15 research outputs found

    Nighttime Lights as a Proxy for Economic Performance of Regions

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    Studying and managing regional economic development in the current globalization era demands prompt, reliable, and comparable estimates for a region’s economic performance. Night-time lights (NTL) emitted from residential areas, entertainment places, industrial facilities, etc., and captured by satellites have become an increasingly recognized proxy for on-ground human activities. Compared to traditional indicators supplied by statistical offices, NTLs may have several advantages. First, NTL data are available all over the world, providing researchers and official bodies with the opportunity to obtain estimates even for regions with extremely poor reporting practices. Second, in contrast to non-standardized traditional reporting procedures, the unified NTL data remove the problem of inter-regional comparability. Finally, NTL data are currently globally available on a daily basis, which makes it possible to obtain these estimates promptly. In this book, we provide the reader with the contributions demonstrating the potential and efficiency of using NTL data as a proxy for the performance of regions

    City-level comparison of urban land-cover configurations from 2000-2015 across 65 countries within the global Belt and Road

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    The configuration of urban land-covers is essential for improving dwellers' environments and ecosystem services. A city-level comparison of land-cover changes along the Belt and Road is still unavailable due to the lack of intra-urban land products. A synergistic classification methodology of sub-pixel un-mixing, multiple indices, decision tree classifier, unsupervised (SMDU) classification was established in the study to examine urban land covers across 65 capital cities along the Belt and Road during 2000-2015. The overall accuracies of the 15 m resolution urban products (i.e., the impervious surface area, vegetation, bare soil, and water bodies) derived from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)/Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were 92.88% and 93.19%, with kappa coefficients of 0.84 and 0.85 in 2000 and 2015, respectively. The built-up areas of 65 capital cities increased from 23,696.25 km(2) to 29,257.51 km(2), with an average growth rate of 370.75 km(2)/y during 2000-2015. Moreover, urban impervious surface area (ISA) expanded with an average rate of 401.92 km(2)/y, while the total area of urban green space (UGS) decreased with an average rate of 17.59 km(2)/y. In different regions, UGS changes declined by 7.37% in humid cities but increased by 14.61% in arid cities. According to the landscape ecology indicators, urban land-cover configurations became more integrated (oShannon's Diversity Index (SHDI) = -0.063; oPatch Density (PD) = 0.054) and presented better connectivity (oConnectance Index (CON) = +0.594). The proposed method in this study improved the separation between ISA and bare soil in mixed pixels, and the 15 m intra-urban land-cover product provided essential details of complex urban landscapes and urban ecological needs compared with contemporary global products. These findings provide valuable information for urban planners dealing with human comfort and ecosystem service needs in urban areas

    Book of short Abstracts of the 11th International Symposium on Digital Earth

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    The Booklet is a collection of accepted short abstracts of the ISDE11 Symposium

    Belt & Road Initiative in Times of ‘Synchronized Downturn’

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    Nearly ten years since the official launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an understanding of what the initiative’s objectives are consolidated. However, the short-, mid-, and long-term implications of the initiative are less clear. This is reflected in academic research, as well as in policy-oriented publications stemming from the global think-tank sector. This collection adds to this debate by offering a glimpse into selected aspects of BRI and its development, including the applicability of existing theories of trade to the case of BRI, the specificity of investment modes associated with BRI, sustainability, SDGs, socio-cultural issues, and many other implications. Due to its focus on diverse aspects of BRI, this collection will be of interest to students of international economics, international relations, and related subjects

    New Dimensions of Connectivity in the Asia-Pacific

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    There is no bigger policy agenda in the East Asian region than connectivity. Costs of international connectivity are indeed falling, in the movement of goods, services, people and data, leading to greater flows, and to the reorganisation of business and the emergence of new forms of international transactions. There are second-round effects on productivity and growth, and on equity and inclusiveness. Participating in trade across borders involves significant set-up costs and, if these costs are lowered due to falling full costs of connectivity, more firms will participate, which is a driver of productivity growth and innovation at the firm level. Connectivity investments are linked to poverty reduction, since they reduce the costs of participating in markets. This volume includes chapters on the consequences of changes in both physical and digital connectivity for trade, for the location of economic activity, for forms of doing business, the growth of e-commerce in particular, and for the delivery of new services, especially in the financial sector. A study of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is also included. These studies are preceded by an assessment of the connectivity performance in the Asia-Pacific region and followed by a discussion of impediments to investment in projects that contribute to productivity. The collection as a whole provides the basis for a series of recommendations for regional cooperation. The Pacific Trade and Development (PAFTAD) conference series has been at the forefront of analysing challenges facing the economies of East Asia and the Pacific since its first meeting in Tokyo in January 1968

    River Sand as a Disputed Resource: A Case of Illegal Sand Mining Near Zhuang Villages in Southwest China

