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Currently, China is at a critical stage of economic transformation and pollution control. The environmental pollution control efficiency (PCE) deserves more in-depth study. This paper adopts a three-stage global data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and a global Malmquist index model to measure the PCE and the sources of its changes in China from 1991 to 2019. Study shows that: (1) the overall level of PCE has remained low over the past 29 years, and it has a slowly fluctuating upward trend, with an average annual growth rate of only 0.92 %; (2) the lower pure technical efficiency hinders the effectiveness of environmental pollution control, which is mainly affected by the slow technological progress; and (3) at the provincial level, the overall efficiency of Shanghai and Guangxi has long been above 0.9, while the efficiency of other provinces has been below 0.9 for quite a long time. At the regional level, the Yangtze River Delta is the most effective area, while the Yellow River Basin is the most ineffective area. In consideration of this, we provide specific strategies for improving PCE of each province, from three aspects of increasing the capital input, optimizing the scale structure, and upgrading technology level. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A deep freight-on-rail-transit strategy is proposed to integrate urban transport. • Drivers and barriers to deep FoRT strategy are identified. • Suitability of MRT-based integrated logistics system adoption in China is assessed. • Influencing factors of project adoption and policy implications are suggested. • Government support and public–private partnerships are critical to project success. Integrating goods movement into public/mass rapid transit (MRT) is an emerging initiative to improve urban freight transport services and sustainability. This paper explores new prospects to achieve extensive non-road city logistics based on a deep freight-on-rail-transit (FoRT) strategy. To begin, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of deep FoRT are analyzed in view of the development status quo of urban China. Next, a multi-criteria assessment model driven by real-world data and 11 quantified metrics is proposed to judge the suitability for developing the MRT-based integrated logistics system (MILS) in 16 Chinese cities. Finally, critical factors influencing MILS project adoption are explicated, and the possible supportive policies are discussed from aspects of planning, regulation, funding, marketization, and innovations. Results show that the alignment with national development goals, rich social-environmental benefits, and stakeholder interest are the primary drivers of deep FoRT strategy, whereas poor planning and decision-making, governance and management deficiencies, and high investment could be the main hurdles. Priority of MILS project adoption in the selected cities is divided into four tiers, where Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen are recognized as the three best candidates. Strong and coordinated policies are needed to integrate the strategy into urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced synchrotron radiation sources are major facilities for analyzing the formation and evolution of material structure in multidisciplinary research, owing to their high luminosity, low emittance, wide energy bandwidth and other characteristics. In China, several advanced synchrotron radiation sources are under construction, including the HEPS (High Energy Photon Source) and SHINE (Shanghai high repetition rate X-ray Free Electron Laser and extreme light facility). These facilities are poised to become major multidisciplinary research platforms in China. To meet the requirements of pixel detectors in these facilities, dedicated pixel readout chips are being developed, including HEPS-BPIX and HYLITE. This paper presents a high-speed serializer circuit developed in a commercial 130-nm CMOS technology for the full-scale (128 × 128) pixel readout chip of HYLITE, which requires a data rate of 4 Gbps currently. The serializer consists of a 16-to-1 binary-tree multiplexer, a ring-oscillating-based phase-locked loop (RO-PLL) and a current-mode logic driving stage with a multi-stage pre-amplifier. Test results demonstrate its expected functionality within a wide operating range from 0.52 Gbps to 5.5 Gbps. At 5.12 Gbps, the measured jitter values are about 2 ps for random jitter, 20 ps for deterministic jitter, and 47 ps for total jitter with a 10−12 bit error rate. Additionally, the horizontal and vertical eye openings are 0.84 UI and 72%, respectively. These positive results indicate that the serializer meets the requirements of HYLITE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic pollution is currently one of the environmental pollution issues of global concern, and microplastics (plastics with a size ≤ 5 mm) have also attracted much attention due to their large specific area, higher pollutant adsorption capacity, and higher migration performance. As the population increases and more chemical products are manufactured, the level of microplastic pollution continues to increase. Microplastics discharged from sewage treatment systems will enter the ocean and rivers, so estuary ecosystems are vital to controlling marine microplastics. As the estuary of China's most significant river entering the East China Sea, the Changjiang River Estuary has become one of the typical areas for microplastic research in estuaries. This paper systematically reviews the sources, hazards, and impacts of microplastics in the Changjiang Estuary. Firstly, the research on microplastics in the Changjiang Estuary was analyzed, and we found that the bioaccumulation, removal, and interaction with microorganisms of microplastics have become a new research hotspot. At the same time, the current abundance of microplastics in the surface water of the Changjiang River Estuary is 1.71 ± 3.12 MP/L, which is lower than that of the Changjiang River area and the river farmland in Shanghai, but still higher than the 0.22 ± 0.27 MP/L in the area adjacent to the East China Sea. Microplastics smaller than 1000 μm accounted for 68% of the total, while transparent, white, blue, and black were the primary colors of microplastics in the Changjiang Estuary. In addition, polyethylene and polypropylene are the primary materials of microplastics in the central Changjiang River Estuary and related water bodies, and fibers are the main shape of microplastics. Industry, agriculture, domestic sewage, and air deposition may be the primary sources of microplastics in the Changjiang Estuary. The numerous lakes and water conservancy facilities in the Changjiang River Basin can reduce the number of microplastics reaching the Changjiang Estuary to a certain extent. At the same time, seasonal rainfall and ocean currents will affect the abundance of microplastics in the surface waters of the Changjiang River Estuary. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant suggestions based on the actual situation of the Changjiang River Estuary and the developed microplastic treatment technologies. This article will provide a structured reference for future research on microplastics in the Changjiang Estuary and assist in assessing microplastics' impact on the ecological environment. The Fate of Microplastic Pollution in the Changjiang River Estuary. [Display omitted] • Microplastics' sources, hazards, and impacts in the Yangtze Estuary were reviewed. • Bioaccumulation, removal, and interaction with microorganisms are the hotspots. • The microplastics in the water of the Changjiang mainly exists in the form of fibers. • Source control and establishment of MPs barriers will help to solve MPs pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessibility equity is a critical factor in developing equitable and sustainable communities. Although numerous studies have analyzed accessibility inequity, few of them examined inter-group and intra-group inequity and made comparisons between private cars and public transit. In this paper, a Gaussian-based Two-step Floating Catchment Area method was applied to evaluate the spatial accessibility of multitier healthcare services among different income groups in Shanghai, China. The results show that high-income households have better access to healthcare services than low-income households. The gap between low- and high-income groups increases as the level of healthcare services rises. The Theil index was used to assess inequity between groups and within groups, as well as overall inequity. The inter-group inequity for public transit is greater than that for private cars, suggesting that accessibility by public transit is more unequally distributed across groups of people compared with private cars. Inter-group inequity increases with the tier of healthcare services. The bivariate local Moran index shows that underserved areas are found primarily in low-income neighborhoods. Overall, the research findings indicate the quality of public transit services might have a more significant impact on accessibility inequity than the spatial distribution of health services. This study provides valuable information for designing targeted policy provisions to improve equity and efficiency in healthcare access. • This study examines inter-group and intra-group inequity, as well as total inequity. • Travel time estimation from an online Maps API was applied to assess accessibility. • The gap in accessibility between low- and high-income groups increases as the level of healthcare services rises. • The inter-group inequity in accessibility by public transit is more severe than that by private cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, national governments deploy city-regionalism not simply as a domestic policy tool but also as a geopolitical device enabling the internationalization of state territory and economy. Focusing upon the evolution of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China, this paper offers new insights into the close associations between Chinese city-regionalism and the geopolitical orchestration of national development. Rather than conceived as an inevitable outcome of contemporary globalization processes, the development of YRD region is instead examined against the changing geopolitical dynamics and national objectives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1949 to the present day. In the early phase of CCP rule, the development of regional urban centres, such as Shanghai in YRD region, was an instrument of national territorial integration and class unity. