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• Effects of urbanization expansion and maturity on vegetation growth are investigated. • Looser urban expansion patterns help offset direct vegetation loss. • Laggard cities effectively offset direct vegetation loss. • Urban maturity level has a higher driving effect on urban ecological offset effect. • Indirect impact of urbanization can offset direct negative on vegetation. Rapid urbanization replaces vegetation with build-up land, which threatens green spaces and the well-being of residents. In this study, the urban expansion patterns (UEPs) of build-up land from 2000 to 2020 were identified for 40 typical large cities in China, and their urban maturity (UM) was quantified. The different UEPs and UM types were used to analyze the comprehensive impacts of different types of cities on vegetation growth at different urbanization expansion intensity gradients. Finally, the relationship between different driving forces and the urban ecological effects was explored. The results showed that mature cities and the infilling cities experienced vegetation loss while other UEPs and UM levels resulted in increased vegetation growth. In particular, laggard cities and looser UEPs were able to effectively offset the direct vegetation loss caused by urbanization. The UM level had a high driving effect on the urban ecological offset. In the future, the scale and speed of urbanization can be optimized to reasonable levels and the urban ecological restoration should be strengthened to meet the needs of ecological security. This study contributes to explore the effectiveness of the urbanization process and land management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city of Rio de Janeiro has implemented, on a large scale, the model of Social Organizations (OSS) for the management of Primary Health Care (PHC). This option makes the understanding of the city's experience very relevant, especially since, until then, the OSS organizational model had been adopted predominantly in the SUS hospital management. Thus, the experience of PHC development at two conflicting moments of municipal management in relation to the OSS model is analyzed: the implementation and development of the PPPs (2009-2016); and their dismantling (2017-2020). Case Studies, Literature Review and analysis of public data from DATASUS/Ministry of Health were used. It was verified that: the adoption of outsourcing based on OSS can be directly associated with the rapid expansion of PHC in the city and PHC coverage improvement indicators; the diffusion of the OSS model is associated with the high priority given to health expenditures in the municipal budget; the sustainability of the adoption of the OSS model did not depend on the municipality's economic status, but on the government's political choice in the period of 2009 to 2016. The PPP arrangement resulted in important organizational advances, although it did not prevent the veto of the OSS model carried out during the 2017-2020 term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that globally 3.7 million deaths were attributable to ambient air pollution (AAP) in 2012. Traffic congestion is one of the significant sources of air pollutants Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are advanced technologies that have been used widely in large cities. They have a potential impact on reducing traffic congestion and then improving environmental quality. Many countries have targeted urban policy traffic enforcement strategies that are ITS-based on improving traffic emission and air quality. Because each strategy has a different impact level, the strategy that positively impacts location and traffic conditions might negatively impact under different conditions. Also, the authorities that take the decision which strategies could be implemented. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the potential impact of traffic enforcement strategies on reducing traffic emissions and improving air quality. In our study, three typical traffic enforcement strategies were evaluated: a traffic management regulation for speed limit changes, route changing, and fleet composition changes. The impact of these strategies on air quality was evaluated through evaluating the traffic air quality changes brought by these strategies against a baseline (Base Case) scenario. The results indicate that the impact of these strategies on increasing environmental quality is not always positive. The reduction of CO was the highest in the speed restriction scenario (25.6%) than other scenarios. While reducing the reduction of PM10 was less in speed restriction scenario (25.6%) than other scenarios. The findings can help the decision makers implement the best strategy to reduce traffic emission under different situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road lighting is an important road-furniture to improve road user's visibility during dark condition. The aim of this study is to evaluate and then recommend the application of road lighting standard towards sustainable transportation. Case study is carried out on a road with 2.3 km length and 51 light poles in a large city Bandung in Indonesia. Indonesia National Standard (SNI-7391:2008) and international standard CIE (Commission International de I’Echairage) are used to evaluate the road lighting. Lux meter, laser distance meter, and GPS application used to measure the field data. Result study indicated there are good average-luminance (cd/m 2 ), good overall light-uniformity (U 0 ), poor longitudinal light-uniformity (U 1 ), and fair threshold-increment value (TI) of the road lighting. Recommended solution toward sustainable transportation are implementation of uniform distance and height of light poles, uniform kind of LED, periodic maintenance of light function and using solar cell panel as an electric energy source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast with the classical topics of poverty and exclusion of rural areas, the multiple dualities in the social-spatial dimension of villages in semi-urbanized suburbs of China’s large cities have received little attention to date. As this paper demonstrates, such dualities have emerged during China’s rapid urbanization since the early 2000s. It is firstly argued that these dual characteristics are derived from the institutional separation of urban and rural entitlements (e.g., hukou , welfare, land property ownership etc.). These distinctions are then projected into social capital differentiation, such as the division between the strong and weak ties of local community