International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Research

20 pages, 783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Drivers of Household Recycling Behavior in the City of Johannesburg, South Africa

by Dorothea Christina Schoeman and Isaac Tebogo Rampedi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(10), 6229; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19106229 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2406

This paper has assessed the relationship between recycling behavior and socio-demographic variables for households in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research also identified the underlying driving factors that motivate recyclers to separate their household waste for recycling. These objectives were addressed by means of [...] Read more.

This paper has assessed the relationship between recycling behavior and socio-demographic variables for households in Johannesburg, South Africa. The research also identified the underlying driving factors that motivate recyclers to separate their household waste for recycling. These objectives were addressed by means of a quantitative survey research design as well as descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Based on the results, the statements that represented attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, moral norms, situational factors, outcomes, and consequences of recycling were highly agreed to by respondents. Three factors influencing household recycling behavior were identified, namely, recycling benefits, perceived control, and situational variables. The recycling benefits construct explained 45.6% of the variance, followed by the perceived control construct (12%) and the situational variables construct explained 11% of the variance. However, the results of the EFA and multiple regression identified the situational variable as the greatest single driver of household participation in recycling. It is therefore important to overcome situational barriers that the residents of Johannesburg are currently facing if the current household waste separating program is to become successful. This would require simplifying the process of household recycling by providing appropriate knowledge, infrastructure, and the space for waste sorting and its collection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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22 pages, 5505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Medium-Sized Cities Facing the Demographic Challenge in Spain’s Low-Density Regions through Citizen Participation Projects

by María Ángeles Rodríguez-Domenech

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5303; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095303 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1570

Abstract

The roles of medium-sized cities in processes of demographic challenge have taken many different paths. New forms of urban sprawl, deconcentrating processes, and the emergence of the diffuse city have marked a change in the relations that Spanish medium-sized cities have traditionally had [...] Read more.

The roles of medium-sized cities in processes of demographic challenge have taken many different paths. New forms of urban sprawl, deconcentrating processes, and the emergence of the diffuse city have marked a change in the relations that Spanish medium-sized cities have traditionally had with their most directly influenced territories. In line with the theoretical framework of the European next generation urban regeneration programme, the main aim of this paper is to propose a methodology to develop a project that fosters resilience strategies and the revitalization of local environments. This will also benefit the institutions that are involved in promoting it. The innovative methodology employed has been denominated the “We Propose!” project and has received several national acknowledgments. This is a strategically designed civic participation urban renewal project and has been subject to geographical analysis through field trips and in situ research. A case study into urban renewal strategies was carried out in Ciudad Real, which is a medium-sized city in Spain’s third largest region. It includes an evaluation of both the design and implementation of what could be considered a successful case of urban renewal carried out in the city. This urban development initiative was undertaken by the public administration, but it was designed and proposed by local citizens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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23 pages, 2500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective

by Sa Xu, Cunyi Yang, Zhehao Huang and Pierre Failler

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5074; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095074 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 74 | Viewed by 5983

Abstract

The digital economy and the green economy are two major issues for economic recovery in the post epidemic era. From spatial interaction spillover, we analyze and measure the relationships between the digital economy and environmental pollution in 287 prefecture-level cities in China from [...] Read more.

The digital economy and the green economy are two major issues for economic recovery in the post epidemic era. From spatial interaction spillover, we analyze and measure the relationships between the digital economy and environmental pollution in 287 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2018 using simultaneous spatial equations and the generalized 3-stage least square (GS3SLS) method. The results show that: (1) there is a reverse and complex spatio-temporal evolution of the digital economy and environmental pollution in Chinese cities. (2) There is a spatial interaction spillover effect between the digital economy and environmental pollution. Local digital economy and environmental pollution inhibit each other. The digital economy and environmental pollution have a significant spatial spillover. The digital economy of surrounding regions has a suppressive effect on local environmental pollution. The environmental pollution of surrounding cities has a crowding-out effect on the local digital economy. (3) Digital economy suppresses environmental pollution through the green development effect and innovative development effect; environmental pollution suppresses the digital economy through the talent crowding out effect and the policy tightening effect. The conclusion of this paper provides evidence for the coupling and coordinated development between the digital and green economy, which is of great significance for promoting the transformation of economic development modes and realizing green and high-quality development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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19 pages, 3242 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Urban Green and Smart Development Level in China: Evidence from 232 Prefecture-Level Cities

by Lingyan Xu, Dandan Wang and Jianguo Du

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(7), 3939; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073939 - 25 Mar 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1906

