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The coexistence of urban expansion and shrinkage in China has become increasingly apparent; therefore, the current strategic model of growth-oriented urban planning as the top-level design needs to be adjusted. This paper focuses on the city of Baishan, which is a typical shrinking city in China, and explores the feasibility of implementing the concept of smart shrinkage planning in shrinking cities in China by constructing a coupled PLUS-SD model. The results demonstrate the following conclusions: (1) The overall simulation of the coupled PLUS-SD model is superior to that of the PLUS model. In Baishan, the areas with the most changes in construction land will be located at the edges of the landforms by 2030. (2) Using the traditional planning scenario would only exacerbate the rate of construction land expansion in Baishan, deepening the incongruity between the city's population and construction land. (3) The smart shrinkage scenario will require strict control of the scale of construction land and optimization of the structure of the urban construction land, which would push the city in the direction of healthy and sustainable development. (4) The concept of smart shrinkage planning is a scientific and feasible plan for realizing the efficient and sustainable use of construction land in shrinking cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of disasters across the globe have prompted the creation of strategies for disaster risk reduction and resilience to save lives and property in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The 2030 Agenda calls for all development planning to simultaneously tackle disaster risk reduction and inclusiveness. This paper aims to remold urban planning for upcoming new towns in developing countries so that planners can be able to include indigenous knowledge systems in urban planning. The study was conducted in a new town, Gokwe, Zimbabwe, with a population of 8,118 from which a sample size of 229 was drawn using Cochran's sample size determination formula and the 30% rule. A mixed-methods analytic case study was conducted to evaluate the potential of the town's planning processes in preventing natural and human-induced disasters. The study used questionnaires, semistructured interviews, desktop sources, focus group discussions, and remote sensing. It analyzed the strategies, scope, and relevance of Gokwe town disaster risk-reduction strategies and their integration into town planning and development using six wards, from 1992 to 2020. The Urban Disaster Reduction Index (UDRI) model was applied based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction indicators to measure the extent to which the town council's development planning can help to reduce disaster and foster sustainable development. The UDRI was calculated for the four Sendai Framework priority areas and proved that the council's disaster management is weak. The chief cause was found to be the town's development control regulations and the national urban councils act that excludes contributions from local communities and leadership, placing new town planning in the hands of bureaucrats, technicians, and politicians only. It was concluded that for disaster management to improve requires local DRR and national urban development policies reformulation. This research exposed that the practice and scholarship of urban planning in most low-income countries such as Zimbabwe must be changed from mere physical design to a holistic process approach of community building. There is need to redefine sustainable development as a dynamic and continuous approach that brings together physical considerations, societal values, and technology in crafting solutions for urban development challenges. Environmentalists, planners, policymakers, engineers, economists, and society at large must combine forces to bring about the most sought-after urban sustainability that ensures environmental protection, spatial coordination, and economic and social development for the present and future generations. The paper calls for adoption of a dynamic multidisciplinary and cyclic rather than the current static and unidirectional planning advanced by traditional urban planning theories, such as the rational–comprehensive, incremental, and the transactive theories. Urban planning should not be viewed as a technical, empirical, and scientific activity that does not require any input from ordinary citizens. Planning processes should afford the public an active role, not only in planning but right from policy setting, planning, development, and management of the established town. Town development should be a mutual process in which leaders gather more information from the community and for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attaining optimal eco-efficiency is of paramount importance in promoting the sustainable and harmonious development of the economy and environment within urban agglomerations. Firstly, this paper utilizes the Super-SBM model with undesirable output to measure the eco-efficiency (EE) of 64 cities in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei metropolitan region (BTHMR), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Pearl River Delta (PRD), and the Chengdu–Chongqing Economic Zone (CCEZ) from 2006 to 2019. Secondly, this study puts forth a novel and comprehensive index system aimed at evaluating the urbanization efficiency and sheds light on the spatiotemporal changes in EE and urbanization efficiency. Finally, the STIRPAT model is used to examine the influencing factors of EE and to investigate the correlation between EE and urbanization efficiency. The study found that the overall EE of the four typical urban agglomerations is high, but the trend varies with a decrease of about 12.9% from 2006 to 2019. The mean EE is in the order of CCEZ > PRD > BTHMR > YRD, with mean values of 0.941, 0.909, 0.842, and 0.732, respectively. The level of science and technology and the urbanization efficiency have a significant positive impact on EE, while population, industrial structure, FDI, and greening level have an inhibitory effect on urban eco-efficiency. Based on the results, policy suggestions such as paying attention to regional heterogeneity and giving full play to the government's macro-regulatory role in shaping the economic and industrial structure are proposed to serve as a guide for the coordinated development