keles and Ozgur Yayla

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064967 - 11 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2809

Abstract

This research has been conducted to determine the effect of tourists’ beliefs of climate change on the NEP and ecotourism attitudes. In addition to this purpose, the moderator role of green self-identity in the effect of the NEP on ecological attitudes has also [...] Read more.

This research has been conducted to determine the effect of tourists’ beliefs of climate change on the NEP and ecotourism attitudes. In addition to this purpose, the moderator role of green self-identity in the effect of the NEP on ecological attitudes has also been examined. The research data were obtained from the tourists visiting the Alanya destination, which is one of the centers that attract the most tourists in Turkey. When the results of the research were examined, it could be determined that the belief in climate change is effective on all dimensions of the NEP, and similarly, all dimensions of the NEP have also affected the tourists’ ecological attitude. Further, green self-identity has a moderator role in the effect of ecocentric and anthropocentric sub-dimensions on eco-tourism attitudes. As a consequence of the findings, a number of theoretical and practical implications have been developed for sector managers, destination management organizations, and academicians. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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17 pages, 3759 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting Fecal Indicator Bacteria Using Spatial Stream Network Models in A Mixed-Land-Use Suburban Watershed in New Jersey, USA

by Tsung-Ta David Hsu, Danlin Yu and Meiyin Wu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4743; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064743 - 8 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1910

Abstract

Good water quality safeguards public health and provides economic benefits through recreational opportunities for people in urban and suburban environments. However, expanding impervious areas and poorly managed sanitary infrastructures result in elevated concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria and waterborne pathogens in adjacent waterways [...] Read more.

Good water quality safeguards public health and provides economic benefits through recreational opportunities for people in urban and suburban environments. However, expanding impervious areas and poorly managed sanitary infrastructures result in elevated concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria and waterborne pathogens in adjacent waterways and increased waterborne illness risk. Watershed characteristics, such as urban land, are often associated with impaired microbial water quality. Within the proximity of the New York–New Jersey–Pennsylvania metropolitan area, the Musconetcong River has been listed in the Clean Water Act’s 303 (d) List of Water Quality-Limited Waters due to high concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). In this study, we aimed to apply spatial stream network (SSN) models to associate key land use variables with E. coli as an FIB in the suburban mixed-land-use Musconetcong River watershed in the northwestern New Jersey. The SSN models explicitly account for spatial autocorrelation in stream networks and have been widely utilized to identify watershed attributes linked to deteriorated water quality indicators. Surface water samples were collected from the five mainstem and six tributary sites along the middle section of the Musconetcong River from May to October 2018. The log₁₀ geometric means of E. coli concentrations for all sampling dates and during storm events were derived as response variables for the SSN modeling, respectively. A nonspatial model based on an ordinary least square regression and two spatial models based on Euclidean and stream distance were constructed to incorporate four upstream watershed attributes as explanatory variables, including urban, pasture, forest, and wetland. The results indicate that upstream urban land was positively and significantly associated with the log₁₀ geometric mean concentrations of E. coli for all sampling cases and during storm events, respectively (p < 0.05). Prediction of E. coli concentrations by SSN models identified potential hot spots prone to water quality deterioration. The results emphasize that anthropogenic sources were the main threats to microbial water quality in the suburban Musconetcong River watershed. The SSN modeling approaches from this study can serve as a novel microbial water quality modeling framework for other watersheds to identify key land use stressors to guide future urban and suburban water quality restoration directions in the USA and beyond. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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27 pages, 5819 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Regional Health Resource Carrying Capacity and Security in Public Health Emergencies Based on the COVID-19 Outbreak

by Xiaoran Huang and Demiao Yu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(3), 2068; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032068 - 23 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1985

