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Ambient air pollution is a major public health concern impacting all aspects of human health. There is a lack of studies on the impact of ambient air pollution on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of older Chinese adults. Our study answers two questions: How concentrations of ambient air pollutants are associated with HRQoL among older adults in China and, second, what are the possible mechanisms through which ambient air pollution affects HRQoL. From the 2018 National Health Service Survey, we sampled 5717 aged 65 years or older residents for the eastern province of Shandong, China. Data on individual exposures to PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter with diameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm and 10 μm) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2) were collected from the ChinaHighAirPollutants (CHAP) datasets. Mixed-effects Tobit regression models and mixed-effects ordered Probit regression models were employed to examine the associations of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with the European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level Version (EQ-5D-3L) scale comprising mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Socioeconomic, demographic and behavioral factors relating to HRQoL were also examined. The results show that for each 1 μg/m3 increase, EQ-5D-3L scores fell 0.002 for PM 2.5 ; 0.001 for PM 10 and 0.002 for SO 2. Long term exposure to PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SO 2 were also associated with increased prevalence of pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The reduced HRQoL effects of ambient air pollution were exacerbated by higher socioeconomic status (affluent, urban and higher level of education). Our findings suggested that HRQoL of older Chinese adults was not only associated with demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors, but also negatively correlated with air pollution, especially through increased pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. The paper proposes policy recommendations. [Display omitted] • Ambient air pollution was associated with lower HRQoL among older adults in China. • Long term air pollution was associated with increased prevalence of pain and anxiety. • The reduced HRQoL effects was exacerbated by higher socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of road networks in emerging economies such as China causes significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This development is conflicting with China's commitment to achieve carbon neutrality. Thus, there is a need to better understand life cycle emissions of road infrastructure and opportunities to mitigate these emissions. Existing impact studies of roads in developing countries do not address recycled materials, improved pavement maintenance, or pavement-vehicle interaction and electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Combining firsthand information from Chinese road construction engineers with publicly available data, this paper estimates a comprehensive account of GHG emissions of the road pavement network to be constructed in the next ten years in the Shandong province in Northern China. Further, we estimate the potential of GHG emission reductions achievable under three scenario sets: maintenance optimization, alternative pavement material replacement, and EV adoption. Results show that the life cycle GHG emissions of highways and Class 1–4 roads to be constructed in the next 10 years amount to 147 Mt CO2-eq. Considering the use phase in our model reveals that it is the dominant stage in terms of emissions, largely due to pavement-vehicle interaction. Vehicle electrification can only moderately mitigate these emissions. Other stages, such as materials production and road maintenance and rehabilitation, contribute substantially to GHG emissions as well, highlighting the importance of optimizing the management of these stages. Surprisingly, longer, not shorter maintenance intervals, yield significant emission reductions. Another counter-intuitive finding is that thicker and more material-intensive pavement surfaces cause lower emissions overall. Taken together, optimal maintenance and rehabilitation schedules, alternative material use, and vehicle electrification provide GHG reduction potentials of 11%, 4%–16% and 2%–6%, respectively. • Road construction implies significant amounts of GHG emissions. • China's road expansion plans are at odds with its target of GHG neutrality. • We assess GHG emissions of Shandong's roads to be constructed through 2030. • We combine life cycle assessment based on primary data with a new optimization model. • Individual mitigation measures can reduce life cycle GHG emissions by up to 16%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public demand for urban green growth (UGG) varies greatly due to climate conditions, resource endowments, geographical location; thus, understanding the coupling relationship between public demand and government supply is important to optimize government investment. This paper aims to evaluate the coupling coordination of UGG between public demand and government supply. An index system consisting of six aspects, including environment, society, economy, population, production and life, was used to evaluate the government supply. Meanwhile, citizens' demand was measured by the satisfaction for the six aspects. The coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) was established to analyze the government supply and public demand for UGG, and it was tested in the case of Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration in China. The results indicated that citizens of Shandong Peninsula are basically satisfied, and the satisfaction for the environment, population and life is higher than the average value. From 2015 to 2019, the government supply level shows a trend of rising first and then declining, of which environment has been always at a high level for the five years. The coupling coordination degree of UGG shows the supply and demand in different cities of urban agglomerations is unbalanced, and the overall value of the eastern coast is higher than that of the western inland area. Moreover, the concept of relative satisfaction was put forwards, which is of great significance for regional policy. To improve UGG for a city, determining optimization objectives base on their evaluation results of coupling coordination degree and relative satisfaction is important, as well as the possible external reasons for the low coupling coordination degree. • The citizen satisfaction with green growth in an urban agglomeration is surveyed. • A comparable urban growth index system is proposed at the city level. • A coupling coordination model is established to explore the balance of urban green growth. • Strategies are proposed from the aspects of temporal and spatial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]