of urban agglomerations under the Dual Carbon Target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As rapid urbanization becomes a key topic within urban studies and planning particularly in the Global South, it needs to be considered what radical implications to urban environment mean. Reviewing literature on urbanization and its implications on urban environment from within the Global South and on sustainable development research and environmental studies, this article discusses eight implications of urbanization-environmental conundrum: pollution, water resource degradation, urban heat island effect, sea level rise and urban flooding, urban sprawl and slum growth, urban agriculture decline, public health deterioration, and urban wetland destruction that question the ontology of urbanization in Global South cities. Drawing on cases from Saudi Arabian cities, findings indicate that sustainable development agenda is skewed towards socio-economic development with limited focus on environmental issues. This situation is threatening the sustainability of rapidly urbanizing cities. The paper proposes a rhizomatic understanding of environmental importance as a roadmap for sustainable and transformative urbanization in Global South. This ontology changes understandings of what sustainable urbanization should be in rapidly growing Global South cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban population of India is expected to reach 416 million by 2050. As more and more people shift from rural to urban areas, the urban centers will be facing serious sustainability challenges to meet the requirements of ever increasing population. One of the key problem areas will be the shortages of the affordable housings for the urban poor and the growth of slums. However, these slums are important component of urban ecosystem as they not only provide affordable shelters to the urban poor but also supply the urban area with its cheap labour force, therefore slums and slum dwellers should be treated as an integral part of urban ecosystem and should be included in the policy frameworks to make urban areas more inclusive and sustainable. This paper examines the sustainability of urban development through livelihood indicators of the slum dwellers of Darjeeling town. This empirical study was carried out in 8 different slum pockets of the town. The data was collected through questionnaires and were subsequently analyzed. The results shows that the slum pockets of Darjeeling town have higher literacy rates (including female literacy rate) as compared to both the national and the state averages, yet its performance in other livelihood indicators is very dismal. The attainment of the lower educational levels by slum dwellers indicates prevalence of very high dropout rates within the community. The slum dwellers face serious levels of deprivation as related to wellbeing indicator and environmental hygiene indicator in regard to access of safe drinking water and sanitation facilities respectively. The slum dwellers of Darjeeling town are forced to live in overcrowded substandard housing conditions with almost no municipal services and are situated on steep slopes which are often prone to the natural disasters. The mixed performance of the slum pockets in regard to the livelihood indicators suggests that the town of Darjeeling has been experiencing unbalanced growth in terms of sustainable development. Therefore a more holistic approach in policy framing is needed to address such multi-faceted problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is the process of transformation through which cities develop, and higher percentages of the population come to live in the city or urban area. Urbanization has a positive impact in the path of development. According to World Bank estimation, more than 80% of global GDP generates in cities. Urbanization can contribute to sustainable growth through increased productivity and innovation if managed well. During 2011 census, Assam has an urbanization rate of 14% approximate which is lower compared to 31% of national urbanization rate. This paper intends to study the trend of urbanization in Assam over the years and the rate of growth of urban population. It also seeks to study the impact of urbanization on socio economic development and environment. The findings show that there is an increasing trend in the rate of growth of urbanization. Proper management and planning is required to induce organised and sustainable economic development and to protect the environment from degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the onset of rapid population growthand urbanisation levels in India, significant amount of population will be living in urban areas. As existing cities are already densely populated with limited infrastructure, the emergence of townships in the vicinity of urban areas offers great potential for accommodate them. Townships have thus become an important means of sustaining urbanisation in India. This paper discusses the emergence of township development in Pune city and its neighbouring areas by performing an analysis of existing townships as cases. The salient features and major advantages of these townshipsare discussed in detail. The paper finds that the township development in Pune has been rather evolutionary: from 'satellite townships' that were based on the concept of 'counter magnet settlements', to 'integrated townships' that were based on the concept of 'sustainable development', and further to 'smart townships' which use the principles of 'new urbanism'. The paper therefore brings about how such evolution of township development can be replicated by other Indian cities to achieve the urbanisation and urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Since the 21st century, the world has increasingly focused on the issue of sustainable development, and the green transformation issues have become a new hot topic worldwide. Green and low-carbon transformation has become an international consensus. Urban agglomerations are important connections between urban development and regional coordination, as well as important spatial carriers for economic activities. They are not only the main source of carbon emissions, but also the main battlefield for energy conservation and emission reduction. As an important field for carbon reduction, the green transformation of cities is crucial for achieving the "dual carbon" goals. This