Abstract

The Omicron variant of COVID-19, which emerged at the end of 2021, has caused a new wave of infections around the world and is causing a new wave of the crisis due to the extreme variability of the pathogen. In response to public [...] Read more.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19, which emerged at the end of 2021, has caused a new wave of infections around the world and is causing a new wave of the crisis due to the extreme variability of the pathogen. In response to public health emergencies such as SARS and COVID-19, the first task is to identify the vulnerabilities of regional health systems and perform a comprehensive assessment of the region’s resilience. In this paper, we take the carrying capacity of medical resources as the focus; evaluate the medical, human, and financial resources of various regions; and construct an epidemic safety index based on the actual situation or future trend of the epidemic outbreak to evaluate and predict the risk level of each region in response to the epidemic. The study firstly evaluates the epidemic safety index for each province and city in China and 150 countries around the world, using the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 and the Omicron variant virus in 2022 as the background, respectively, and justifies the index through the actual performance in terms of epidemic prevention and control, based on which the epidemic safety index for 150 countries in the next year is predicted. The conclusions show that Europe, the Americas, and parts of Asia will face a significant risk of epidemic shocks in the coming period and that countries need to formulate policies in response to the actual situation of the epidemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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18 pages, 7302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Evaluation and Analysis of Human Settlements’ Suitability in the Yangtze River Delta Based on Multi-Source Data

by He Liu, Xueming Li, Yingying Guan, Songbo Li and He Sun

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1354; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021354 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1843

Abstract

The suitability of human settlements is critical for quality of life and regional development. As comprehensive evaluations and research on the suitability of human settlements are lacking, a comprehensive evaluation of human settlements in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) was carried out in [...] Read more.

The suitability of human settlements is critical for quality of life and regional development. As comprehensive evaluations and research on the suitability of human settlements are lacking, a comprehensive evaluation of human settlements in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) was carried out in 2020 by combining natural and human environmental elements based on multi-source data such as digital elevation models, Landsat remote sensing images, meteorological station data, and points of interest, other multi-source data, and constructions of the human settlements’ suitability indexes. The results showed the following: (1) The spatial suitability of the natural environment in the YRD is significantly affected by the topographic conditions and distance from the sea, showing an increasing spatial differentiation from southwest to northeast, with Shanghai and Yancheng having the best natural environment suitability. (2) The suitability of the human environment in urban areas is better than that in non-urban areas and shows a decreasing trend from the south to the north circle. Shanghai, Zhoushan, and Huaibei have the best human environment suitability. (3) The comprehensive suitability of human settlements includes both the spatial differentiation characteristics of the suitability of natural and human environments. Shanghai and Zhoushan have the mosy comprehensive suitability for human settlements, while Huaibei and Xuzhou have the worst. (4) Land with a comprehensive suitability for human settlements of greater than 0.580 accounts for 23.60% of the total and contains 30.08% of the population and 32.31% of the economy, indicating that areas with a high suitability index have been fully utilized, and the populations and economies with human settlements suitability have a high degree of matching. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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22 pages, 3475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Agriculture in Thailand: Adoption Factors and Communication Guidelines to Promote Long-Term Practice

by Sukanya Sereenonchai and Noppol Arunrat

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010001 - 20 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3162

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to clarify influencing factors on the adoption and continuing practice of urban agriculture, and to propose communication guidelines to encourage more adoption and long-term practice. The psychological theories of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the Theory [...] Read more.

The purpose of this study is to clarify influencing factors on the adoption and continuing practice of urban agriculture, and to propose communication guidelines to encourage more adoption and long-term practice. The psychological theories of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Health Belief Model (HBM) were integrated to explain people’s behavior. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed with 325 villagers of 13 communities in seven provinces of Thailand. The following techniques and instruments were used: a statistical analysis crosstab, stepwise multiple linear regression, one-way ANOVA, multinomial logistic regression, decision tree analysis, and descriptive content analysis using QDA lite miner software. The key results clearly show that attitude, perceived benefits, and perceived readiness were a significantly positive influence on those who adopted urban agriculture. Key drivers to villagers’ intention to continue practicing urban agriculture for the initiator group who own agricultural land were perceived to be behavioral control and social norm, while perceived readiness and communication played a crucial role for other groups to continue practicing urban agriculture. Communication guidelines to promote long-term urban agriculture practice can be designed based on the EAST framework, by making it easy, attractive, social, and timely, and through the Critical Participatory Action Research process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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14 pages, 1820 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Moderating Effects of Racial Segregation on the Associations of Cardiovascular Outcomes with Walkability in Chicago Metropolitan Area

by Hao Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14252; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114252 - 31 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1868

