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In light of the rapid urbanization of the world's population over the past decades, there is a growing concern about the environmental impacts of urban population growth. Rural-urban migration is a particularly important component of the urbanization process in developing countries and is often considered to be detrimental to urban environmental conditions. However, few studies have explicitly examined the presumed negative impacts of in-migration on the natural environment of cities. The continuously increasing volume of rural-urban labor migration in China since the early 1980s has formed the largest population flow in world history. This study links the existing literature on population-environment and urbanization-environment interactions by empirically assessing the relationship between rural-urban migration and urban air conditions in China. A two-period (2004 and 2010) longitudinal dataset for the 113 key environmental protection cities of China was constructed based on multiple data sources. We applied the STIRPAT equation using conventional and spatial panel regression models to examine whether rural-urban migration flows were associated with air pollution in cities. Results show a strong negative association of in-migration with urban air quality even after controlling for the effects of other population, affluence, and technology factors. Findings from this research can contribute to a better understanding of the environmental consequences of rural-urban migration in China, with broader implications for sustainable development research and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the growing need for developable land, many coastal cities are draining and filling wetlands, transforming them into urban built-up areas, and thereby substantially altering the structure and function of coastal ecosystems. We demonstrate an integrative approach for investigating the dynamics and impacts of coastal development in China's Jiangsu Province, where urban expansion has resulted in extensive wetland losses and sea reclamation (the process of creating new land from ocean or coastal waters). Remotely sensed data reveal that landscape change in the study area has been accompanied by an increase in total impervious surface area and an increase in mean surface 'heat island effect.' These indicators of change can be detected with remote sensing data and used to support a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) for urban coastal planning. Changes detected in Lianyungang during 2000-2006 suggest that reclaimed areas are environmentally sensitive and should be a focus of concern in future development planning, which has historically targeted coastal salt pond wetlands for conversion to land for the development. Given the current and projected rate of coastal development in China and elsewhere in the developing world, our findings and assessment approach have implications for coastal management decisions in the developing coastal zones of China and other regions of the world that are experiencing rapid urban growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]