article focuses on 48 cities in the three most mature and influential urban agglomerations in China from 2011 to 2019, namely, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. The three-stage DEA model and Malmquist index model are used to measure the green transformation efficiency of the three urban agglomerations from both dynamic and static perspectives, and a Tobit regression model is constructed to explore the influencing factors of green transformation efficiency in urban agglomerations. Research has found that: 1) From a static perspective, the overall efficiency of green transformation in the three major urban agglomerations is at a high level, but from a temporal perspective, it shows a downward trend. The Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration is known for its green development, with the highest average efficiency of green transformation, followed by the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration has the lowest level of green transformation; 2) From a dynamic perspective, technological progress is the main driving factor for improving the efficiency of green transformation in the three major urban agglomerations. Therefore, the government should pay special attention to the progressiveness of technology when formulating relevant policies to promote urban green transformation; 3) From the perspective of spatiotemporal differences, there are significant differences in the spatiotemporal characteristics of green transformation among the three major urban agglomerations, and there are significant differences in green transformation strategies among different urban agglomerations. Eliminating environmental factors and random interference is necessary for accurately measuring the efficiency of green transformation in urban agglomerations; 4) From the perspective of influencing factors, factors such as industrial structure upgrading, green innovation level, and environmental regulation intensity jointly affect the efficiency of green transformation in urban agglomerations. Based on this, we should pay attention to the differences between urban agglomerations and implement policies tailored to local conditions; Strengthen the network system of urban agglomerations and avoid conflicts between cities; Encourage green technology innovation, accelerate industrial structure upgrading, and so on. This article focuses on the issue of green transformation in urban agglomerations, and conducts research from three perspectives: efficiency measurement, influencing factors, and implementation mechanisms. A relatively systematic theoretical framework for green transformation in urban agglomerations is formed, and an evaluation index system for green transformation efficiency in urban agglomerations is constructed and optimized. The composition mechanism of the five dimensional evaluation system for transformation efficiency is analyzed, and the bottleneck and breakthrough direction of the three major urban agglomerations in China in the development process are grasped. It has a good demonstration effect on the green transformation of other urban agglomerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An evaluation system has been developed to assess the carbon neutrality potential. • A rising curve and function model of carbon neutrality potential are established. • The upgrade law of urban agglomeration's carbon neutrality potential has been verified. • Carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomeration is wavy upward. The formation and development of urban agglomerations are frequently accompanied by the enhancement of regional carbon neutrality potential. The specific performance demonstrated that the carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations exhibited a wavy upward tendency over time due to the agglomeration of production elements, industrial transformation, and the evolution of a joint game among cities. To begin with, this paper analyzes and models the fundamental principles of the evolution law of carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations, as well as the geometric expression of their evolution. Afterward, an evaluation index system for urban agglomeration carbon neutrality potential is constructed in this paper, and the entropy weight method is employed to calculate the carbon neutrality potential of each city within the agglomeration as well as Chinese urban agglomerations as a whole. Following this, a global spatial analysis of the carbon neutrality potential of various urban agglomerations and cities within agglomerations is conducted using Arc GIS10.8, and a method for calculating the joint intensity and threshold value of the carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations is developed. As a last stage, the MATLAB simulation verification approach is utilized to verify the evolution law of carbon neutrality potential and to explore the sustainable development path of carbon neutrality for Chinese urban agglomerations. The conclusions of this research indicate: (1) The spatial and temporal pattern of carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomerations is unbalanced; (2) By constructing a joint strength model, this study calculates the joint intensity and joint threshold value of the carbon neutral potential of Chinese urban agglomerations;(3) The evolution curve of the carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomerations essentially exhibits a wavy upward pattern that varies with time and urban joint development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas are recognised as having a major influence in the drive towards making development more sustainable. Consequently, robust and comprehensive methodologies for the assessment of sustainability in the urban context are essential for urban decision makers such as planners, architects, engineers and managers. This paper describes the method and main findings of a scoping study undertaken by the 'Metrics, Models and Toolkits for Whole Life Sustainable Urban Development' consortium of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's Sustainable Environment Programme in the UK (Sue-MoT) to determine gaps and needs in current urban sustainability assessment tools. The paper also introduces a main programme of research which will address key priorities identified. During the study, 675 tools applicable to the assessment of sustainability in regard to urban developments were identified