Abstract

Green and smart city is an optimal choice for cities to realize their modernization of governance capacity and sustainable development. As such, it is necessary to clarify the evolutionary characteristics and driving mechanism of urban green and smart development level (GSDL) systematically. From [...] Read more.

Green and smart city is an optimal choice for cities to realize their modernization of governance capacity and sustainable development. As such, it is necessary to clarify the evolutionary characteristics and driving mechanism of urban green and smart development level (GSDL) systematically. From the perspective of green total factor productivity (GTFP), this study adopted the SBM-GML (slack-based model & global Malmquist–Luenberger) method to measure the urban GSDL considering smart input-output elements. Based on the panel data of China’s 232 prefecture-level cities from 2005 to 2018, the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of urban GSDL were explored, and the factors and structural mutation points affecting urban GSDL were analyzed with quantile regression tests and threshold regression tests. The findings of this paper showed that (1) there is an upward trend in the volatility of urban GSDL from 2005 to 2018, in which the eastern region was highest, followed by the central and western regions, and the differentiation showed no converge among regions; (2) the effect of technical progress and technical efficiency improvement on the urban GSDL was demonstrated with a fluctuating “Two-Wheel-Drive” trend on the whole; (3) the urban GSDL was promoted by the opening-up level and urban scale significantly, while inhibited by the level of economic development and government size. Additionally, the effects of industrial structure, financial development level, and human capital level on the urban GSDL were distinctive at different loci; (4) the threshold effects of economic and financial development level on improving the positive effects of industrial structure and opening-up level on urban GSDL were significant. These findings may enrich the research literature on the evolutionary heterogeneity of green and smart cities and provide theoretical and practical exploration for the construction of green and smart cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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15 pages, 340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Activating beyond Informing: Action-Oriented Utilization of WeChat by Chinese Environmental NGOs

by Jing Xu and Huijun Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(7), 3776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073776 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1730

Abstract

Social media has generated new opportunities for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to inform and educate publics, and more powerfully, it enables NGOs to mobilize people to act. To enhance understanding how social media functions to serve action-oriented communication for organizations, we focused on WeChat, [...] Read more.

Social media has generated new opportunities for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to inform and educate publics, and more powerfully, it enables NGOs to mobilize people to act. To enhance understanding how social media functions to serve action-oriented communication for organizations, we focused on WeChat, the largest social media in China. We examined an original dataset of 2472 articles posted by 175 environmental NGOs (ENGOs) during a two-month period in 2019 on WeChat. A qualitative content analysis was conducted to identify what actions ENGOs use WeChat to mobilize. We used statistical methods to analyze the effectiveness of ENGOs’ action-oriented utilization of WeChat and the organizational differences in the adoption of action-oriented messages. This study reveals that more than a quarter of the articles were mobilizational in nature. There were three major types of action ENGOs mobilize via WeChat. Though the informational use of WeChat is extensive, users prefer action-oriented messages and the activating strategy is more effective in motivating users to engage. Our analysis indicates that the more participatory people feel, the more likely they are to respond to WeChat messages, and the more they are involved. Our findings have implications for how the adoption of WeChat helps engender new paradigms of citizen participation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

21 pages, 1678 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Too Big or Too Small? The Threshold Effects of City Size on Regional Pollution in China

by Xiong Chen and Wencui Du

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(4), 2184; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042184 - 15 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1339

Abstract

The relationship between urban agglomeration and environmental pollution was checked using the balanced panel data of 285 cities in China from 2003 to 2016 and applying the fixed-effect model and the threshold effect model. This showed that: (1) the relationship between urban agglomeration [...] Read more.