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), as the leading cause of death in the U.S., pose a disproportionate burden to racial/ethnic minorities. Walkability, as a key concept of the built environment, reflecting walking and physical activity, is associated with health behaviors that help to reduce CVDs [...] Read more.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), as the leading cause of death in the U.S., pose a disproportionate burden to racial/ethnic minorities. Walkability, as a key concept of the built environment, reflecting walking and physical activity, is associated with health behaviors that help to reduce CVDs risk. While the unequal social variation and spatial distribution inequality of the CVDs and the role of walkability in preventing CVDs have been explored, the moderating factors through which walkability affects CVDs have not been quantitatively analyzed. In this paper, the spatial statistical techniques combined with the regression model are conducted to study the distribution of the CVDs’ health outcomes and factors influencing their variation in the Chicago metropolitan area. The spatial statistical results for the CVDs’ health outcomes reveal that clusters of low-value incidence are concentrated in the suburban rural areas and areas on the north side of the city, while the high-value clusters are concentrated in the west and south sides of the city and areas extending beyond the western and southern city boundaries. The regression results indicate that racial segregation reduced the positive association between health outcomes and walkability, although both racial segregation and walkability factors were positively associated with CVDs’ health outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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13 pages, 2216 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Social Vulnerability and Spatial Accessibility on COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage: A Census-Tract Level Study in Milwaukee County, USA

by Zengwang Xu and Bin Jiang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12304; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912304 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2076

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccination coverage was studied by race/ethnicity, up-to-date doses, and by how it was affected by social vulnerability and spatial accessibility at the census-tract level in Milwaukee County, WI, USA. Social vulnerability was quantified at the census-tract level by an aggregate index and [...] Read more.

COVID-19 vaccination coverage was studied by race/ethnicity, up-to-date doses, and by how it was affected by social vulnerability and spatial accessibility at the census-tract level in Milwaukee County, WI, USA. Social vulnerability was quantified at the census-tract level by an aggregate index and its sub-components calculated using the principal components analysis method. The spatial accessibility was assessed by clinic-to-population ratio and travel impedance. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial regression models were employed to examine how social vulnerability and spatial accessibility relate to the vaccination rates of different doses. We found great disparities in vaccination rates by race and between areas of low and high social vulnerability. Comparing to non-Hispanic Blacks, the vaccination rate of non-Hispanic Whites in the county is 23% higher (60% vs. 37%) in overall rate (one or more doses), and 20% higher (29% vs. 9%) in booster rate (three or more doses). We also found that the overall social-vulnerability index does not show a statistically significant relationship with the overall vaccination rate when it is defined as the rate of people who have received one or more doses of vaccines. However, after the vaccination rate is stratified by up-to-date doses, social vulnerability has positive effects on one-dose and two-dose rates, but negative effects on booster rate, and the effects of social vulnerability become increasingly stronger and turn to negative for multi-dose vaccination rates, indicating the increasing challenges of high social vulnerability areas to multi-dose vaccination. The large negative effects of socio-economic status on the booster rate suggests the importance of improving general socio-economic conditions to promote multi-dose vaccination rates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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16 pages, 2516 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Neighborhood Characteristics Influence Neighborhood Crimes: A Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Analysis

by Danlin Yu and Chuanglin Fang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11416; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811416 - 10 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2246

Abstract

Urban crimes are a severe threat to livable and sustainable urban environments. Many studies have investigated the patterns, causes, and strategies for curbing the occurrence of urban crimes. It is found that neighborhood socioeconomic status, physical environment, and ethnic composition all might play [...] Read more.