with 165 of these undergoing evaluations against a series of criteria identified as important for the integrated assessment of urban sustainability. Additionally, stakeholders, including urban decision makers and tool developers, were canvassed on the strengths and weaknesses of current assessment tools and on future user requirements. The results of the work confirmed that there is no tool currently capable of simultaneously covering all assessment criteria but demonstrated the need not for a new tool but for a framework that integrates those that already exist. Consequently, the consortium proposes the development of an integrated sustainability assessment toolkit (ISAT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social sustainability is a new strand of discourse on sustainable development. It has developed over a number of years in response to the dominance of environmental concerns and technological solutions in urban development and the lack of progress in tackling social issues in cities such as inequality, displacement, liveability and the increasing need for affordable housing. Even though the Sustainable Communities policy agenda was introduced in the UK a decade ago, the social dimensions of sustainability have been largely overlooked in debates, policy and practice around sustainable urbanism. However, this is beginning to change. A combination of financial austerity, public sector budget cuts, rising housing need, and public and political concern about the social outcomes of regeneration, are focusing attention on the relationship between urban development, quality of life and opportunities. There is a growing interest in understanding and measuring the social outcomes of regeneration and urban development in the UK and internationally. A small, but growing, movement of architects, planners, developers, housing associations and local authorities advocating a more 'social' approach to planning, constructing and managing cities. This is part of an international interest in social sustainability, a concept that is increasingly being used by governments, public agencies, policy makers, NGOs and corporations to frame decisions about urban development, regeneration and housing, as part of a burgeoning policy discourse on the sustainability and resilience of cities. This paper describes how social sustainability is emerging as a practice in urban regeneration in the UK and draws on Social Life's work in improving the social outcomes of development for communities. It includes a detailed assessment of experimental work carried out in 2011 for the Berkeley Group, in partnership with the University of Reading, to develop a social sustainability measurement framework, which will enable Berkeley to evaluate community strength and quality of life in regard to new housing developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rapid economic development has led to urban sprawl and threatens river systems. In this paper, we used geographic information system (GIS) techniques to examine the effects of urbanisation on the water resources of the Yanggong River watershed in Lijiang City, and analysed the temporal changes in river systems and their impacts on watershed ecosystem functions. The total length of the river systems in the Yanggong River watershed decreased from 786.9 km in 1995 to 674.2 km in 2009 and is predicted to continue to decrease by 35.5 km in the next 11 years according to various data sources. The decrease in river system density started in the Old Town of Lijiang and gradually spread to the surrounding areas. Our analysis shows that urbanisation is failing to take into account the impacts on river systems and their functions, which could cause a reduction in the size of the river systems and degradation of watershed ecosystem functions in the Yanggong River watershed of Lijiang City. It is suggested that protecting the natural river network and making full use of the advantages of the distinctive terrain in the Yanggong River watershed could contribute to the sustainability of urban development in Lijiang City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase of global integration, the peri-urban area (PUA) of megacities in Asia has become a favourite destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). This paper uses the PUA of Shanghai as a case study to investigate the impact of global forces on the urban expansion of the city, and the link between urban growth and sustainable development in this mega-urban context. Shanghai has grown impressively during the past two decades in terms of economic and physical transformation. Much of this transformation has rested on the unbridled exploitation of land and other environmental resources in its peri-urban area. This is characterised by the designation of development zones and the concentration of manufacturing FDI, resulting in dispersed growth and environmental degradation. The disruption of the physical environment, combined with the concentration of the urban poor in these areas (in particular ‘temporary migrants’), has turned the PUA into a potential crisis point threatening the social and economic development of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization and transportation have caused two critical issues in the challenge of sustainable development, particularly, challenges to sustainable mobility in the context of car dependency. This is due to all aspects of environmental, social, and economic has been continued influenced by transportation related issues. The challenges of sustainable mobility in the context of suburban areas have become aggravating situation due to massive migrations, thus Pathumthani province, represented as vicinity area of Bangkok, Thailand was selected as a case study. Data were collected from 1,998 respondents by questionnaire survey and analyzed using statistical analysis and visualization based on geographic information system, GIS application. The study results revealed that the urbanization process has led to an increase in urban development that attracts enormous migrations in searching for their opportunities (working and education trips). This phenomenon has positioned Pathumthani to serve as a supportive area for the spillover of rapid urbanization in the country's capital area which has led to the development of private car-dependent travel and public transport network, mainly concentrated in urban areas with exclusion to residents in remote