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, the formal designation of YRD as a city-region reflected the Chinese state's aspiration for accelerated economic growth and the internationalization of the domestic economy. Now confronted with widening regional inequalities, the Chinese state has greatly expanded YRD region to incorporate peripheral cities and provinces for the sake of regionally coordinated development. Even as YRD transforms into a global city-region, Shanghai seemingly separates itself functionally and discursively from the rest of the region. In departing from contemporary post-Westphalian or hyper-globalist perspectives on the rise of global city-regions in a stateless world, the paper provides a new interpretation of Chinese city-regionalism as a case of countervailing geopolitical processes at work within and beyond national state borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the pattern of institutional change and its underlying logic in China's recent land development governance. China's central government has been issuing national policies since 2012 to promote urban regeneration to improve land use efficiency and sustainability. Through the lens of historical institutionalism, this paper analyses the making and implementation of Shanghai's new urban regeneration policies since 2014, which was a response to the central state's mandate. Results show that the redevelopment mode encouraged by the municipal governments is financially unattractive to district governments and market entities. Pro-growth development governance maintains strong inertia since it has been embedded in interlocking institutional arrangements. However, the top-down campaign temporarily changed the power distribution among different levels of government and cultivated incremental institutional layering. A small range of redevelopment projects were implemented through political mobilisation of the state-owned enterprises' financial resources and the local cadre's attention. This paper concludes that the transformation of China's land development governance is an inevitably arduous top-down process, characterised by constant rescaling of the distribution of power and constant adjustments to reconcile the pro-growth inertia and the state mandate toward sustainability. • Adopting historical institutionalism, the paper focuses on power in urban governance. • Sustainable land development modes contradict China's pro-growth inertia. • Top-down political mobilisation drives the paradigm shift in urban redevelopment. • Political mobilisations temporarily alter power distribution and trigger institutional changes. • Arduous incremental institutional layering in urban governance is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumococcal vaccines have been developed to protect infants and young children from pneumococcal diseases. Vaccination coverage studies are important in determining a population's vaccination status and strategically adjusting national immunization programs (NIP). In this paper, we aim to describe the coverage of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) immunization for birth cohorts from 2012 to 2020 and discussed the factors influencing the coverage. Vaccination data were collected via the vaccination information database in Shanghai, China, for children born from 2012 to 2020. The population data used in this study were collected from each community from 2012 to 2020. The coverage of initial immunization (1st dose), basic immunization (three doses) and full immunization (3 + 1 doses) for PCVs was calculated according to the number of doses received. As vaccination coverage was assessed each year, Annual Growth Rate (AGR) was used to describe the variation trend of vaccination coverage. Immunization time and completeness of different PCVs were also analyzed. The total number of births from 2012 to 2020 was 38,268 in Huangpu District, Shanghai, China. The initial immunization coverage of PCVs increased from 12.26% in 2012 to 49.65% in 2020, and the highest coverage was 50.61% in 2019. The cumulative vaccination coverage of PCVs was 19.4% for initial immunization and 16.8% for basic immunization from 2012 to 2020. And cumulative full immunization coverage of PCVs was 12.3% from 2012 to 2019. The PCVs coverage of most vaccination statuses showed an obvious upward trend from 2017 to 2020. Despite an upward trend in vaccination coverage of PCVs, the vaccination coverage of initial, basic and full immunization among children is still low. And given the heavy burden of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) among children in China and the fact that the current vaccination coverage cannot effectively protect children, it is recommended that the government include PCVs into the NIP as soon as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the context of Pilot Free Trade Zones (PFTZs), ports are confronted with new opportunities to realize high-quality development. This paper first applies the Super-SBM model to evaluate and analyze the overall technical efficiency (OTE), pure technical efficiency (PTE), and scale efficiency (SE) of the ports in six typical China's PFTZs from 2010 to 2017 to reveal their development status. By further constructing an OTE-cargo throughput matrix and comparing OTE with and without considering undesirable outputs in 2017, the intensive and green development degree of ports are analyzed. Second, Tobit regression model is employed to identify the influencing factors from both external and internal aspects including the PFTZ factor together with economic and operational indicators. The main findings are as follows. (i) The ports' OTE in the six PFTZs is stable and high, with PTE on the rise and SE somewhat differentiated. Except for the mean of SE, sequences of the port efficiency in terms of standard deviations and other means roughly accords with the time sequence of PFTZs' establishment. (ii) There's heterogeneity in both intensive and green development degree of the ports, and Shanghai Port is the benchmark with the best performance. (iii) The PFTZ factor exerts a positive role in promoting port efficiency, while other significant influencing factors namely economic status, openness and population of hinterland, ownership structure, human capital, as well as operation scale of ports are also detected. Finally, suggestions on high-quality development and efficiency improvement of ports in the PFTZs are proposed. • Ports' OTE, PTE, and SE in six typical China's PFTZs are evaluated. • Evaluation results accord with the time sequence of PFTZs' establishment. • Heterogeneity are in both green and intensive development degree of the ports. • The effectiveness of PFTZ policy in promoting port efficiency is verified. • External and internal influencing factors are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper builds an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) multiple logistic regression model to analyze how socio-economic development impacts mainland China's coastal waters environment. China's coastal provinces have significantly different seawater quality at different stages of the seawater's EKC. Jiangsu and Hebei are still at the early stage of the seawater's EKC because of the large quantity of pollution-intensive industry, whereas the coastal provinces at the late stage of the seawater's EKC have presented obviously improved seawater quality based on adjustments in the industrial structure since 2001. Urbanization has a severe impact on the seawater quality of Shanghai and Zhejiang at the middle stage of the seawater's EKC. Furthermore, this paper proposes an overall strategy and several "tailored" strategies to address coastal waters environment improvement for current poorly targeted policies at different stages of the seawater's EKC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group travel behaviour widely exists in cities, but has not been well investigated by researchers. To fill this gap, this paper develops a co-existence-based methodological framework to systematically explore the spatiotemporal characteristics of group travel behaviour. We apply our framework to a case study of Shanghai, China, using a one-month tranche of metro smart card data. Results show that most travellers perform a small number of group trips, together with a small number of co-travellers. They usually travel in a dyad or triad group and form far more small social communities than large ones. Group travel behaviour is distinctly different from individual travel in terms of both time and space: group travellers are more likely to travel during weekends, on holidays, and in the afternoons and evenings. They also prefer to perform group behaviour near stations located in the city centre or the centres of new towns in suburban areas, and close to attractions and public facilities. The analysis we present has various potential applications such as improving the management of public events and supporting the design of group ticket policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rapidly urbanizing communities in middle-income countries could be sources of vaccine hesitancy, and may create hot spots of low vaccination coverage. This study characterizes vaccine hesitancy in Shanghai and identifies disparities in vaccine safety and efficacy concerns by residency status-a marker for recent migration into the city.Methods: Parents of children aged ≤18 years from immunization clinics in Shanghai were enrolled in summer 2019, with the data analyzed during winter 2019-2020. The paper questionnaire used the Parental Attitudes towards Childhood Vaccines scale, which included questions about vaccine safety and efficacy concerns. The primary independent variable was residency-whether an individual was a Shanghai local or a recent migrant (i.e., non-local). Linear regression models assessed the relationship between residency and vaccine safety and efficacy concerns.Results: Among 1,021 participants, 65.4% had local residency, and the remainder were urban non-locals (13.1%) or rural non-locals (21.5%). A majority of parents expressed concerns about vaccine side effects (73.8%), vaccine safety (63.9%), and vaccine effectiveness (52.4%). Compared with locals, rural non-locals were more concerned about vaccine side effects (β=0.26, 95% CI=0.07, 0.46), vaccine safety (β=0.42, 95% CI=0.19, 0.65), and vaccine effectiveness (β=0.37, 95% CI=0.16, 0.58).Conclusions: Differences in vaccine hesitancy by residency could lead to geographical and sociodemographic disparities in vaccination coverage and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease.Supplement Information: This article is part of a supplement entitled Global Vaccination Equity, which is sponsored by the Global Institute for Vaccine Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to optimize the passive design of newly-built residential buildings in hot summer and cold winter region of China for improving indoor thermal comfort while reducing building energy demand. In this respect, this paper investigates the performance of a representative apartment building in the city of Shanghai and evaluates the optimum solutions by using a developed optimization approach, which includes three major steps of 1) setting the model for multi-objective optimization, 2) sensitivity analysis for reducing the dimension of input variables, and 3) multi-objective optimization by using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) coupled with the Artificial Neural Network (ANN), among which a novel indicator for evaluating the annual indoor thermal comfort of residential buildings of Shanghai named Comfort Time Ratio (CTR) is defined based on the modification of Szokolay’s theory in terms of bioclimatic analysis, and the impacts of passive design variables on the indoor thermal comfort and building energy demand in terms of different directions are comprehensively investigated. Results of the multi-objective optimization indicate that the residential buildings of Shanghai have a great potential in comfort-improvement and energy-saving. A series of novel optimal passive design tactics for residential buildings in Shanghai are derived accordingly which could be easily understood and conveniently carried out by the architects in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the passing decade, taxi floating car data (FCD) has become an important tool to investigate urban trip choice behaviors and activities. The