The relationship between urban agglomeration and environmental pollution was checked using the balanced panel data of 285 cities in China from 2003 to 2016 and applying the fixed-effect model and the threshold effect model. This showed that: (1) the relationship between urban agglomeration (represented by city size) and environmental pollution is not linear but an inverted U-shape. As long as the GDP is less than 800,370 million RMB, the expansion of city size is not conducive to reducing pollutant emissions. When GDP is less than 41,641 million RMB, the influence of city expansion on environmental pollution is relatively less. When GDP is higher than 800,370 million RMB, the city expansion may reduce pollutant emission. (2) The city size is not too big but is in fact too small. Only 18 cities experienced the inverted U-shape with the expansion of their city size, causing the gas and water pollutant emissions to decrease. (3) For cities in an urban agglomeration, environmental pollution can be reduced by expanding the city size through coordinated development of urban agglomeration. In conclusion, for most large cities in urban agglomerations in China, the city size is not too large but too small. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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24 pages, 2989 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Development of Urban Metro System: Perspective of Coordination between Supply and Demand

by Yinghan Zhu, Liudan Jiao, Yu Zhang, Ya Wu and Xiaosen Huo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10349; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910349 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2329

Abstract

Metro systems are gradually becoming more and more crucial in promoting the economy and society in cities. However, various challenges such as financial resources and the efficiency of utilizing these metro plans bring difficulties for metro construction. Hence, accurately evaluating the urban metro [...] Read more.

Metro systems are gradually becoming more and more crucial in promoting the economy and society in cities. However, various challenges such as financial resources and the efficiency of utilizing these metro plans bring difficulties for metro construction. Hence, accurately evaluating the urban metro system’s development condition seems significant for the sustainable development of the urban metro system. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation indicator system of metro development conditions containing 25 indicators from dimensions of demand and supply is established in this study, and a coupling coordination degree model combined with the entropy weight method and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is proposed to analyze the level of metro development conditions and coupling coordination conditions of 35 cities in China. According to the calculation results, 35 cities are divided into six categories, and radar charts are constructed to promote the sustainable development of the metro system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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27 pages, 2424 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Interaction Spillover Effects between Digital Financial Technology and Urban Ecological Efficiency in China: An Empirical Study Based on Spatial Simultaneous Equations

by Yaya Su, Zhenghui Li and Cunyi Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8535; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168535 - 12 Aug 2021

Cited by 107 | Viewed by 5626

Abstract

As a core component of the digital economy, digital financial technology has a complex interactive and interdependent relationship with ecological efficiency. From the holistic spatial interaction perspective, this paper uses spatial simultaneous equations and generalized spatial three-stage least squares (GS3SLS) to analyze the [...] Read more.

As a core component of the digital economy, digital financial technology has a complex interactive and interdependent relationship with ecological efficiency. From the holistic spatial interaction perspective, this paper uses spatial simultaneous equations and generalized spatial three-stage least squares (GS3SLS) to analyze the spatial interaction spillovers between digital financial technology and urban ecological efficiency based on data from 284 Cities in China from 2008 to 2018. The results show that: (1) Digital financial technology and urban ecological efficiency promote each other, and the latter is relatively dominant. (2) Both digital financial technology and urban ecological efficiency have significant spatial spillover effects. (3) Digital financial technology in surrounding cities has a restraining effect on local ecological efficiency, and the improvement of ecological efficiency in surrounding cities has a siphon effect on local digital financial technology. (4) There is spatial and period heterogeneity in the intensity of the spatial interaction spillover effect between the two. With resources and environment increasingly becoming rigid constraints on economic growth, these findings help identify new drivers of regional ecological efficiency and promote the coordinated development of digital finance and green ecology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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13 pages, 5322 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Evaluating the Effect of Window-to-Wall Ratios on Cooling-Energy Demand on a Typical Summer Day

by Jiayu Li, Bohong Zheng, Komi Bernard Bedra, Zhe Li and Xiao Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8411; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168411 - 09 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2008

Abstract

The window-to-wall ratio (WWR) significantly affects the indoor thermal environment, causing changes in buildings’ energy demands. This research couples the “Envi-met” model and the “TRNSYS” model to predict the impact of the window-to-wall ratio on indoor cooling energy demands in south Hunan. With [...] Read more.