areas. On the other hand, most areas sprawl with a scattered density of residential settlements, which existing transportation system development can no longer serve the continued rising travel demand as before. The findings confirmed that the current development pattern could not promptly meet the needs of suburban development, requiring the policymakers to launch an effective plan to meet appropriate transportation demands and promote good quality of travelling for the residents and commuters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an effective measure to solve the dilemma of urban energy consumption and economic development, the new energy demonstration city (NEDC) policy in China could greatly promote the development of the new energy industry and urban economy. This study aims to explore how the NEDC policy effectively promotes the growth of urban land use efficiency (ULUE), an essential indicator of economic development, through the urban industrial structure. Based on the panel data of 285 Chinese cities during 2003–2019, this study took the NEDC policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employed the PSM-DID method and the mediating effect model to objectively evaluate its policy effects. We found that the NEDC policy could significantly promote the growth of the ULUE. Specifically, the ULUE has been significantly improved by 17.0%. The NEDC policy could also promote the ULUE indirectly through the mediating effect of industrial structure advancement (ISA), but the mediating effect of industrial structure rationalization (ISR) was not significant. Furthermore, the promotional effect of the NEDC policy on the ULUE has regional heterogeneity. Compared with eastern cities and high-innovation cities, central and western cities and medium-innovation and low-innovation cities can obtain much higher promotion effects. This study may provide some policy inspiration for policymakers to support low-corban and sustainable economic development and urban land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainability of land conversion to urban use is an important factor that promotes sustainable urbanization. However, China's local governments have relied too much on the land finance model for urbanization, which has led to disordered growth of urban land, ultimately posing a threat to ecosystem security and socioeconomic development. Effectively evaluating the factors that influence the growth of urban land is critical to improving the sustainability of urban land use. In this study, we explored the factors that affect the growth in the area of urban land using spatial analysis models based on panel data for Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2019. We found that fiscal decentralization, infrastructure, industrialization, and industrial upgrading were the main factors responsible for the growth of urban land, but that their degrees of influence differed between regions. Our findings identify the necessity for local governments to design urban land-use policies and perform strategic planning for urban land use to improve sustainability based on the main factors that influenced the growth of urban land in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the evolution of ideas and some good practices concerning urban sustainability as a basis to explore possible futures for city planning in Latin America, based on the current situation on the continent. The paper is structured in three steps, starting with the theoretical framework of concepts and principles as well as their evolution. Based on that, the current situation in Latin American cities is characterized, in order to undertake the third step o proposing possible solutions, taking into account problems and potentialities, as well as good practices in this and other continents. Results and discussions are focused on ways to be followed in order to contribute to the development of more sustainable cities in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UN Sustainable Development Goals include a range of indicators that incorporate measurements for cities and urban and rural areas. Whereas the methodology for the indicators is harmonised, the definition of urban and rural areas were not National definitions of urban and rural areas differ significantly and make them unsuitable for international comparisons. In 2020, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed a harmonised definition of cities, towns and rural areas for international comparison, called the Degree of Urbanisation. This new method based on a population grid allows for a harmonised comparison of urbanisation across the globe. First estimates indicate that national definitions in several African and Asian countries show substantially higher rural population shares as compared to the harmonised definition. By contrast, rural population shares based on national definitions in Europe and the Americas tend to be similar of lower as compared to the harmonised definition. Comparing the population in large cities based on national definitions and the Degree of Urbanisation reveals a high level of agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although urban growth control policies are widely adopted to help sustainable development in various countries, including China, few studies have been conducted to investigate the effectiveness and optimization of such policies in Chinese cities. Hangzhou, China, was chosen for this study as the research object, where the local authorities manage the urban sprawl via an urban development boundary policy. The institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework was employed to identify the conflicts between the central government and the local government as well as the developers and homebuyers in the formal/informal stage. The analysis shows that, with the implementation of the policy, problems such as fiscal crises, property inflation, and illegal construction will appear as a result of actors' interactions. The study also highlights that industrial land transfer inside the boundary should be controlled in a reasonable range and that a land value tax should be introduced during the implementation of the urban development boundary policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-rising increase in growth and complexities of human settlement, particularly the rate of urbanization have created new challenges in the 21 century as several national