corresponding taxi exhaust reduction issue is also with rather significance for traffic emission mitigation in urban areas. By taking Shanghai as an empirical case, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of multimode travelers by combining the taxi FCD (from Qiangsheng Inc.), the metro smartcard data and the GPS trajectories of Mobike, one of the most popular shared bicycles in China, 2018). Binomial logit models (BNL) were proposed to estimate mode choices for both peak and off-peak periods by incorporating socio-economic, demographic, urban morphology, land use properties, and various trip-related variables. The choices between metro and taxi, Mobike and taxi were analyzed, respectively, with the corresponding influential factors identified. The results indicated that the percentage of residential and commercial land uses, the number of educational facilities have significant impacts on travel mode choice during peak hours, while the percentage of commercial land, the number of hospitals and bus lines are more prominent during off-peak periods. To quantify the emission reduction benefits, localized calculation of automobile exhaust was established according to the Vehicle Specific Power (VSP) based measurements obtained from the Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) experiments. Then, five corresponding emission mitigation schemes were proposed based on the model findings, and the cost-benefit of each countermeasure was further analyzed. Comparing with releasing the peak-hour crowdedness of metro stations, increasing Mobike supply, updating taxis into electric vehicles, and equipping taxis with catalytic converters, the scheme of removing non-motor vehicle restrictions was found with the shortest payback period and was consequently recommended as accordance with the proposal of urban eco and non-motorized transportation. Findings of this study is useful for transportation management in improving the mode share of metro and bicycles, thus to alleviate the congestion and auto emissions in urban areas. • Binomial logit models (BNL) were proposed to estimate mode choices between metro and taxi, Mobike and taxi, respectively. • Localized emission model EMISSION MODEL was developed based on Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) experiments. • Cost-benefit of five taxi emission reduction countermeasures were analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Postpartum anxiety (PPA) and postpartum depression (PPD) are associated with immediate and long-term health risks for both mothers and babies. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate relationships between sociodemographic, perinatal variables, and PPA and PPD symptoms of parturients 6 weeks postpartum.Methods: A cross-sectional survey with 1204 women who had a healthy and term birth in a baby-friendly hospital, Shanghai, China. PPA and PPD symptoms were measured by using the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS).Results: The mean score of SAS and EPDS was 40.79 ± 8.48 and 8.18 ± 5.80, respectively. The estimated prevalence of PPA and PPD symptoms was 15.2% and 23.2%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of fatigue and PPD symptoms were risk factors for PPA symptoms, whereas having support from family and being satisfied with labor experience were protective factors. In terms of PPD symptoms, its risk factors included smoking before pregnancy, maternal separation from baby, fatigue, encountering difficulties in breastfeeding, and the presence of PPA symptoms. In contrast, the protective factors for PPD symptoms were having support from family and having support from colleagues or friends.Limitations: Convenience sampling and voluntary participation may have led to a selection bias.Conclusion: PPA and PPD symptoms occur commonly among parturients in Shanghai, China. The findings from this research provide a better understanding of factors associated with PPA and PPD symptoms and will help guide personalized approaches to the management of postpartum anxiety and depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State rescaling has become one major framework for deciphering the changing state-space nexus of modern states. While conventional wisdom has regarded state rescaling as a fix to manage recurring crises of capitalism, its contradiction-ridden political dynamics are still poorly grasped, especially in the non-Western context. This paper critically engages the debate by focusing on the interactions between key state actors in national and local political arenas who embrace distinctive strategies to reconfigure territorial arrangement. Borrowing insights from the research of territorial politics, I argue that the alignment of diverse territorial strategies creates opportunities for broad political collaboration and competition that eventually lead to state rescaling. To illustrate such political dynamics, this paper presents a novel investigation of the restructuring of city-regions during Maoist China through extensive historical research. In the late 1950s, the shared frustration with Soviet-influenced central planning resulted in a coalition between change-oriented central and local leaders. The coalition rolled out an alternative territorial strategy that shifted powers from planners to those who dared to try bold initiatives and look beyond local boundaries. Shanghai, among other major Chinese cities, resumed its status as the national industrial champion and exerted control over rural hinterlands as the seat of power for the city-region. Although short-lived, the brief attempt at state rescaling has left a lasting impact on the reconfiguration of the territorial governance and city-regions in post-reform China. • State rescaling is not exclusive to neoliberalism but present in socialist states. • The way state actors compete and collaborate across different territorial arenas is key to understanding state rescaling. • The triumph of Mao's coalition over central planners in the late 1950s caused the restructuring of China's city-regions. • Shanghai aimed to regain its position as the national economic champion by expanding into rural peripheries. • Considerable continuity of territorial politics exists between pre- and post-reform China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We use emergy analysis model to evaluate the ecosystem services. • The services supply and flow between ecosystems and urban area were identified. • Urban ecosystem has gradually transformed from a positive to a passive participant. • Attention should be paid to water supply and retention service of the wetland. Chongming Island, the largest alluvial island in the world, is an ecologically sensitive area. Due to its green space, farmland, estuaries and coastal wetlands and its proximity to the city of Shanghai (45 km, home to 24.2 million people), the island supports important agricultural and fisheries economies. This paper carries out an evaluation of the ecosystem services (ES) on Chongming Island, Shanghai, based on the emergy analysis method, identifying the service supply and flow between ecosystems and urban area. Results show that from the ecosystem-type perspective, the tidal wetland ecosystem provides the most service to Chongming Island, accounting for 45.2% ES emergy in 2012, followed by the agricultural ecosystem (34.5%) and the freshwater wetland ecosystem (6.3%). From ecosystem service-type perspective, water supply, flood storage and aquatic product supply are the main emergy outputs of the wetland ecosystem and account for 51.1%, 17.6% and 25.2% of the emergy, respectively. Food supply is the main emergy of the cropland ecosystem output and accounts for 58% of the emergy. Organic matter production and water retention are the main services provided by the forest ecosystem, accounting for 33.6% and 30.0% of the total emergy respectively. Based on the systematic emergy dynamic analysis, on the one hand, the wetland and forest ecosystems played more significant roles in water supply and retention while the cropland ecosystem had a less important role in food supply from 2002 to 2012. On the other hand, the urban ecosystem has gradually transformed from a positive to a passive participant in the role of supplier and user for ecosystem services. Finally, policy options are proposed to promote land use planning and restore/maintain ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A techno-economic evaluation model of renewable power system was build. • Renewable resources data of 20 Chinese cities were gathered as modeling inputs. • The development potential of renewable power system is analyzed. • PV system shows a better performance in high altitude or low latitude cities. • BG is suitable for most cities, and WT is suitable for southeast coastal cities. With the issues of energy shortage and environmental pollution becoming more and more serious, renewable power generation system plays an important role in energy conservation and emission reduction. The widespread application of renewable power systems meets the requirements of current developments in China. The development of renewable power systems is still faced with a certain degree of economic and policy obstacles such as high costs and ossified subsidy, etc. China's vast territory also determines that different regions have different objective development conditions, these uncertainties are not conducive to the development of renewable power systems. In this paper, 20 cities in five typical climate zones in China were selected. In consideration of climate and electricity tariff, the technical, economic and environmental performances of three types of the community-level grid-connected renewable power prototypes are compared by a full-year simulation, including basic photovoltaic power system, wind turbine system and biogas power system. Then, a comprehensive evaluation index is developed to evaluate the energy systems potential, which integrates all the technical, economic and environmental performance indicators. The advantages and disadvantages of renewable power system development in different regions were analyzed, to provide reference for China's green development and policy-making.It is found that biogas power system has comprehensive advantages in costs and electricity production for most cities,as the comprehensive evaluation index of BG in most cities is higher than that of PV and WT. In contrast, photovoltaic power system is not an economic option for the mojority of cities, except several cities where are rich in solar energy resources, such as Lhasa and Sanya.The comprehensive evaluation index of the photovoltaic system in Lhasa is 0.45, which is only lower than the wind power system in Shanghai among the 60 systems. In the southeast coastal cities with high average annual wind speed, such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, the wind power system has great potential for development. The comprehensive evaluation index of Shanghai wind power system is 0.489, which is the highest. The sensitivity analysis included in this study shows that the local grid purchase tariffs have greater impacts on systems lifetime costs than feed-in tariffs.The reduction of local grid purchase tariffs and the increase of feed-in tariffs are beneficial to the development of renewable power system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper provides the evaluation of the influences of dust deposition on estimating leaf water content with spectral indexes. • Dust-polluted leaves retained the correlations between the observed