Search

• Explore the land use-travel relationship from a household perspective. • Examine how residential and workplace built environments affect partners' travels. • Land use factors have varied and even contrast effects on partners' travel behaviors. • Land use factors affect husbands' travels indirectly by affecting wives' travels. The linkage between travel and the built environment has received extensive research attention over the past decades. However, the existing studies normally evaluate the built environment effect on travel from an individual-based perspective, neglecting the influence of intra-household interactions. We argue that individuals' travel behavior is derived from the allocation of household tasks and resources (e.g., household vehicles) and the travel behaviors of household members are interdependent. This suggests that the built environment may impact one member's travel behavior indirectly through its influence on others members' travel choices. Thus, examining the travel impact of the built environment needs to consider intra-household interactions. This paper proposes to analyze the land use-travel relationship from a household perspective. We simultaneously examine the effects of the built environments of residential and work locations on married couples' travel behaviors, considering the interrelations between their travels and controlling for both partners' travel attitudes. The empirical study in Beijing, China indicates that the built environment effect on travel is different between partners. Two work environment factors influence the partners' driving behaviors in opposite directions. Moreover, the wife's travel behavior mediates the association between the built environment and the husband's travel behavior. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the land use impact on travel behavior from the household perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The relationship between commuting behaviour and congestion satisfaction are significant. • Semi-parameter model results are robust. • Heterogeneous effects on perceived satisfaction about congestion across social-spatial gradients. Abstract Megacity growth in developing countries suffers from heavy congestion, which undermines satisfaction as experienced by local residents. Drawing on a large scale individual survey in Beijing, this paper explores the social-spatial differentiation of urbanites' satisfaction perceptions about congestion by comparing residents with various motorized commuting modes including car, shuttle bus, and public transit. The results show that shuttle bus commuters are significantly associated with better satisfaction perceptions about congestion than other commuting mode users. We find that perceived wellbeing implications vary with demographic characteristics and transport accessibility characteristics. Findings from this study suggest the importance of considering neighborhood built environment into the design of land use and transport policy aiming to enhance commuters' subjective experiences towards congestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Firstly, this paper analyzes the basic principles and processes of the spatial pattern changes of land use in towns and villages, and the result shows that the land resource demands of urban development and population growth lead to the spatial pattern changes. Secondly, in order to grip land use changes better, the paper proposes a method for the simulation of spatial patterns. The simulating method can be divided into two parts: one is a quantitative forecast by using the Markov model, and the other is simulating the spatial pattern changes by using the CA model. The above two models construct the simulative model of the spatial pattern of land use in towns and villages. Finally, selecting Fangshan which is a district of Beijing as the experimental area, both the quantity and spatial pattern changing characteristics are investigated through building a changing dataset of land use by using spatial analysis methods based on the land use data in 2001, 2006 and 2008; CA–Markov is used to simulate the spatial pattern of land use in Fangshan for 2015. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In recent decades, with the growth of population and the acceleration of urbanization in China, cultivated land resources have become increasingly scarce, and cultivated land embodied in trade has become more and more important to areas with insufficient arable land. The measurement of embodied cultivated land is critical to explore the land use profile and understand the social and environmental issues related to land. However, few studies have explored the embodied cultivated land change and its socio-economic driving forces. Therefore, this study tracks the cultivated land embodied in products and serves traded between 30 provinces and 8 regions in China, adopting a multi-regional input-output model. We also identify the determinants of the changes in embodied cultivated land use through the structural decomposition analysis (SDA). Here we found that more than 80% of total cultivated land consumption in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing is satisfied by other provinces, indicating that the more economically developed a province is, the less self-sufficient it will be with respect to the land required to support its consumption. The average proportion of embodied cultivated land among Chinese provinces is shown to have decreased from 41.39% in 2007 to 35.35% in 2012, indicating that dependence on cultivated land among Chinese provinces increased over this period. The results also highlight the fact that the most affluent regions in China, including the South Coast, Central Coast, and Beijing–Tianjin, have the highest imports of cultivated land embodied in products from the underdeveloped central and western regions. Further, our SDA results reveal that in most provinces, changes in embodied cultivated land can be attributed to the factors of cultivated land-use intensity and consumption volume. This paper helps determine where the responsibility for land consumption lies and provides data support for the construction of a land governance system, which helps to achieve environmental equity in the context of regional trade. • The embodied cultivated land-use change and its drivers were explored through MRIO and SDA. • More than 80% of cultivated land consumption in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Beijing is satisfied by other provinces. • The average proportion of embodied cultivated land among Chinese provinces decreased by 6.02%. • The changes in embodied cultivated land is mainly attributed to changes in land-use intensity and consumption volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since the late 1970s, transitions in socioeconomic status and new governmental policies have led to drastic changes in agricultural land use types and farm management practices across rural China, such as an increase in the area of land cultivated for cash–crops (e.g. vegetables and orchards) and intensive fertilization and irrigation of this land. How this more intensive management and land use for the more profitable cash crops affects soil nutrients is of great concern for carbon, soil and water quality management. In this paper, we attempted to assess the influence of cash crop ecosystems on soil nutrients in the catchment upstream of the Guanting Reservoir, in the Beijing municipality, North China plain. Soil nutrients in cash crop (orchard and vegetable) ecosystems with between 8 and 