Urban crimes are a severe threat to livable and sustainable urban environments. Many studies have investigated the patterns, causes, and strategies for curbing the occurrence of urban crimes. It is found that neighborhood socioeconomic status, physical environment, and ethnic composition all might play a role in the occurrence of urban crimes. Inspired by the recent interest in exploring urban crime patterns with spatial data analysis techniques and the development of Bayesian hierarchical analytical approaches, we attempt to explore the inherently intricate relationships between urban assaultive violent crimes and the neighborhood socioeconomic status, physical environment, and ethnic composition in Paterson, NJ, using census data of the American Community Survey, alcohol and tobacco sales outlet data, and abandoned property listing data from 2013. Analyses are set at the census block group level. Urban crime data are obtained from the Paterson Police Department. Instead of examining relationships at a global level with both non-spatial and spatial analyses, we examine in depth the potential locally varying relationships at the local level through a Bayesian hierarchical spatially varying coefficient model. At both the global and local analysis levels, it is found that median household income is decisively negatively related to urban crime occurrence. Percentage of African Americans and Hispanics, number of tobacco sales outlets, and number of abandoned properties are all positively related with urban crimes. At the local level of analysis, however, the different factors have varying influence on crime occurrence throughout the city of Paterson, with median household income having the broadest influence across the city. The practice of applying a Bayesian hierarchical spatial analysis framework to understand urban crime occurrence and urban neighborhood characteristics enables urban planners, stakeholders, and public safety officials to engage in more active and targeted crime-reduction strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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21 pages, 6942 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Pattern of Urban-Rural Integration Development and Its Driving Mechanism Analysis in Hangzhou Bay Urban Agglomeration

by Caiyao Xu, Chen Qian, Wencai Yang, Bowei Li, Lingqian Kong and Fanbin Kong

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8390; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148390 - 9 Jul 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3167

Abstract

The quantitative analysis of the urban-rural integration development (URID) level and its driving factors is of great significance for the new-type urbanization of urban agglomerations. This study constructed a multidimensional framework in the perspective of a population–space–economy–society–ecology framework to measure the URID level [...] Read more.

The quantitative analysis of the urban-rural integration development (URID) level and its driving factors is of great significance for the new-type urbanization of urban agglomerations. This study constructed a multidimensional framework in the perspective of a population–space–economy–society–ecology framework to measure the URID level from 2000 to 2020 and further explored the driving mechanism of the URID changes by a geographical detector model in the Hangzhou Bay urban agglomeration (HBUA). The results showed that the land-use change in the HBUA from 2000 to 2020 showed a typical characteristic of the transition between cultivated and construction land. The URID level in the HBUA improved from 0.294 in 2000 to 0.563 in 2020, and the year 2005 may have been the inflection point of URID in the HBUA. The URID level showed a significant spatial aggregation with high values. Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Ningbo were hot spots since 2015, and the cold spots were Huzhou and Shaoxing. The population and spatial integration had more important impacts on URID levels in 2000, 2005, and 2020, while economic and social integration had more significant impacts on URID levels in 2010 and 2015. This study provided a deeper understanding of the evolution of URID in an urban agglomeration and could be used as a reference for decision makers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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28 pages, 18462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Green Infrastructure and Urban-Renewal Simulation for Street Tree Design Decision-Making: Moderating Demands of Stormwater Management, Sunlight and Visual Aesthetics

by Nano Langenheim and Marcus White

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 8220; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138220 - 5 Jul 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4680

Abstract

The design of green infrastructure in urban renewal sites is complex, requiring engagement with existing communities and future sustainable development goals, consideration of existing and future urban forms, changing climatic conditions, and the sites often being in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Traditional street [...] Read more.