water content (Equivalent Water Thickness, EWT and Fuel Water Content, FWC) and spectral indexes. • Taking into account the effect of dust deposition, the spectral indexes were correlated with EWT to a consistently stronger extent than with FWC. • Dust deposition generally dampened the estimation accuracy of leaf water content. Hyperspectral technology has equipped large-scale efforts to estimate leaf water content. In an urban environmental context, these efforts may be hampered by dust deposition on leaves. However, the influence of dust deposition on the accuracy of estimating water content is still to be elucidated. This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the influence of dust deposition on the spectrum-based estimation of water content in Shanghai, China. We measured the amount of dust deposition, water content, and the spectrum of 707 sample leaves. We then derived the spectrum-based indexes of water content and assessed the influence of dust deposition on the performance of such indexes in estimating leaf water content. The results revealed that dust-polluted leaves retained the correlations between the observed water content indexes, which includes Equivalent Water Thickness (EWT) and Fuel Water Content (FWC), with spectrum-based indexes. However, these correlation coefficients dramatically varied with the changes in dust deposition amount. EWT had weaker while FWC got stronger correlation coefficients with spectral indexes for dusty leaves compared with clean cases. The spectral indexes were correlated with EWT at a consistently stronger extent than with FWC, suggesting an advantage of using EWT over FWC to represent the leaf water content. The correlations between EWT and spectral indexes were stronger with leaf samples from the same tree species compared with the case of using leaf samples from mixed species. These findings can strengthen the understanding of the influence of dust pollution on leaf water content estimation using spectral indexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between dense urban development, often represented by high-rise buildings, and its location vis-à-vis metro stations reflects the connection between transportation infrastructure and land use intensity. Existing literature on high-rise buildings has focused either on developed countries or on cities where urban and public transit developments have occurred in an uncoordinated manner. This paper examines the following questions: What is the spatial proximity and spatial correlation between high-rise buildings and metro stations in different stages of development in various parts of the city? What were some of the factors that resulted in the observed patterns? The results suggest that buildings constructed after 2000 and buildings within the urban core/Shanghai Proper districts had a greater spatial proximity to the metro stations. However, the spatial correlation, measured by the number of high-rise buildings within a 500-m buffer from the nearest metro stations and the time-distance to these stations, is stronger in the outer districts than in the urban core. These differences can be accounted for by Shanghai's stages of urban development, the existence of metro infrastructure when high-rise development was undertaken, and the city's land use policies. This case study sheds light on the relationship between high-density developments and metro systems in other large cities in China and other developing countries where rapid urban development coincides with the establishment of a comprehensive public transit system. • Investigate the relationship between high-density development and its location vis-à-vis metro stations. • Understand the different spatial distribution patterns of high-rise buildings between suburban districts and urban core. • Application of the spatial proximity and spatial correlation measures between high-rise buildings and metro transit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pedestrian crossing behavior at unsignalized midblock crosswalk was analyzed. • A Logistic model was developed to estimate the gap acceptance probability. • Six external factors were considered. • Gap size, crossing distance, waiting time and pedestrian location have significant effect. • Recommendations on improving crossing safety were proposed. Gap acceptance represents a pedestrian's assessment of how safe it may be to use an available gap in traffic flow at a particular point in time. Though walking is a major component of urban mobility, the high rate of fatal interaction with motor vehicle traffic raises safety issues around how pedestrians decide to accept the available gap. This paper explored these interactions by modeling gap acceptance behavior at the midblock crosswalks. Unlike other pedestrian gap acceptance studies that focus on individual psychological and sociological factors that are difficult to control or manage, this study focused on six environmental factors that we considered important and as having the potential to affect the pedestrians' gap acceptance decision at the crosswalks, i.e. gap size, crossing distance, number of waiting pedestrians, waiting time, vehicle traffic volume and position of pedestrian (whether on street kerb or median). Video data was collected on pedestrian gap acceptance from 13 midblock crosswalk locations in Shanghai, China. A Logit model with 96% accuracy was developed to describe and predict the pedestrian gap acceptance behaviors. The results show that gap size and crossing distance have the highest effect on the pedestrian gap acceptance decision. Pedestrians waiting at the kerbside could confidently accept gaps (with a 95% probability) when the gap is longer than 2.2s, 5.9s, and 9.6s under the condition that the crossing distance is 4 m (one lane), 7.5 m (two lanes), and 11 m (three lanes), respectively while pedestrians waiting at the median could confidently accept gaps when the gap is longer than 1.6s, 5.3s, and 8.5s respectively under the same conditions. The recommendations on improving the crossing safety are proposed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve its carbon peak and neutrality targets, China is in need of balancing environmental and economic sustainability; In addition, whether environmental regulations can gain economic dividends while protecting the environment is particularly important. Based on the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2012 to 2021, this study takes China's environmental fee-to-tax as a quasi-natural experiment, and adopts the difference-in-difference-in-differences model to evaluate the impact of environmental tax on enterprises' total factor productivity (ETFP). The results show that the environmental fee-to-tax significantly hinders the growth of ETFP. Further, this negative impact mainly stems from the fact that the reform prompts enterprises to choose strategic innovation and conduct greenwashing behavior. Furthermore, when considering enterprises' heterogeneity, we find that enterprises with large scale, high investment efficiency, state ownership, high market competitiveness and located in western regions are more resistant to policy shocks. This paper provides reliable empirical evidence and useful policy implications for further formulating environmental tax policies to accomplish the "win-win" goal for both the environment and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Co-production is a valuable approach to waste management. • Co-production of waste management is compatible with centralized governance regimes. • The government-volunteer consortium and the peer pressure underpin co-production. • Contextual elements are critical for the success of waste management policies. Rapid urban population growth in China has resulted in significant challenges for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. To combat these challenges, Chinese authorities implemented a pilot program of MSW sorting in eight Chinese cities including Shanghai in 2000 but is yet to reach a widespread success. This paper uses a qualitative case-study approach to explore the potential of a community-based co-production strategy for household waste sorting as an alternative to the conventional top-down approach. Co-production implies the involvement of citizens, consumers, volunteers and/or community organizations in producing public service. We find two major drivers of the government-volunteer consortium and the peer-pressure effect help realize the potential of waste-management co-production at a lowered cost with improved efficiency and collaborative innovation. In addition, context-specific conditions including policy consistency, strong volunteer effort and compatibility with local culture to promote public participation must be present for further co-production application. We also acknowledge that the co-production approach would be most effective at the initial stage of policy implementation to foster the waste-sorting habit-formation in regions where the waste collection rates remain low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study constructed an urban nexus accounting framework based on Multi-Scale Input Output model. • Shanghai is a net consumer city mainly imports embodied energy and water from domestic and developing regions. • Energy water nexus characteristics of industrial sectors can offer different ways to tackle environmental challenges. Large scale urbanization and industrial development has resulted in serious environmental challenges for China. Both energy and water are considered key to urban sustainability and for that matter resource accounting and tracing are drawing growing attention in the economy. This paper focuses on energy-water nexus of urban sectors in Shanghai (referred to year 2010) using multi-regional input-output (MRIO) analysis. This study outcome revealed that overall Shanghai is a net consumer city mainly imports embodied energy and water from domestic and developing regions of the world and exports little to developed regions. In depth analysis indicated that, except S17, S7, S10, S15 and S8 all other industrial sectors were net inflows of energy in Shanghai. Similarly, except S15, all other industrial sectors were net water consumers in Shanghai. The S16 (18.96 Mtce), S20 (11.06 Mtce) and S12 (7.71 Mtce) were ranked highest as net importer making up about 60.48% of total net inflows of embodied energy, whereas S1 (18053.48 Mt), S3 (6865.16 Mt) and S19 (2320.62 Mt) were ranked highest as net importer making up about 74.99% of total net inflows of embodied water. The developed nexus strength indicator uncovered the sectoral energy-water linkages. From a production perspective, the S15 exhibited high nexus strength level up to 1 with 50% contribution by each resource to the nexus. While from a consumption perspective, the S1 revealed high nexus strength level and water was the most frequent resource node contributing about 84% to the energy-water nexus. The energy-water nexus characteristics of industrial sectors can offer different ways to tackle environmental challenges. This study can provide a reference to policy makers in identifying key sectors that requires more focus in terms of easing environmental stress to achieve sustainability in urban development. In addition, called for coordination and regulating urban industrial trade structure in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urban expansion and economic development has led to severe demands of energy and water resources, which poses serious challenges to sustainability and environment. Previous