governments continue to strive to attain sustainable development and effective urban governance. The objective of this study is to access the role of the local government in engendering sustainable urban governance in Nigeria. The study adopted an exploratory research design with the use of secondary data from 2010 to 2018 and the projection of rural urban growth by 2025.Content analysis was employed as data analysis method. Using the modernization theory, the study discovered that the problem of urbanization is global but in Nigeria its administration is uncoordinated and fragmented with inadequate urban administrative tools. It discovered that the local government in Nigeria are given little or no technical or financial capacity to govern urban areas. It recommends a bottom -top approach in planning of urban administration that is inclusive of the local government. Also, it suggests that the policies formulated and implemented should be tailored towards addressing the problems of urban growth. The study concluded that a participatory, multi stakeholders, collaborative approach to policy making and implementation in urban administration is the key to achieving an ideal sustainability of urban centres in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of cities and the urban system has developed as a research direction based on systemic theory, through which the city is introduced into the equation of geographical analysis more and more as an optimally open thermodynamic and informational system, with dissipative structures and a high capacity organization. The new transition conditions of the Romanian city and Romanian urban system as a whole put their mark on their evolution. From a centralized phase of urban development we move to a relatively chaotic one, in which the structuring processes are very confusing and the lack of adequate tools to control urban development through the intervention of civil society, communities involved and specialists accentuates the disorder. the level of the regional urban systems of the cities themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This econometric study contributes to the ongoing debate about the costs and benefits of urban form by employing interdisciplinary means-urban planning, econometrics and public administration--to explore the relationship between urban form and urban public services expenditure. In China, particularly, rapid urbanization is accompanied by an increase of urban public services expenditure and a difference in efficiency, which undermines the promotion of urban public service development. The Chinese government has paid great attention to urban sustainable development and promoting urban public services performance; however, until recently there has been a lack of empirical studies exploring the relationship between urban public services expenditure and urban form. Thus, the present research aims to analyze this issue by using relevant indicators based on an econometric model. The results provide a promising basis for improving urban public services expenditure efficiency. Based on the urban area interpreted by remote sensing data and geographic information system, two urban form metrics, the compactness ratio and the elongation ratio, are selected and quantified to describe urban compactness and urban sprawl accurately. Panel data analyses are performed using a cross-sectional dataset of the 30 cities for the years 2007, 2010 and 2013 to assess the likelihood of association between indicators of urban form and urban public services expenditure, while controlling for other determinants, such as educational level, income per capita, degree of industrialization, and unemployment rate. The results indicate that urban elongation is positively correlated to per capita urban public services expenditure and urban compactness is insignificantly correlated to it. Thus, it is recommended that policymakers consider the relationship between urban form and public services expenditure as part of urban planning and on-going strategies to promote public service efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic and population growth increasingly threaten the sustainable development of world heritage sites. Given the lack of emphasis on the notion of sustainable development for cultural (and, to a lesser extent, natural) diversity in planning development in and around such sites, the notions of sustainability and heritage need to be combined in a conceptual perspective. The need for such an integrated approach and possibilities for it are explored in this Special Issue, with a focus on Lijiang City (China), a famous tourist city with UNESCO world heritage status due to rich cultural and natural diversity. The city is experiencing rapid development, characterised by human population growth, natural/cultural attractions and socio-economic pressure. Tourism development in Lijiang City has resulted in urbanisation, which alters the existing landscapes and threatens the integrity of the world heritage. Tourism development as currently practiced is unfavourable to the health of the industry in the long term. This self-contradictory mechanism explains the major conflict between short-term destructive development and sustainable development in Lijiang City. By reviewing 15 studies, this Special Issue highlights the economic, tourism and ecological challenges in sustainable development of Lijiang City and its surrounding area, and suggests a variety of solutions, including green spaces, digital technology in heritage protection, climate-sensitive land resource planning, etc. This preliminary work will provide a useful focus for sustainable development studies and assessment of performance of Lijiang City to both researchers and administrators, and will contribute to sustainable development of world heritage areas in China and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on land use planning topics, including "Historical Amnesia: New Urbanism and the City of Tomorrow," "More Than Sector Theory: Homer Hoyt's Contributions to Planning Knowledge" and "Methodology for the Survival Analysis of Urban Building Stocks."

Presents abstracts of several studies on environment and planning. "Explaining the Growth of British Multiple Retailing During the Golden Age," by Carlo Morelli; "Cities in the Shade: Urban Geography and the Uses of Noir," by Matthew Farish; "Geographers and the Tennessee Valley Authority," by Ronald Reed Boyce.