The window-to-wall ratio (WWR) significantly affects the indoor thermal environment, causing changes in buildings’ energy demands. This research couples the “Envi-met” model and the “TRNSYS” model to predict the impact of the window-to-wall ratio on indoor cooling energy demands in south Hunan. With the coupled model, “Envi-met + TRNSYS”, fixed meteorological parameters around the exterior walls are replaced by varied data provided by Envi-met. This makes TRNSYS predictions more accurate. Six window-to-wall ratios are considered in this research, and in each scenario, the electricity demand for cooling is predicted using “Envi-met + TRNSYS”. Based on the classification of thermal perception in south Hunan, the TRNSYS predictions of the electricity demand start with 30 °C as the threshold of refrigeration. The analytical results reveal that in a 6-storey residential building with 24 households, in order to maintain the air temperature below 30 °C, the electricity required for cooling buildings with 0% WWR, 20% WWR, 40% WWR, 60% WWR, 80% WWR, and 100% WWR are respectively 0 KW·h, 19.6 KW·h, 133.7 KW·h, 273.1 KW·h, 374.5 KW·h, and 461.9 KW·h. This method considers the influence of microclimate on the exterior wall and improves the accuracy of TRNSYS in predicting the energy demand for indoor cooling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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16 pages, 11066 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimizing Green-Gray Infrastructure for Non-Point Source Pollution Control under Future Uncertainties

by Xinyu Dong, Peng Yuan, Yonghui Song and Wenxuan Yi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7586; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147586 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2832

Abstract

Non-Point Source Pollution (NPS) caused by polluted and untreated stormwater runoff discharging into water bodies has become a serious threat to the ecological environment. Green infrastructure and gray infrastructure are considered to be the main stormwater management measures, and the issue of their [...] Read more.

Non-Point Source Pollution (NPS) caused by polluted and untreated stormwater runoff discharging into water bodies has become a serious threat to the ecological environment. Green infrastructure and gray infrastructure are considered to be the main stormwater management measures, and the issue of their cost-effectiveness is a widespread concern for decision makers. Multi-objective optimization is one of the most reliable and commonly used approaches in solving cost-effectiveness issues. However, many studies optimized green and gray infrastructure under an invariant condition, and the additional benefits of green infrastructure were neglected. In this study, a simulation-optimization framework was developed by integrated Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) and Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) to optimize green and gray infrastructure for NPS control under future scenarios, and a realistic area of Sponge City in Nanchang, China, was used as a typical case. Different levels of additional benefits of green infrastructure were estimated in the optimizing process. The results demonstrated that green-gray infrastructure can produce a co-benefit if the green infrastructure have appropriate Value of Additional Benefits (VAB), otherwise, gray infrastructure will be a more cost-effectiveness measure. Moreover, gray infrastructure is more sensitive than green infrastructure and green-gray infrastructure under future scenarios. The findings of the study could help decision makers to develop suitable planning for NPS control based on investment cost and water quality objectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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30 pages, 3457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improvement Path for Resource-Constrained Cities Identified Using an Environmental Co-Governance Assessment Framework Based on BWM-mV Model

by Jian Wang, Jin-Chun Huang, Shan-Lin Huang, Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng and Ting Zhu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4969; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094969 - 07 May 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2309

Abstract

Global warming and extreme weather have increased most people’s awareness of the problem of environmental destruction. In the domain of sustainable development, environmental governance has received considerable scholarly attention. However, protecting and improving the environment requires not only substantial capital investment but also [...] Read more.