studies have taken more consideration of one resource flow ignoring the interconnectedness between energy and water. In this paper, an urban energy-water nexus framework is constructed considering both domestic and international trade, based on the environmentally extended multi-scale input-output (EE-MSIO) model. This method allows us to trace energy and water flows in a multi-scale economic system from production and consumption perspectives. In basis of that, the nexus strengthen indicator is constructed to evaluate the energy-water nexus of the trading regions with Shanghai city in the domestic and international trade to present the integrated environmental pressure externalized in Shanghai's rapid economic development. Findings indicate that Shanghai is a net importer of energy and water flow. This result is compatible with the fact that Shanghai is a consumer city. Additionally, the seven domestic regions in China are net exporters toward Shanghai, supporting around 55.10% of energy and 70.56% of water import flows driven by city's final demand. Shanghai largely imports flows of energy and water from Mainland China and developing regions across the globe, whereas export little to developed nations. Nexus results indicate that from consumption perspective, Hebei and Shandong are of the highest nexus strength embodied in domestic trade with Shanghai, with nearly equal contribution for both energy and water. While USA is the largest energy-water nexus node embodied in international trade with Shanghai, around 60% energy and 40% water contributed to the nexus. During these tradeoffs, Shanghai is the major beneficiary, being able to externalize environmental pressures by consumption of domestic and international exported goods and services. The study outcomes suggest that a higher coordination, together with a rearrangement of the regional trade structure, should be the key leverages for an effective management of resources and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China is currently facing the threat of serious air pollution and has adopted a series of governance policies. However, the fact that PM 2.5 indicator in some regions often reached far higher than the official threshold since 2015 has reflected that China's current Air Quality Index system for measuring and evaluating air quality is still not perfect. Therefore, this paper extended the current air quality indicator system officially used by China. Using improved Entropy-weighted Factor Method and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) Method, we calculated the air quality scores of 26 cities in China's most economically developed region - the Yangtze River Delta region based on their daily average concentration numbers of main air pollutants from February 2015 to January 2018. Based on the air quality calculation result, we further studied the effectiveness of air pollution control policies of this region by using the Box-Jenkins Model with fuzzy strategy parameter adjustment. Our findings are: the pollution control policy is more effective to Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The air quality score of Shanghai has improved by 51.07% compared with its level before the policy. Meanwhile, the air quality improvement in Zhejiang province has shown the characteristics of "Campaign-style Governance" right before the G20 Summit, especially that in Hangzhou, the host city of the Summit. On the other hand, maybe due to late start of air pollution control programs, the cities of Anhui province haven't shown obvious improvements in air quality, and some cities have even seen deterioration in air quality scores during our study period. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • We extended the current air quality indicator system officially used by China. • We used the Entropy-weighted Factor Method and TOPSIS Method for assessing. • We studied the control policies by Box-Jenkins Model with fuzzy strategy parameter. • Results and corresponding reasons were analyzed according to provinces and cities. • Policy recommendations for air pollution control in YRD were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Passive Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) method is a non-intrusive and cost effective technology adopted in civil and earthquake engineering for site geological and geotechnical survey. However, the application of passive MASW method under urban environments meets some challenges. One of interesting problems is associated with underground railways, which can be treated theoretically as buried sources. Since Rayleigh wave energy is dominant among that of surface waves, it is critical to design a proper geophone configuration during field tests at a site close to the metro line to ensure significant Rayleigh wave energy and therefore reliable dispersion images. This paper studied the propagation of Rayleigh waves generated from a buried source and proposed an empirical formula to estimate the nearest offset, which was then verified by numerical simulations. A case study was implemented in Shanghai, China at a site close to a subway line. With a linear spread geophone configuration, the influence of different parameters, including nearest offset, spread length and geophone interval, was investigated regarding their influences on dispersion images. Field tests were conducted by following the geophone configuration designed based on the proposed estimation method. The one dimensional (1D) shear velocity structure, being inverted from field vibration measurements, matches relatively well with the geologic feature obtained from borehole testing. Study results are expected to help facilitate the application of the passive MASW method for cases in which Rayleigh waves are generated by the buried source like underground traffics in cities. • Near-field effects due to subway traffic were studied for surface wave method application. • A method was proposed for the nearest offset estimation in MASW test with buried sources. • A case study was performed at a site close to underground railway for validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We estimate the energy rebound effect caused by technological progress in Shanghai. • We use the state space model with time-varying parameter based on the IPAT identity. • Shanghai has a high partial rebound effect on average at the overall-economy level. • Mitigating the energy rebound effect can significantly reduce carbon emissions. • Energy efficiency improvement should not be the only way to conserve energy. Abstract The energy rebound effect is regarded as an obstacle of achieving the expected target of energy-saving policies, especially under a rapid urbanization background in developing counties, such as China. This has become a substantial drag of sustainable development in some cities. Shanghai is the economic center of China, and it is also a typical energy import-dependent mega-city. Investigating the evolution of Shanghai's energy-saving performance and the energy rebound effect is significant for the implementation of energy-saving policies in other similar cities of China and other developing countries. Using the state space model with time-varying parameters and based on the IPAT identity and the Solow residual approach, this paper is the first study to present a specific estimation on Shanghai's energy rebound effect caused by technological progress. The results show that, during the period of 1991–2016, the average energy rebound effect of overall economy and secondary industry in Shanghai was 93.96% and 73.10%, respectively, indicating a high partial rebound effect. Most of expected energy saving caused by improved energy efficiency is offset by extra energy consumption caused by technological progress. Regarding tertiary industry, the average rebound effect was 146.61%, indicating a backfire effect. However, the average energy rebound amount of tertiary industry is less than that of secondary industry. In particular, there is an increasingly negative impact of the rebound effect of tertiary industry on energy conservation in recent years, with the sector's rapid expansion and corresponding increase in energy demand. Furthermore, we estimate the carbon rebound amount (i.e., carbon emissions caused by the energy rebound effect) and find that, on average, the energy rebound effect caused 13.1% and 0.41% increases in carbon emissions in Shanghai and China, respectively. Therefore, mitigating the energy rebound effect can significantly reduce carbon emissions. Due to the substantial impact of the rebound effect, technological progress and energy efficiency improvement should not be the only way to achieve energy-saving target, especially in energy import-dependent mega-cities like Shanghai. Some supporting policies should be implemented to ensure that the expected outcome of energy-saving effort can be realized as far as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The significant home price premium in top school attendance zones and the emerging evidence on residential segregation found in China's cities call for a study on the socioeconomic segregation in urban schools and its potential consequences. Using the 2009 and 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys, this paper documents the socioeconomic and academic segregation among 15-year-old students in middle and high schools in Shanghai. We illustrate the effects of residence-based enrollment by comparing middles schools (required to use residence-based enrollment) and high schools (allowed to use merit-based selection), and further quantifies the relationship between school socioeconomic composition and academic achievement. We find that middle schools are more socioeconomically segregated, while high schools are more academically segregated. However, school segregation lessened from 2009 to 2012, especially in middle schools, likely due to the weakening of residence-based enrollment. Public schools in Shanghai became somewhat more integrated socioeconomically, but such a progress in equity was accompanied by an increasingly positive correlation between individual socioeconomic background and student performance, and an increasingly negative correlation between school socioeconomic diversity and student performance, both requiring the attention of policymakers. Highlights • An early study on the socioeconomic segregation in urban schools and its consequences in China; • Middle schools are more socioeconomically segregated, while high schools are more academically segregated; • School segregation lessened from 2009 to 2012, likely due to the weakening of residence-based enrollment; • Student performance was increasingly more correlated with family socioeconomic status; • School socioeconomic diversity and student performance was increasingly negatively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global discourse of ambiguous property rights, the prevailing argument is that ambiguous property rights are blamed for myriad land-related problems in the Global South. In the absence of secure land property rights, China provides new insights into this prevailing argument; however, whether China's ambiguous land property rights have led to land-related problems is still under heated debate. Through an empirical investigation of the Shanghai No.10 Iron and Steel Works redevelopment, this paper explains the ambiguity of property rights over state-owned industrial land in relation to the ambiguous property rights approach and evaluates its impacts on industrial land redevelopment. The