residents. Consequentially, the dualities are embodied in the residential space segregation between established residents and rural migrants that is divided into Houses in Single-Family Occupancy (HSFOs) and Houses in Multiple-Family Occupancy (HMFOs). To support these claims, a case study of the village of Zhoucun, a southern suburb of the Nanjing Metropolitan Area on the east coast China, is used. This draws on both quantitative and qualitative data that includes interviews with authorized officers from local government to municipal government, and a questionnaire survey and interviews with both the HSFO and HMFO residents themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown persistent inequalities in access to health care between and within sociodemographic groups and geographic areas. Yet much of what we know about geographical disparities in access comes from studies of regional and urban/rural contrasts, or from studies of intra-urban, neighborhood-level variations. We know relatively little about variations in access to primary health care across different urban areas, and whether such variations translate into differences among residents' health. This study examines how health status and access to primary care vary across five of Canada's largest cities, paying particular attention to populations that may be particularly vulnerable based on age and income. Across all outcomes, there was a consistently strong relationship with individual socioeconomic status. We show that city of residence is important for access to health care but not for health status. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance for urban health-care policy and delivery, and impacts on health and access to care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cahiers de Géographie du Québec is the property of Universite Laval, Departement de Geographie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Adaptation to climate change and related coastal risks are key issues for communities living close to the Mediterranean Sea. The study explores how inhabitants of Marseilles and Nice, two major cities on the French Mediterranean coast, perceive recent climate change and how competent they find themselves in coping with changing climate and coastal risks. It also analyses the influence of socio-demographic and psycho-social variables on their perceived level of coping. The tool used is the French translated and adapted version of the Climate Change Perception Inventory (CCPI) by Rishi and Mudaliar (2014), filled in by a total of 475 participants in the study. Results show that in both cities, respondents are aware of climate change, but are not really worried about it. Marseilles and Nice differ in the role played by Coastal Subjective Well-Being. In both samples, the most important predictor of Coping and Adaptation is Climate related Stress and Emotional Concern. Finally, the study highlights the importance of considering psycho-social variables in the management of Climate Change Adaptation. • Understanding risk perception important to adapt coastal cities to climate change. • Climate Change Perception Inventory Tool used in Marseilles and Nice (475 participants). • Respondents aware of climate change, but not worried about it. • Marseilles and Nice differ greatly on Coastal Subjective Well-Being. • Coping with climate change best predicted by Climate Stress and Emotional Concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social Sciences (1392-0758) is the property of Kaunas University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The work of Richard Florida and others links economic development with the growing creativity of large, tolerant and cosmopolitan cities. In contrast, this article documents a highly creative and innovative agrarian counterpart. Australia, unlike most countries, exports much of its farm output which, in turn, receives little public subsidy. This paper explores how cutting-edge Research and Development (R&D) and rapid innovation contribute to maintaining the sector's global competitiveness, combined with scale economies and quality control. In so doing, it queries the validity of urban-biased theories of creativity, and shows that a rural version can be equally powerful in its separate domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Politica y Sociedad is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Caderno CRH is the property of Universidade Federal da Bahia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Piedmonts are relevant areas that people living in large urban cities have to connect with nature. • A method was developed to quantify the provision of cultural ecosystem services (CES) in piedmonts. • Accessibility and scenic beauty are more relevant for people when they come to enjoy CES at the piedmont. • The highest CES provision level is concentrated in the mid-altitude zone of the piedmont. • The provision of CES shows higher levels in ravines and established recreational parks. Large cities are both centers of demand for cultural ecosystem services (CES) and a source of environmental impacts. Assessing CES yields information to reduce the vulnerability of these services to such environmental impacts as well as to strengthen them in order to improve human well-being in cities. The Andean piedmont of Santiago is a natural mountainous area adjacent to the largest city in Chile and a source of CES, which are threatened as a result of the urbanization and weak territorial management instruments. A model was constructed to represent the provision of CES in the piedmont. The model integrated participatory techniques and geographic information analyses, making it possible to quantify and map the CES provision, which was represented by ecosystem attributes. CES are provided according to the weight that different stakeholders assign to these attributes. Attributes were characterized and then represented in space, resulting in a spatially explicit index constructed as the weighted sum of the previously established attributes. Our results show that the most relevant variables for the visitors when they come to enjoy the CES of the piedmont are accessibility and scenic beauty. In general terms, this means that the highest CES provision level is concentrated in the mid-altitude zone of the piedmont (away from the city but still accessible). We conclude that the piedmont areas close to large cities are relevant in terms of provision of CES and their protection is a priority to maintain the flow of CES towards the inhabitants of these cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]