20years of intensive management history were compared with traditional agro-ecosystem management patterns (corn and soybean). Results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) had improved, and total nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (P) concentrations had marginally increased under intensive management practices in the vegetable and orchard ecosystems in the last 25years. The increases in SOC and total P densities at the 100cm soil depth in orchard, vegetable and irrigated corn systems were greater than those in the rain fed corn and soybean systems. Soil available P and electrical conductivity (EC) were highest in the vegetable lands. However, no significant changes were found between the soil physical properties (i.e. bulk density, clay content and water stable aggregate content) of the traditional and cash-cropping systems. Multi regression analysis showed that manure and mineral fertilizer contributed significantly to the increase in soil nutrients. Intensively managed orchards are a better option for improving soil quality and SOC sequestration. However, the risks of nonpoint source pollution from, and soil salinization in, the land used for vegetable cultivation should be considered in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper contributes to the study of planning for low-carbon cities by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between planning parameters (i.e., density, land use mix, accessibility to public transportation and jobs-housing balance) and household carbon emission in Beijing, China. Five neighborhoods representing different levels of carbon emission are selected using a household survey dataset that includes 1227 sample households; these neighborhoods are analyzed using the survey dataset together with land use data provided by the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Commission. Findings confirm that higher population density, mixed land-use patterns, better accessibility to public transportation, and job-housing balance are important planning parameters that reduce household carbon emission in Beijing. This research provides the first empirical evidence from a large Asian city that can assist planners and policy makers in estimating the impact that planning principles can have on reducing household carbon emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper developed a method to evaluate the efficiency of urban structure with a focus on public transportation systems. Taking Beijing as an example, the factors of the accessibility of public transportation were identified from perspectives of public transportation services, local economics, and road constructions. Then, people''s satisfaction with public transportation as well as factors of accessibility and people''s personal attributes were analyzed with a Multi-level logistic regression model, and the significant factors of the satisfaction were identified. It was found that the number of bus stops within the vicinity of 800 m, the accessibility to the main places of the city through one ride by public transportation, as well as people''s socio-economic attributes have significantly affected the satisfaction of residents with public transportation services. Based on the results, the urban structure of Beijing in terms of public transportation system was evaluated and proposals were made to improve the transportation environment of Beijing. For example, it was proposed that there should be new bus stops passing the blank areas out of the 800 m service areas of bus stops; bus lines to the main places should be improved; and policy measures should be taken in response to the spatial distribution of residents with different socio-economic features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies have revealed that statistical methods can be used to analyze land-leasing parcel data. However, the conventional statistical methods used in land analysis have some limitations, especially in cases of limited observational data. In this paper, with the help of geographic information system (GIS) techniques, a partial least squares (PLS) path model is applied to study the relationship between residential land prices and various determinants through a case study of Beijing in China. From a preliminary analysis, four latent variables are selected: accessibility of the workplace center, livability, traffic, and environment facilities. The results show that the observation variables have a strong explanatory power for their corresponding latent variables, and the four latent variables have varying impacts on residential land prices. Of the latent variables, accessibility to the workplace center has the strongest impact on the residential land price. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Operationally AVHRR and TM/TM+ data were used and a supervised maximum likelihood classification (MLH) was applied to depict land use changes in Beijing, providing basic maps for planning and development. With rapid growth of the city these are helpful to deal with higher resolution data, whereas new classification algorithms produce land use maps more accurate. In the paper, new sensor ASTER data and the Kohonen self-organized neural network feature map (KSOM) were tested. The TSOM classified 7% more accurately than the maximum likelihood algorithm in general, and 50% more accurately for the classes ‘residential area’ and ‘roads’. The results suggest that ASTER data and the Kohonen self-organized neural network classification can be used as an alternative data and method in a land use update operational system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The knowledge of soil environmental quality and its changing trends is important for safe and sustainable land utilization. However, comprehensive information on soil environment carrying capacity, involving environmental, economic and social pressures, is relatively rare. In this study, a modified dynamic capacity model is developed to estimate soil environment carrying capacity in terms of a combined consideration of soil environment capacity, cumulative input/output rate and risk characteristics. Based on the method proposed, this paper demonstrates the current pollution status and remaining soil capacity of the Beijing urban area, and establishes a conceptual "early warning" model for soil environmental quality, to predict time-dependent changing patterns of soil pollutants under different accumulation scenarios. The results showed that for Beijing soil environmental carrying capacity varied with land use type and pollutant. Compared with Cu, Zn and Pb, Cd posed the greatest threat to soil environmental carrying capacity in both residential areas and green parks. Heavy metal carrying capacity in soils in built-up areas in Beijing was not overloaded currently, and will not deteriorate significantly over the short-to medium-term in a hypothetical "decreased input" scenario. The method proposed provides a simple, cost-effective, and quantitative tool for mapping soil quality level, and assessing the need for risk management measures, in China and elsewhere. • Natural attenuation capacity provides basis for soil environment carrying capacity. • Cumulative rate and risk characteristics are other dominant factors in model input. • An early warning system is necessary for effective risk management measures. • Soil environmental carrying capacity varied with land use type and pollutant. • The framework and model are transferable in other international urban settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]