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    Since the late 20th century, southwest China has witnessed the large-scale commodification of river sand, which is obtained largely illegally. Such commodification follows a high demand for river sand to support large-scale infrastructure developments including the construction of roads, houses, and dams, which has led to a dramatic increase in sand prices across the rural–urban areas. The object of such illegal sand mining activities has been purely economic, with little concern for the fate of the environment, including riverbanks, water quality, adjacent farmlands, and aquatic life, among other aspects. Indeed, sand mining has great social, economic, and ecological implications, as discussed throughout this dissertation. The dissertation focuses on the market orientation of river-sand mining and its socio-cultural and ecological consequences in rural Zhuang communities around the Maoling River – the largest river in Qinzhou City. It also investigates the diverse actors involved, including government officials, riparian Zhuang communities, and legal and illegal miners. This multiplicity of actors also relates to the growing complexity of institutions and policies at various levels, which often contribute to local-level disputes, conflicts, and the mismanagement of sand resources. By applying the political ecology perspective, this thesis explores resource conflicts and sand exploitation, addressing issues of institutions, power, contention, and scales. The long-term existence of illegal river-sand mining brings both formal and informal institutions into perspective. The rural Zhuang villages are severely affected by the rampant river-sand extraction in terms of villagers’ land, customs, agricultural production, and daily activities. Indeed, socio-cultural and ecological consequences are caused by rampant river-sand mining in rural agricultural areas. On the one hand, river sand plays a vital role in the river ecosystem. The over-appropriation of river sand has led to faunal destruction (i.e. the loss of fish species), water pollution, and the collapse of farmlands. On the other hand, river sand has been considered a property of riverfront communities, because it is needed for land, agriculture, and customary purposes in riparian communities. By conducting fieldwork in six riverfront Zhuang villages, this dissertation uses detailed empirical research to explore the causes and consequences of illegal river-sand mining in Southwest China

    The Suez Canal: Past Lessons and Future Challenges

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    This open access book seeks to provide a survey of historical, geopolitical, economic, and environmental developments in the last 150 years and to highlight future challenges it faces as it pertains to the areas mentioned earlier. It argues that the centrality of the canal—geo-strategically and otherwise—requires a shift in scholarly focus to study the various aspects from an interdisciplinary perspective. This book addresses several gaps in the literature—the first being a lack of a systematic examination of historical aspects in the development of the canal in 150 years. The second is a careful study of the canal’s geostrategic importance. The third is a combination of several disciplines that examine the centrality of the Suez Canal

    The Suez Canal: Past Lessons and Future Challenges

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    This open access book seeks to provide a survey of historical, geopolitical, economic, and environmental developments in the last 150 years and to highlight future challenges it faces as it pertains to the areas mentioned earlier. It argues that the centrality of the canal—geo-strategically and otherwise—requires a shift in scholarly focus to study the various aspects from an interdisciplinary perspective. This book addresses several gaps in the literature—the first being a lack of a systematic examination of historical aspects in the development of the canal in 150 years. The second is a careful study of the canal’s geostrategic importance. The third is a combination of several disciplines that examine the centrality of the Suez Canal

    Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability-Volume 4

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    Anthropogenic activities are significant drivers of climate change and environmental degradation. Such activities are particularly influential in the context of the land system that is an important medium connecting earth surface, atmospheric dynamics, ecological systems, and human activities. Assessment of land use land cover changes and associated environmental, economic, and social consequences is essential to provide references for enhancing climate resilience and improving environmental sustainability. On the one hand, this book touches on various environmental topics, including soil erosion, crop yield, bioclimatic variation, carbon emission, natural vegetation dynamics, ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, and habitat quality caused by both climate change and earth surface modifications. On the other hand, it explores a series of socioeconomic facts, such as education equity, population migration, economic growth, sustainable development, and urban structure transformation, along with urbanization. The results of this book are of significance in terms of revealing the impact of land use land cover changes and generating policy recommendations for land management. More broadly, this book is important for understanding the interrelationships among life on land, good health and wellbeing, quality education, climate actions, economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We expect the book to benefit decision makers, practitioners, and researchers in different fields, such as climate governance, crop science and agricultural engineering, forest ecosystem, land management, urban planning and design, urban governance, and institutional operation.Prof. Bao-Jie He acknowledges the Project NO. 2021CDJQY-004 supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Project NO. 2022ZA01 supported by the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, China. We appreciate the assistance of Mr. Lifeng Xiong, Mr. Wei Wang, Ms. Xueke Chen, and Ms. Anxian Chen at School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China

    Sustainable Smart Cities and Smart Villages Research

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    ca. 200 words; this text will present the book in all promotional forms (e.g. flyers). Please describe the book in straightforward and consumer-friendly terms. [There is ever more research on smart cities and new interdisciplinary approaches proposed on the study of smart cities. At the same time, problems pertinent to communities inhabiting rural areas are being addressed, as part of discussions in contigious fields of research, be it environmental studies, sociology, or agriculture. Even if rural areas and countryside communities have previously been a subject of concern for robust policy frameworks, such as the European Union’s Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy Arguably, the concept of ‘the village’ has been largely absent in the debate. As a result, when advances in sophisticated information and communication technology (ICT) led to the emergence of a rich body of research on smart cities, the application and usability of ICT in the context of a village has remained underdiscussed in the literature. Against this backdrop, this volume delivers on four objectives. It delineates the conceptual boundaries of the concept of ‘smart village’. It highlights in which ways ‘smart village’ is distinct from ‘smart city’. It examines in which ways smart cities research can enrich smart villages research. It sheds light on the smart village research agenda as it unfolds in European and global contexts.
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