Global warming and extreme weather have increased most people’s awareness of the problem of environmental destruction. In the domain of sustainable development, environmental governance has received considerable scholarly attention. However, protecting and improving the environment requires not only substantial capital investment but also cooperation among stakeholders. Therefore, based on the network structure of stakeholders, the best–worst method (BWM) and modified Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje method were combined to form an environmental co-governance assessment framework that can be used to evaluate the effects of various policies and identify strategies for further improvement through data analysis (henceforth the BWM-mV model). This mechanism is not only useful for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental governance policies but also for generating suggestions to enhance these policies. Hence, the BWM-mV model is particularly suitable for local governments with limited resources in time, money, or labor. Pingxiang City Government is currently subject to such limitations and was therefore selected as the subject of an empirical case study. The results of this study revealed that the aspects (i.e., criteria) the Pingxiang City Government should urgently improve on pertain to a high-quality information communication platform (C₁₃) and smooth joint decision-making by stakeholders (C₂₄). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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18 pages, 1546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Tenure and Green Production Behavior: Empirical Analysis Based on Fertilizer Use by Cotton Farmers in China

by Hui Mao, Yujia Chai and Shaojian Chen

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094677 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2311

Abstract

Stable land rights can increase farmers’ expectations regarding the future and encourage their adoption of green production methods, which is an important guarantee for promoting the development of green agriculture development. This paper takes the fertilizer use as an example and systematically investigated [...] Read more.

Stable land rights can increase farmers’ expectations regarding the future and encourage their adoption of green production methods, which is an important guarantee for promoting the development of green agriculture development. This paper takes the fertilizer use as an example and systematically investigated the impact of land tenure stability on the green production behavior of heterogeneous farmers based on a field survey data of 349 cotton-planting farmers from Xinjiang, China. Furthermore, this research aims to assess the differential impact of land tenure stability on different risk preferences, organizational forms and ethnic groups. This study is a continuation of previous studies on factors influencing green production behavior. The results show that land transfers have an inhibiting effect on farmers’ green production behavior and this effect is more significant among risk-averse farmers, local farmers and minority nationalities farmers. The land tenure period can promote the green production of farmers and alleviate the restraining effect of land transfers on farmers’ green production behavior. Additionally, farmers of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) and large-scale households are more inclined to green production. The Chinese Government needs to further promote land transfer to large-scale households, improve the stability of land rights and adopt differentiated policies for heterogeneous farmers to encourage their green production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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16 pages, 5462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effect of Government Emission Reduction Policy: Evidence from Demonstration Cities in China

by Yunchan Zhu, Shuo Han, Yimeng Zhang and Qi Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4649; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094649 - 27 Apr 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2139

Abstract

The effectiveness of government environmental policies is pivotal to environmental quality and provides the reference for further policy design. This paper estimates the effect of comprehensive demonstration of fiscal policy for ECER (Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction) on pollution emissions in Chinese cities [...] Read more.

The effectiveness of government environmental policies is pivotal to environmental quality and provides the reference for further policy design. This paper estimates the effect of comprehensive demonstration of fiscal policy for ECER (Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction) on pollution emissions in Chinese cities with the sample period from 2003 to 2016, which is an important practice for policy integration. We find that this policy reduces the industrial SO₂ (sulfur dioxide) emission by 23.8% on average and the industrial wastewater emission by 17.5% on average. This policy, implemented by Chinese government, has effectively achieved its target for emission reduction. A series of robustness checks are also conducted to verify the baseline results. Mechanism analysis indicates that this policy has the effect by the change in the industry structure and the enhancement of fiscal capacity, especially the capacity of fiscal revenue. Some policy recommendations, such as laying emphasis on the policy integration, integrating the financial resources of governments and expanding the demonstration effect, are proposed in order to facilitate green development in Chinese cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Management and Sustainable City)

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