case study analyzes the major stakeholders and their de jure rights and de facto rights, reveals the land rents redistribution, and examines how ambiguous property rights fundamentally impacted the spatial outcomes of the No.10 Steelworks site. With the evidence of the two-sided impacts caused by ambiguous property rights in China, this paper criticizes the monolithic understanding of ambiguous property rights in the global discourse and argues that the introduction of ambiguous property rights has been a double-edged sword for land redevelopment in non-Western countries. New thinking concerning alternatives to land institutions is finally discussed within and beyond China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters, intentional attacks, and operational incidents are posing increasing threats on rail transit network. The vulnerability of rail transit network becomes an important concern of researchers and rail managers. This paper proposes a station-based accessibility approach addressing passenger flow and land use characteristics in rail transit network vulnerability analysis. Land use variables are measured as the independency degree on rail transit. The reduction ratio of network accessibility before and after incidents is calculated to measure the potential consequences. Based on results of comparisons with existing methods with the help of an example problem, the proposed accessibility measure demonstrates better and more reasonable results as not only the rail network and passenger flow but also the land use and travel alternative variables interacting with rail transit are accounted. The proposed method is then applied to Shanghai metro network. The data for analysis include rail transit network data, passenger flow data, and land use data around stations. Results indicate that the vulnerability of rail transit network is jointly affected by its network topology, passenger flow, and land use variables. Unbalanced land use, high plot ratio, and the less travel alternatives will increase the dependency of land on rail transit travel, leading to high network vulnerability once disrupted. Results of this work will inform rail transit managers of the degree of network vulnerability and critical stations and links as well as the land use dependency on vulnerability. Findings of this study may have implications not only for the planning of other transit modes to enhance the resilience of public transit network in vulnerable areas but also for the land use development around rail stations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the accelerating urbanization process, there is an increasing shortage of land resource. It leads to an increasingly serious conflicts between built-up areas and other types of land use. This will further hinder city sustainable development. To address the issue, this paper takes urban land management sustainability as the study object and puts forward an evaluation method on sustainable land management (SLM) in urban area. First, four aspects of sustainable land management are proposed, namely economic progress, social stability, urban improvement and ecological balance. Second, a system with fourteen indicators is built according to the aspects. Third, using the indicators, the sub-performance and the overall efficiency of SLM are evaluated with the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) based on entropy weight. After that, the proposed method is applied to a case study of Shanghai, China. The results show the time series changing of SLM performance from 2000 to 2011 and reveal an unbalanced development path among the four aspects of SLM. Accordingly, policy recommendations are proposed to improve the sustainable land management efficiency. Therefore, it demonstrates that the proposed evaluation method can be used to reveal to what extend the urban land use is reasonable and sustainable and provides guidance on government urban land planning and policy making. Consequently, it helps to improve the land use efficiency and ease the land use conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationwide unification of carbon emission right market in China has long been proposed yet not achieved. Launching of the nationwide trading center at Shanghai was a recent great step towards this target but the regional pilots covering respective zones are still in operation. With all trading data in those markets from their inceptions, this paper investigates the development status and trend of each submarket, based on which, it is revealed that sudden replacement of regional markets by the unified nationwide trading center is infeasible at the present stage, furthermore, feasibility of market merging is analyzed and optimized route for essential unification is designed. This paper contributes to deconstruct the value of carbon emission right and interprets its properties of option value, the equivalence of which value from the perspective of financial investment and enterprise operations is explored and formally established. Applying the geometric Brownian motion and optimal stopping time to model the carbon asset operation, option value of carbon emission right is estimated and marginal return-ability of its consumption is calculated for each region. Based on the analysis regionally, market merging is simulated and optimized route for nationwide market unification is proposed with policy suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A general charging scheduling problem for an electric bus fleet, which can be used a building block of more complex electric bus system planning or operations problems. • Time-based charging windows, battery state-of-charge bounds, time-of-use charging tariffs, and station-specific electricity load capacities considered. • A mixed linear integer programming model with charging location and time decisions specified by location-specific charging time slots. • A Lagrangian relaxation framework for decomposing the fleet charging scheduling problem by individual buses. • A bi-criterion dynamic programming algorithm for each single-bus charging scheduling subproblem. Electrification poses a promising low-carbon or even zero-carbon transportation solution, serving as a strategic approach to reducing carbon emissions and promoting carbon neutrality in the transportation sector. Along the transportation electrification pathway, the goal of carbon neutrality can be further accelerated with an increasing amount of electricity being generated from renewable energies. The past decade observed the rapid development of battery technologies and deployment of electricity infrastructure worldwide, fostering transportation electrification to expand from railways to light and then heavy vehicles on roadways. In China, a massive number of electric buses have been employed and operated in dozens of metropolises. An important daily operations issue with these urban electric buses is how to coordinate their charging activities in a cost-effective manner, considering various physical, financial, institutional, and managerial constraints. This paper addresses a general charging scheduling problem for an electric bus fleet operated across multiple bus lines and charging depots and terminals, aiming at finding an optimal set of charging location and time decisions given the available charging windows. The charging windows for each bus are predetermined in terms of its layovers at depots and terminals and each of them is discretized into a number of charging slots with the same time duration. A mixed linear integer programming model with binary charging slot choice and continuous state-of-charge (SOC) variables is constructed for minimizing the total charging cost of the bus fleet subject to individual electricity consumption rates, electricity charging rates, time-based charging windows, battery SOC bounds, time-of-use (TOU) charging tariffs, and station-specific electricity load capacities. A Lagrangian relaxation framework is employed to decouple the joint charging schedule of a bus fleet into a number of independent single-bus charging schedules, which can be efficiently addressed by a bi-criterion dynamic programming algorithm. A real-world regional electric bus fleet of 122 buses in Shanghai, China is selected for validating the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed charging scheduling model and algorithm. The optimization results numerically reveal the impacts of TOU tariffs, station load capacities, charging infrastructure configurations, and battery capacities on the bus system performance as well as individual recharging behaviors, and justify the superior solution efficiency of our algorithm against a state-of-the-art commercial solver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railway turnout is an essential component in the track system, which allows two tracks to intersect at the same level and consequently divert trains. Due to wheel-rail forces and structural weakness of turnouts, switch blades and crossing noses are easy to be damaged, which can lead to significant changes in the running behaviour of trains, especially for high-speed railways. However, the measurement of the profiles of high-speed turnouts is rarely presented in existing studies. This paper presents an experimental study of the profiles of high-speed turnouts that are both replaced and in operation. The turnouts studied are the Type 18 high-speed turnouts with a swing-nose crossing used in the Zhenjiang Station in the Shanghai-Nanjing high-speed line in China. The defects and worn profiles of the replaced switch blades and swing-nose rails during the first seven years of operation (2010–2017) are studied. Besides, the profiles of two turnouts both in the facing and trailing directions measured over four years (2015–2018) have been presented. The common defects, service life and pattern of profile degradation of high-speed turnouts are discussed, which can be helpful for railway companies to make inspection standards or to optimise designs for high-speed turnouts. The main findings are that curved switch blades are the most frequently damaged rails in high-speed turnouts. Its service life varies from 2 to 5 years, which is much longer than that of swing-nose rails and strongly determined by the driving direction of trains. The wear in the facing direction grows far from the tip, with a maximum of 59 mm2/year, while that in the trailing direction grows close to the tip with a maximum of 27 mm2/year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we first analyze the 5 most cited papers with the title containing “Urban ecosystem health” in Chinese academic journals, and 5 newer papers retrieved from the CSSCI (Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index). The results show that the number of indicators to be used together in more than three papers is 28, and then we select 27 of them to assess Beijing and Shanghai's urban ecosystem health from 2000 to 2011. Secondly, when we standardize the original data, the worst value adjustment coefficient is introduced innovatively. Thirdly, using the entropy method, the weights of concrete indicators of Beijing and Shanghai in the different adjustment coefficients are calculated respectively. Fourthly, based on the fuzzy matter-element method, using the Hamming approach degree, the two cities' ecosystem health index and the contribution value to overall health index from each component are calculated. Lastly, using gray prediction model, the evolutionary time response sequence function of Beijing and Shanghai's urban ecosystem