The design of green infrastructure in urban renewal sites is complex, requiring engagement with existing communities and future sustainable development goals, consideration of existing and future urban forms, changing climatic conditions, and the sites often being in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Traditional street tree decision-making approaches are inadequate for addressing the scale, environmental complexity, and mutability of decisions involved in urban renewal projects—new tree selection approaches that consider complex competing criteria for tree selections addressing stormwater management systems, visual assessment and solar amenity are needed. This paper describes a new method of multi-criteria street design decision modelling that combines outputs from hydrology modelling, digital procedural tree modelling and urban form analysis, with animation and gaming technologies. We evaluate our approach through application to the design of a large-scale, urban renewal project underway in Melbourne, Australia. The results of the study demonstrate the functionality of our model, which allowed the simultaneous output of streetscape visualisation, with tree selection responding to integrated stormwater management infrastructure and flooding, along with the likely overshadowing conditions of urban renewal built-form. Our multi-criteria approach makes a significant contribution to the tools available to urban designers, planners and landscape architects in their pursuit of smarter streetscape design decisions that respond to complex spatial, cultural and climatic urban challenges. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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17 pages, 6926 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Spatial Distribution Equilibrium of Elderly Care Facilities in Downtown Shanghai

by Xiaoran Huang, Pixin Gong and Marcus White

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7929; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137929 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4583

Abstract

With the growing challenge of aging populations around the world, the study of the care services for older adults is an essential initiative to accommodate the particular needs of the disadvantaged communities and promote social equity. Based on open-source data and the geographic [...] Read more.

With the growing challenge of aging populations around the world, the study of the care services for older adults is an essential initiative to accommodate the particular needs of the disadvantaged communities and promote social equity. Based on open-source data and the geographic information system (GIS), this paper quantifies and visualizes the imbalance in the spatial distribution of elderly care facilities in 14,578 neighborhoods in downtown (seven districts) Shanghai, China. Eight types of elderly care facilities were obtained from Shanghai elderly care service platform, divided into two categories according to their service scale. With the introduction of the improved Gaussian 2-step floating catchment area method, the accessibility of two category facilities was calculated. Through the global autocorrelation analysis, it is found that the accessibility of elderly care facilities has the characteristics of spatial agglomeration. Local autocorrelation analysis indicates the cold and hot spots in the accessibility agglomeration state of the two types of facilities, by which we summarized the characteristics of their spatial heterogeneity. It is found that for Category−I, there is a large range of hot spots in Huangpu District. For Category−II, the hot-spot and cold-spot areas show staggered distribution, and the two categories of hot spot distribution show a negative correlation. We conclude that the two categories are not evenly distributed in the urban area, which will lead to the low efficiency of resource allocation of elderly care facilities and have a negative impact on social fairness. This research offers a systematic method to study urban access to care services for older adults as well as a new perspective on improving social fairness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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20 pages, 4074 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Open-Access Data to Explore Relations between Urban Landscapes and Diarrhoeal Diseases in Côte d’Ivoire

by Vitor Pessoa Colombo, Jérôme Chenal, Brama Koné, Martí Bosch and Jürg Utzinger

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137677 - 23 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2159

Abstract

Unlike water and sanitation infrastructures or socio-economic indicators, landscape features are seldomly considered as predictors of diarrhoea. In contexts of rapid urbanisation and changes in the physical environment, urban planners and public health managers could benefit from a deeper understanding of the relationship [...] Read more.

Unlike water and sanitation infrastructures or socio-economic indicators, landscape features are seldomly considered as predictors of diarrhoea. In contexts of rapid urbanisation and changes in the physical environment, urban planners and public health managers could benefit from a deeper understanding of the relationship between landscape patterns and health outcomes. We conducted an ecological analysis based on a large ensemble of open-access data to identify specific landscape features associated with diarrhoea. Designed as a proof-of-concept study, our research focused on Côte d’Ivoire. This analysis aimed to (i) build a framework strictly based on open-access data and open-source software to investigate diarrhoea risk factors originating from the physical environment and (ii) understand whether different types and forms of urban settlements are associated with different prevalence rates of diarrhoea. We advanced landscape patterns as variables of exposure and tested their association with the prevalence of diarrhoea among children under the age of five years through multiple regression models. A specific urban landscape pattern was significantly associated with diarrhoea. We conclude that, while the improvement of water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructures is crucial to prevent diarrhoeal diseases, the health benefits of such improvements may be hampered if the overall physical environment remains precarious. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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23 pages, 2498 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prediction and Trend Analysis of Regional Industrial Carbon Emission in China: A Study of Nanjing City

by Zhicong Zhang, Hao Xie, Jubing Zhang, Xinye Wang, Jiayu Wei and Xibin Quan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(12), 7165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127165 - 10 Jun 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2447

