Search

Since 2012, China's economic growth rate has been much higher than the world average; its economic aggregate ranks second in the world, people's living standards have risen significantly, and absolute poverty has been historically eliminated, laying a solid foundation for solid promotion of common prosperity. However, China is still in the primary stage of socialism, and the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development has not been fundamentally solved. It is urgent to monitor the status of common prosperity construction in all regions. By constructing an evaluation index system of common prosperity, this paper uses spatial correlation analysis model and geographically weighted regression model to assess the comprehensive development level of common prosperity quantitatively, reveal the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and analyze the main influencing factors. The results show that the comprehensive development level of China's common prosperity has been continuously improved. It gradually presents a spatial distribution pattern with Beijing-Shanghai as the development pole and the eastern coastal area as the highland, and there is a significant positive spatial correlation, but the local spatial heterogeneity has increased. The development level of common prosperity is affected by multiple factors, and the increase in per capita GDP is the leading factor in promoting common prosperity. Therefore, we should focus on promoting high-quality economic development, coordinated regional development and expanding middle-income groups, so that all people can enjoy the fruits of reform and development and ultimately achieve common prosperity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conflict between agricultural production and environmental protection, especially vegetable production, is one of the world's most prominent concerns. The acceptance degree and possible response of new agricultural operation subjects, represented by Farmers Professional Cooperatives (FPCs), to green production policies are a core issue that must be considered when designing environmental policies in the future. Based on field survey data of 192 FPCs of vegetables in Shanghai, China, this paper uses a choice experiment method to test the willingness of cooperatives to adopt green production behaviors under different policy settings and to identify the differences under different operation scales. The results show that both mandatory policies and incentive policies have an impact on the willingness of cooperatives to adopt green production behaviors, but significant differences exist among FPCs of different operation scales. Specifically, the willingness of large-scale FPCs to adopt green production behavior is affected by key technology training and income subsidies, whereas the willingness of small-scale FPCs is only affected by income subsidies; the willingness of medium-scale FPCs is simultaneously affected by key technology training, income subsidies, and penalties. Therefore, when formulating relevant policies in the future, policy-makers should consider local conditions, including the endowment heterogeneity of the production and operation subjects, so as to enhance the level of green production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, nitrate (NO3–) levels in winter pollution in eastern China have been increasing yearly and have become the main component of PM2.5. The factors contributing to this rise in surface NO3– concentrations remain unclear, complicating the development of targeted pollution control measures. This study utilizes observational data from Shanghai during the winter 2019, alongside box model simulations, to recreate the NO3− pollution event and identify the key factors in the growth process. The analysis demonstrated that a rise in winter ozone levels significantly promotes NO3– production by facilitating NOx conversion via gas-phase and heterogeneous reactions. These findings could explain the correlation between the synchronous increase of surface ozone and NO3− in recent years. Furthermore, simulation of control strategies for NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) identified an approach centered on ozone reduction as notably effective in mitigating winter NO3– pollution in the Yangtze River Delta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disclosure of information is a necessary tool for the management of severe environmental problems, revealing how resources are used and pollution managed. This article examines the connections between corporate executives' political connections and the quality of the environmental information their enterprises disclose. It also explores the regulatory role of the assessments of officials' environmental performance. Using panel data of 236 state-owned enterprises in heavy-polluting industries listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012 to 2016, the results show that the political connection has a significant positive effect on improving the quality of the environmental information disclosure at the 5% confidence level, and every one level increase in the political connection will improve the level of corporate environmental information disclosure by 17.8%. And also, taking environmental performance as an evaluation category for promotion purposes had a significant positive adjustment effect on the relationship between the political connections of the leader of a state-owned enterprise and the quality of environmental information that enterprise disclosed at the 10% confidence level. As our findings suggest, the evaluation of the environmental information disclosed by enterprises in emerging economies such as China requires caution. The leaders of these companies are affected by economic incentives, but are also focused on the political incentives brought about by mandatory regulations. The research provides an empirical basis for the effectiveness of environmental regulation on environmental information disclosure and also helps to understand the impact of official assessment mechanism in China's environmental development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Wutopia Lab's transformation of the Water Tower Home (shuita zhijia, also know as 'House on the House'), a top-floor unit of a residential building converted from a water tower located in a Bulinli lilong neighbourhood in Shanghai. In 2015, the top-floor unit was transformed into a three-bedroom apartment, which was featured in a popular reality TV show Dream Home. Using the concept of 'raumplan' as the primary design strategy, the design deploys various heights and platforms to re-organise the internal space while largely maintaining the exterior appearance of the building. It deliberately avoided homogeneous visual control and accommodated the residents' complex functional requirements within a highly restricted space. The research scrutinises various actors' involvement during the production of the reality TV show and the transformation process. It highlights how the design team navigated the stakeholders' complex needs and the rigid yet ambiguous policy related to the regeneration of Shanghai's unofficial urban heritage. By reflecting upon the various formal and informal design practices in this structure and its eventual demolition, the article illustrates the dilemmas in bottom-up regeneration of the historic urban environment in contemporary China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on dynamic monitoring data on China's population, by using complex networks, spatial analysis and mathematical measurement, this study reveals the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of the network of flows of highly educated talents in the Yangtze River Delta region from the national and local perspectives. In the two perspectives, the network has strong isomorphism and certain differences. The in-flow of highly educated talents from cities with high administrative levels and more developed economies to Shanghai constitutes the core of the entire network. From a national perspective, highly educated talents tend to converge to the Yangtze River Delta region. From a local perspective, it was found that these talents cluster towards a limited number of cities in the region. From both perspectives, the flow network has developed into a "core-periphery" progressive hierarchical structure, with Shanghai becoming the sole core city. There is little difference in the influencing factors of talent mobility from both macro and meso perspectives. Highly educated talents would frequently flow between cities with strong economic development levels, and cities with high education level, scientific and technological level, complete infrastructure, and good aesthetics. However, geographical distance still plays a hindering role in the flow of highly educated talents, and factors such as cultural identity, institutional, and social modality differences among regions also have a certain effect on the flow of these talents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]