health index is identified, and thus both cities' urban ecosystem health is predicted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) ISO 14001 is an instrument for achieving a corporate's sustainable development and therefore is an important tool for environmental management. Due to rapid economic development, the coating industry is increasing rapidly, resulting in several environmental problems. Many coating firms have adopted EMS; however, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the environmental performance of EMS have rarely been examined in the literature. This paper proposed an environmental performance evaluation system that enables quantitatively assess the effects of EMS in the coating industry. A four-level framework was structured with 74 indicators and sub-indicators according to the context and characteristics of the coating industry. Divided into two aspects, the legislative system and environmental management performance system, these indicators and sub-indicators covered almost every element of ISO 14001. And the evaluation criteria were closely referred to Chinese coating industry standards and cleaner production regulations. Using analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy membership degree analysis, the weight of each indicator was determined, and evaluation results were achieved. Moreover, using a coating firm in Shanghai as a case study, this paper investigated the impacts of EMS implementation in two successive years after the firm was granted an ISO14001 certificate in 2007. The results indicated that the environmental performance of EMS in the coating firm was satisfactory in 2008, and there was an obvious improvement in 2009, which strongly demonstrated that the evaluation model was scientific and practical. Finally, further improvements are proposed from four aspects, including thoroughly identifying environmental factors, encouraging the development of advanced pollution control technologies, sustaining the improvement process of EMS after the initial adoption, and supporting the involvement of software applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the rapid urbanization of Chinese cities with a focus on the plans for a new, ongoing urban sub-centre in the north-west of Shanghai: Zhenru Urban Sub-Centre. Information-rich urbanization is a defining feature of the 21st century, reshaping cities and communities in China and in developing countries around the world. The scale and pace of change requires a solid systems approach of urban development. In 2011, China announced that it has reached an urbanization rate of 50%. If we take rapid urbanization as a given and that it is already well underway, it is still widely unclear what research needs to be conducted and policy changes made to support municipalities of fast transforming cities and to avoid repeating the development mistakes that have occurred in industrialized nations, i.e. driving urban growth with high consumption patterns without fully considering the environmental and social needs and occupants'' behaviour and aspirations. This paper compares two cases of urban development patterns for new sub-centres for polycentric city structures: It relates to new urban sub-centres in Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China), and the relationship of these sub-centres to ‘Network City’ theory. Network theory is useful in this context as the ‘network’ metaphor and concepts of decentralization seem to have replaced the ‘machine’ metaphor which was based on efficiency based on the availability of cheap fossil fuels. As cities aim to move towards more resilient urban ecosystems and polycentric systems, the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin, compared to Zhenru Sub-Centre in Shanghai, is discussed. Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and less car-dependency. According to documentation of the Shanghai municipality, Zhenru urban centre, which is currently in its planning phase, is supposed to become a ‘new sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis’. Based on the Potsdamer Platz experience, a series of careful recommendations are formulated for the design and development of such centres, knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other. The conclusion includes five lessons (recommendations) from Potsdamer Platz for the urban design of new sub-centres to ensure a delivery of economical, social and environmental sustainable outcomes. A core finding is that drawing lessons from the German case study for Chinese urbanization seemed a useful tactic and gave a sense that there are underlying urban design strategies. However, the conversion of such strategies to another cultural and social context requires further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper sheds an empirical light on port development patterns by discussing the structure and the development of the Yangtze River ports system. We argue that the Yangtze River system is going through a regionalization phase, mainly in relation to the port of Shanghai. This process started on the lower Yangtze but is now also moving upstream. The transition towards the port regionalization phase is typically a gradual and market-driven process that mirrors the increased focus of market players on logistics integration. This paper builds on the existing literature on port systems and adapts port development models to river ports. Furthermore, we employ some statistical techniques that are common to the analysis of port systems, and introduce some techniques that have not been used much by transport geographers in ports. This paper will address the dynamics in the Yangtze River ports system by analyzing the level of cargo concentration and the degree of inequality in operations of the container ports. The paper also assesses observed differences in development of ports in different areas along the river (upstream/downstream) and reflects on the role of ownership structures in shaping regional load centre networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An extended Gebhart–Block model for large space buildings is proposed in this paper, which is used to predict the vertical temperature distribution of hybrid ventilation. Natural ventilation coupled with air-conditioning is described with a mathematical model. The indoor thermal environment formed by the air-conditioning and the natural ventilation can also be conducted for the potential analysis and optimal use of the natural ventilation. Experiments were carried out in an atrium building in Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences. This paper describes aforementioned model, and it is found that the calculation results implying this model agree well with the measurement data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As vehicle population and activity increase, vehicle emissions are becoming the most predominant source of air pollution in Shanghai, China. It has become important to accurately estimate the traffic emissions in this city. This paper presents a bottom–up approach based on the International Vehicle Emission (IVE) model to develop the vehicle emission inventory for Shanghai. The results show that the total emissions of CO, VOC, NO X and PM from vehicles in Shanghai in 2004 were 57.06×104 t, 7.75×104 t, 9.20×104 t and 0.26×104 t, respectively. About 20% of the total emissions were emitted during the cold start period. Heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses contributed over half of NO X and PM. Motorcycles and mopeds provided 45.0% of VOC and 36.3% of PM. Light-duty vehicles are the main source of CO emissions. An assessment of vehicle emissions by time of day and road type was also discussed. The three peak emission periods accounted for 54% to 56% of the total emissions during the day and more than 50% of the total emissions were emitted on the arterial roads. Finally, the study focused on the uncertainty analysis of two critical factors: emission factors and the estimate of the total Vehicle Kilometers Traveled (VKT). The analysis indicates that the emission factors calculated in this paper are close to those factors measured during on-road testing, and the difference between the VKT used in this paper and other calculations is less than 10%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A better understanding of the factors that affect the generation of municipal living refuse (MLF) and the accurate prediction of its generation are crucial for municipal planning projects and city management. Up to now, most of the design efforts have been based on a rough prediction of MLF without any actual support. In this paper, based on published data of socioeconomic variables and MLF generation from 1990 to 2003 in the city of Shanghai, the main factors that affect MLF generation have been quantitatively studied using the method of gray correlation coefficient. Several gray models, such as GM(1,1), GIM(1), GPPM(1) and GLPM(1), have been studied, and predicted results are verified with subsequent residual test. Results show that, among the selected seven factors, consumption of gas, water and electricity are the largest three factors affecting MLF generation, and GLPM(1) is the optimized model to predict MLF generation. Through this model, the predicted MLF generation in 2010 in Shanghai will be 7. 65 million tons. The methods and results developed in this paper can provide valuable information for MLF management and related municipal planning projects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the intersections of the past and present in the contemporary urban landscape of Shanghai. In particular, it examines on the glamorous history prior to communist liberation in 1949, which is museumized in the contemporary Shanghai landscape. The focus on urban regeneration efforts has seen the renovation of Shikumen Houses in Xintiandi, which demonstrates how contemporary spaces are imagined in ways that conjure up “Old Shanghai”. Through this process of creating trans-historical spaces, the original place meanings of Xintiandi are re-cast by its present stakeholders. By deploying iconography as a particular device of place promotion, the paper illuminates the fragments of history that have been fore grounded and muted by these strategies. Xintiandi is broadly conceived as a site of consumption that is reflective of emerging new spaces of consumption in Shanghai; as spaces that are set within the context of unequal power relations in urban planning and heritage conservation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rapid economic ascent of China and the increasing integration of the world economy over the past two decades have made the metropolises in China, such as Shanghai and Beijing, emerging global cities. As in other parts of the developing world, foreign investment is a central force underlying the emergence of Chinese metropolises as global cities. This is especially true in Shanghai where major foreign investments in China are concentrated. The primary objectives of this paper are twofold: (1) to examine the process of foreign investment development in Shanghai and (2) to assess the significance of foreign investment in the transformation of Shanghai into a global city. As the literature on global cities dwells primarily on the experiences of those cities with advanced economies, this paper broadens the scope by contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics of global city formation in the developing world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many