Abstract

Based on the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, the impact factors of industrial carbon emission in Nanjing were considered as total population, industrial output value, labor productivity, industrialization rate, energy intensity, research and development (R&D) intensity, and [...] Read more.

Based on the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, the impact factors of industrial carbon emission in Nanjing were considered as total population, industrial output value, labor productivity, industrialization rate, energy intensity, research and development (R&D) intensity, and energy structure. Among them, the total population, industrial output value, labor productivity, and industrial energy structure played a role in promoting the increase of industrial carbon emissions in Nanjing, and the degree of influence weakened in turn. For every 1% change in these four factors, carbon emissions increased by 0.52%, 0.49%, 0.17% and 0.12%, respectively. The industrialization rate, R&D intensity, and energy intensity inhibited the increase of industrial carbon emissions, and the inhibiting effect weakened in turn. Every 1% change in these three factors inhibited the increase of industrial carbon emissions in Nanjing by 0.03%, 0.07%, and 0.02%, respectively. Then, taking the relevant data of industrial carbon emissions in Nanjing from 2006 to 2020 as a sample, the gray rolling prediction model with one variable and one first-order equation (GRPM (1,1)) forecast and scenario analysis is used to predict the industrial carbon emission in Nanjing under the influence of the pandemic from 2021 to 2030, and the three development scenarios were established as three levels of high-carbon, benchmark and low-carbon, It was concluded that Nanjing’s industrial carbon emissions in 2030 would be 229.95 million tons under the high-carbon development scenario, 226.92 million tons under the benchmark development scenario, and 220.91 million tons under the low-carbon development scenario. It can not only provide data reference for controlling industrial carbon emissions in the future but also provide policy suggestions and development routes for urban planning decision-makers. Finally, it is hoped that this provides a reference for other cities with similar development as Nanjing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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31 pages, 4502 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Corrective Effect of the Urban Growth Boundary Policy on Land Finance Dependence of Local Governments in China

by Wentao Niu, Ting Nie, Xiao Chen, Tianxi Wang, Jingyi Shi, Zhenzhen Xu and Hexiong Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4785; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084785 - 14 Apr 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2670

Abstract

The preference for land urbanization of local governments promotes urban sprawl, which leads to the dilemma of land finance dependence (LFD) of local governments and the negative constraints on the ecosystem of urban areas in China. However, how the urban growth boundary (UGB) [...] Read more.

The preference for land urbanization of local governments promotes urban sprawl, which leads to the dilemma of land finance dependence (LFD) of local governments and the negative constraints on the ecosystem of urban areas in China. However, how the urban growth boundary (UGB) policy corrects local governments’ reliance on land finance has not been discussed in depth. In July 2014, the UGB policy began to be piloted in fourteen cities in China, providing a setting to further reveal the effectiveness of the UGB policy. By constructing an evolutionary game simulation model to clarify the behavioral strategies that local governments tend to adopt in the context of the UGB policy implementation, this study proves that the effective implementation of the UGB policy, by controlling the urban land capacity, can help solve local governments’ LFD dilemma in China. The UGB policy consists of a set of technical means and policy tools that controls urban sprawl. It breaks the “unlimited land capacity” situation faced by local governments in China by limiting the urban land capacity within a given period of time, and has become a new solution to the dilemma of LFD. The implementation of the UGB policy highlighted the shortage of urban land, which has led to the increasing cost of land finance for local governments and constraints on local governments’ LFD behavior. The shortage has also forced local governments to adjust and optimize their fiscal revenue structure. The UGB policy induced ongoing evolution in the benefit distribution among relevant entities in land finance, motivated local governments and other entities to adjust their primary strategies, and made it possible to address the dilemma of LFD in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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17 pages, 3878 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification of Priority Conservation Areas for Natural Heritage Sites Integrating Landscape Ecological Risks and Ecosystem Services: A Case Study in the Bogda, China

