Evaluating the Impact of an Integrated Urban Design of Transport Infrastructure and Public Space on Human Behavior and Environmental Quality: A Case Study in Beijing

Urban transport infrastructure can result in the physical, psychological and environmental separation of neighborhoods, public spaces and pedestrian networks, leading to negative impacts on citizens’ daily commutes, social activities and the quality of the ecosystem. An integrated design of transport infrastructure and public space is beneficial for mediating these negative impacts. In this paper, we propose an integrated methodology, which combines urban design, computational scenario evaluation and decision-making processes, based on a conceptual model of human and ecological needs-driven planning. To evaluate the impacts of the road network and public space design on individual outdoor activities, travel behavior and air pollution, an agent-based model is demonstrated. This model is then applied to a case study in Beijing, leading to hourly traffic volume maps and car-related air pollution heat maps of a baseline road network-public space design

Human Capital in Republican and New China: Regional and Long-Term Trends

In recent decades it has been debated whether China’s growth performance is primarily driven by capital accumulation (more inputs) or rather by an increase in Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth (better technology and institutions). The answer to this question may offer a glimpse into the future trends of China’s economic growth. If the perspiration factors are dominant, one should expect a slowdown in the growth of the Chinese economy in accordance with the traditional Solow model. If, however, TFP growth drives per capita GDP growth, one can expect a strong convergence of China toward the technological frontier. In this paper we combine historical, long-term analysis with quantitative methods to find out whether the effect of (both human- and physical) capital and TFP on growth changed over the last 90 years. While partly relying on existing data, lack of information required us to estimate a new dataset on human capital for the provinces of China between 1922 and 2010 which allows us to decompose the observed economic growth into accumulation driven and TFP driven parts. We find that general technological development improved steadily over the course of the 1990s and 2000s

"Population Invasion" versus Urban Exclusion in the Tibetan Areas of Western China

This article examines the confluence of local population transitions (demographic transition and urbanization) with non-local in-migration in the Tibetan areas of western China. The objective is to assess the validity of Tibetan perceptions of "population invasion" by Han Chinese and Chinese Muslims. The article argues that migration to Tibet from other regions in China has been concentrated in urban areas and has been counterbalanced by more rapid rates of natural increase in the Tibetan rural areas-among the highest rates in China. Overall, it is not clear whether there is any risk of population invasion in the Tibetan areas. However, given that non-Tibetan migration to Tibet has been concentrated in urban areas, Tibetans have probably become a minority in many of their strategic cities and towns, and non-Tibetan migrants definitely dominate urban employment. Therefore, while the Tibetan notion of population invasion may be a misperception, it reflects a legitimate concern that in-migration may be exacerbating the economic exclusion of Tibetan locals in the context of rapid urban-centered development. Copyright (c) 2008 The Population Council, Inc..

Inspiration vs. perspiration in economic development of the Former Soviet Union and China (ca. 1920-2010)

Here, we discuss the role of both perspiration factors (physical and human capital) and inspiration factors (Total Factor Productivity) in the economic development of the Former Soviet Union area (FSU) and China, ca. 1920–2010. Using a newly created dataset, we find that during the Socialist central-planning period, economic growth in both countries was largely driven by physical capital accumulation. This finding follows logically from the development policies in place at that time. During their transition periods, (i.e., starting from the late 1970s in China and the late 1980s in the FSU), China managed to keep technical inefficiency of production factors in check, largely by massively increasing its human capital, thereby lowering the physical- to-human capital ratio. In contrast, the FSU accomplished a similar outcome largely through reducing its stock of physical capital. As a result, although there was little difference in technical efficiency between these two economies, China’s emphasis on human capital formation made it easier for this country to improve its general productivity and to increase per capita growth. This changed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the FSU began to recover economically, regaining its 1990 levels of output and productivity