global high-density cities have embraced transit-oriented development (TOD) strategies around metro stations in a strong push toward promoting transit trips. However, the general TOD principles must be adapted to a variety of local features. Thus, conducting a baseline study that deciphers the locality-specific differences and similarities in the influence of TOD on metro ridership is of paramount importance. Using the case of Shanghai in China, this paper demonstrated a novel approach to unveiling the locality-specific influence of TOD on metro ridership that integrated the node-functionality-place model with interpretable machine learning. By exploring a wide range of explanatory variables, we discovered that the relative importance of TOD structural factors (e.g., node, place and functionality) and neighborhood sociodemographics as well as their interactions presented great spatial and temporal heterogeneity for boarding and alighting on weekdays and weekends. Among the TOD structural factors, functionality was of the highest importance, and a greater contribution was observed within the central districts during peak hours. Regarding the interactions among the TOD structural factors, the interaction between node and functionality presented the highest relative importance, followed by that between place between functionality and that between node and place. Additionally, neighborhood sociodemographics also accounted for a noticeable contribution, especially in the outskirts. Based on the locality-specific estimations, the affinity propagation clustering algorithm was further used to cluster the TODs into difference groups as nuanced representations of the TOD-metro ridership relationships. The findings refreshed the knowledge base concerning the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the nonlinear influence of TOD on metro ridership and provided new insights into spatial planning. The proposed approach showed high computational feasibility with strong theoretical underpinnings and thus offered broad potential applications into other high-density cities worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste sorting is an imperative and significant issue in China, of which sorted-waste collection and transportation are indispensable parts. Despite its vital yet practical significance, few studies research mathematical models or algorithms of waste collection and transportation from the perspective of waste sorting. To address this issue, we extend a novel transportation model for the waste management system, namely, capacitated location routing problem with queuing time (CLRPQT) and design a cross-entropy and simulated-annealing based hyper-heuristic algorithm (CE-SAHH) for it. The main idea of this paper is three-fold: (1) As a particular property of this problem, source nodes cannot but need to be served by more than one vehicle that causes queuing time between a heterogeneous fleet of vehicles, which is novel in terms of the proposed model; (2) For the methodological contribution, a character encoding scheme, new decoding procedure, and local search strategy are designed embedded in the proposed method; (3) An integration of simulated annealing strategy and the cross-entropy-based hyper-heuristic algorithm is developed to overcome the combinatorial optimization problem with a more complex solution of this study. Finally, the results and analysis of three numeric experiments on benchmark datasets, new instances of CLRPQT, and simulation data in Shanghai, China, verify the effectiveness and universality of the proposed model and method. • A novel model with interactional routes for sorted-waste transportation is proposed. • A cross-entropy-based hyper-heuristic algorithm is proposed and performs well. • The novel model and method based on sorted waste enrich the waste management system. • Real-life data is used to verify the method and some managerial insights are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using energy conservation measures (ECMs) for building retrofit can significantly reduce building operational carbon emissions (BOCEs) and contribute to Chinese carbon neutrality by 2060. This paper involves 11 feasible ECMs for commercial buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone, China, and proposes a quick assessment approach to BOCEs reduction. Prototypical models are simulated for ECMs using EnergyPlus and the emission intensity is corrected by the building shape factor and window-to-wall ratio. Based on pre-simulated results, effects on reducing emissions of individual measures and packages of them are studied to develop regression models in SPSS. The results show that decreasing the U-factor of external walls, lighting power density (LPD), or shading coefficient can reduce BOCEs linearly. BOCEs are most sensitive to LPD and using daylighting control can reduce emissions by 5–15%. In addition, increasing the boilers' efficiency reduces emissions linearly, while performance improvement of chillers or heat pumps reduces emissions logarithmically. Furthermore, utilizing variable speed pumps, heat recovery ventilation, and air-side economizers can reduce emissions by 3.8%, 6.6%, and 15.2%, respectively. Finally, significant interactions exist among measures of enhancing glazing U-factor, adding external shading, using energy-saving lamps, and improving cooling/heating system efficiencies. The developed regression models are validated in a retrofit case in Shanghai. Through assessment, the case can reduce BOCEs by 15.9 kgCO 2 /m2, with a reduction rate of 20.8%. Compared with recorded data, the relative error of assessing emission reduction is −13.0% and that of assessing reduction rate is 0.5%, which are acceptable in the decision-making stage of retrofit strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel three-stage decision-making approach for office buildings design considering 'Energy','Comfort', and 'Cost'. • The establishment of an optimization and decision-making model by applying NSGA-II and TOPSIS methods. • Two-year monitored data and post-occupancy evaluation for energy audit and thermal comfort. • The evidence of a case study demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed method and solutions. China, with the largest energy consumption system in the world, faces numerous challenges in achieving the government's commitment to reach a carbon-peak and carbon–neutral target. As the most common public building type in terms of floor area, office buildings have great potential for energy saving and emissions reduction. To meet this target, building designers target passive solutions that can meet the thermal comfort needs of occupants and also reduce energy consumption. This study aims to develop a decision-making method to select optimal solutions from among tens of thousands of design options considering the factors of energy consumption, comfort, and cost. We developed a novel optimization decision approach with the above-mentioned three objectives. The model consists of three stages: 1) the establishment of the reference building model, 2) sensitivity analysis to identify the main influencing variables and 3) the establishment of the optimization and decision-making model by applying NSGA-II and TOPSIS methods. By applying this three-stage decision-making model, this paper first proposes cost-effective passive design solutions for office buildings throughout the Hot Summer and Cold Winter climate zone. Finally, an office building in Shanghai was chosen as a case study to demonstrate the practical implementation of the proposed solutions through a post-occupancy evaluation with a two-year energy auditing and thermal comfort survey. It is evident that the proposed solutions provide support for the new low energy building design guide for office buildings along with necessary revisions to the existing standards for the Hot Summer and Cold Winter climate zone in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A hybrid autonomous search algorithm called Entrotaxis-Jump is proposed. • Seeking an unknown emission source in large-scale area with road network constraint. • The cognitive search algorithm is combined with the intermittent strategy. • A real chemical cluster in China is selected as the typical research area. In a sudden hazardous material leakage accident, the rapid and accurate localization of the leakage source can effectively reduce casualties and property losses. Utilizing the sensible robot to seek an unknown emission source has become a promising field, while most researches in this field fail to consider some intractable but practical factors, such as the large spatial scale of some search domains and the road network (that can obstruct robot's maneuver). This paper proposes an efficient search algorithm, named as Entrotaxis-Jump, to seek an unknown emission source and obtain other source terms (e.g., source strength) in a large-scale (>0.1 km2) practical scene with road network constraints, such as a chemical cluster. The hybrid algorithm incorporates the Entrotaxis algorithm (a kind of cognitive search algorithm) with the intermittent search strategy, so it can utilize the triggering jump motion to alleviate the negative factors for search (road network constraints, expansive search domain, and turbulence effect). We select a chemical cluster in Shanghai, China as the typical research area and conduct a series of simulations in it to compare the performance of the Entrotaxis with the Entrotaxis-Jump under various release strength Q and wind speed V. The performance is reflected by the success rate (SR) and mean search time (MST), and we propose a skill score S to consider the two indexes synthetically. The results denote that the Entrotaxis-Jump outperforms Entrotaxis in all of our simulated scenarios, especially when the wind speed V > 2, in which case the SR of Entrotaxis drops sharply while the SR of the Entrotaxis-Jump witnesses a little decline but remains over 90%. The Entrotaxis-Jump algorithm proposed in this paper considers more practical factors, compared to previous researches, and is suitable and robust to utilize in real scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-gain Free Electron Lasers (FEL) have promised scientists for new scientific discoveries in many frontier research areas. For that purpose, this kind of facilities have been installed or will be installed worldwide. As to FELs, high repetition is the future development trend. Herein, wire scanner provides a measurement of beam profile which realizes real-time and non-intercepting for the FELs. The simulation of key parameters of wire scanner for the FELs is discussed in this paper. Since wire scanner for FELs mainly use tungsten wires, then empirical formula for optimum installation position of Beam Loss Monitor (BLM) and empirical formula for the maximum temperature of tungsten wires are given based on theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. These formulas can provide a reference for high repetition and high-gain FELs that will be installed with wire scanners in the future. In recent years, the Shanghai HIgh repetition rate XFEL aNd Extreme light facility (SHINE), a quasi-continuous wave hard X-ray free electron laser facility, is under construction in China. Upon its completion, the linear accelerator will accelerate electrons with bunch charge of 10–300 p C to 8 G e V , at a maximum repetition frequency of 1 M H z. We calculate key parameters of the wire scanner for SHINE with these empirical formulas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]