by Tian Wang, Xiaodong Chen, Xin Zheng, Yayan Lu, Fang Han and Zhaoping Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(4), 2044; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042044 - 11 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2492

Abstract

The conservation of World Natural Heritage Sites has become a global concern. The identification of priority conservation areas can preserve the value of heritage sites while promoting sustainable development, which is important for balancing the conservation and development of heritage sites. This paper [...] Read more.

The conservation of World Natural Heritage Sites has become a global concern. The identification of priority conservation areas can preserve the value of heritage sites while promoting sustainable development, which is important for balancing the conservation and development of heritage sites. This paper proposes an integrated framework for the identification of priority conservation areas for natural heritage sites based on landscape ecological risks (LERs) and ecosystem services (ESs), taking the Bogda heritage site in Xinjiang, China as a case study. The innovative approach combined the natural and cultural elements of natural heritage sites and included the following steps: (1) the LER index, Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and questionnaire method were adopted to assess the LERs and ESs of Bogda heritage sites during 1990–2018; (2) ordered weighted averaging (OWA) was used to identify conservation priorities by weighing LERs and ESs; and (3) the optimal priority conservation area was determined by comparing the conservation efficiencies under different scenarios. The results revealed that the LER, carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), aesthetic value (AV), and recreational value (RV) showed significant spatiotemporal variation. The most suitable priority conservation area was located at the central forestlands and high-coverage grasslands, with conservation efficiencies of 1.16, 2.91, 1.96, 1.03, and 1.21 for LER, CS, HQ, AV, and RV, respectively. Our study demonstrated that integrating LERs and ESs is a comprehensive and effective approach to identifying conservation priorities for heritage sites. The results can provide decision support for the conservation of the Bogda heritage site and a methodological reference for identifying conservation priorities for natural heritage sites. Furthermore, this study is also an effective application of LERs and ESs in identifying priority conservation areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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17 pages, 1458 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Tourism Development Make Cities More Livable? Investigating 40 Cities in China

by Lei Kang, Zhaoping Yang, Yunxiao Dang, Wenzhong Zhang and Caicai Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(1), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010472 - 1 Jan 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2716

Abstract

The field of rapid urbanization has recently paid more attention to the relationship between tourism development and liveable city construction. Previous studies have mainly focused on the experiences of tourists in tourist cities and seldom paid attention to the perceptions of local residents. [...] Read more.

The field of rapid urbanization has recently paid more attention to the relationship between tourism development and liveable city construction. Previous studies have mainly focused on the experiences of tourists in tourist cities and seldom paid attention to the perceptions of local residents. Based on survey data of nearly 10,000 permanent residents in 40 key tourist cities in China, this study uses a multilevel model to quantitatively analyse the natural environment characteristics, sociocultural environment characteristics and comprehensive attraction of tourism in different tourist cities to explore their impact on urban liveability satisfaction. Results show that the developed tourist cities do not exactly correspond to the cities with a high liveability evaluation. The objective evaluation of both the natural environment and the sociocultural environment has an important influence on the liveability of cities, but the influence of the natural environment is stronger than that of the sociocultural environment. An intermediary effect exists in the subjective evaluation of the natural environment and environments for liveability perception. Simultaneously, residents’ liveability satisfaction varies according to their age, education level, annual household income and other social and economic conditions. These findings provide insights for developing countries to further improve residents’ living quality and urban construction under the condition of the rapid development of tourism. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Environmental Management and Urban Health Issues: What Sustainable and Livable Cities Look Like?)

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