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• A high-efficient pressure matcher was proposed, validated and analyzed in Ebsilon. • Low-stent-placed steam supply pipeline module was furtherly investigated and used to transport steam within 4 km. • A steam-driven screw turbine was introduced to satisfy an eco-industrial park's electric and heat need. • Solar thermal utilization part was used to pre-heat domestic water with taking Beijing and Huzhou's DNI into consideration. • Energy, exergy and entransy analysis was simultaneously considered to analyze main equipment in regional system. Regional integrated energy system has been a suitable scheme in China to satisfy eco-industrial park's both electric and heat needs. Combined heat and power (CHP) is an efficient technology for coal-fired plants during heating seasons. Currently, wires transport electric from CHP to destination while urban pipes network transport heat from CHP to destination, respectively. However, this might not be the case in future, when eco-industrial parks are close to plants or pipes network can't carry enough heat. This paper presents a feasible regional integrated energy system which meets both electric and heat's needs with steam from CHP while maintaining photothermal resources' high percent utilization. This system includes a coal-fired CHP plant, pressure matcher, steam supply pipeline, screw turbine and solar thermal utilization part. This paper set up a model of 600 MW electric power CHP with pressure matcher and screw turbine in Ebsilon software. Then the steam supply pipeline and solar thermal utilization part were developed and analyzed based on the basic thermodynamic theories with Beijing and Huzhou's meteorological statistics taken into consideration. Besides, the operational issues of the regional system were also listed. Meanwhile, the regional integrated energy system was obtained and a lot of characteristics were analyzed. Main devices were further investigated with energy, exergy and entransy analysis. Three extreme working situations were also carried out and discussed in the end. Several useful conclusions were drawn. It's necessary for China to masterly integrate regional energy system with multi-energy. Moreover, pressure matcher is high-efficient in general under other parameters' influences. This extracting steam's technology might be considered in future. Besides, low-stent placed pipeline which can transport high-parameter steam 4 km at most was introduced. A proper mass flow value or lower inlet temperature will both reduce loss of pipeline. Furthermore, heat user side can offer electric power about 9.22 MW, heating acreage about 0.79 km2 to the eco-industrial park. More solar heat's import, lower upper temperature difference and less sunlight will favor solar thermal utilization part. Higher heat load or lower CHP's working condition will benefit screw turbine. Peak heat exchanger doesn't need to work when supply domestic water temperature's demand is less than 65 °C. The simulation in this paper might give technological statistics to the regional integrated energy system which has CHP and photothermal. This will help to put this energy system into actual use in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-reported life satisfaction of China's population has not improved as much as expected during the economic boom, which was accompanied by a significant decline in environmental performance. Is environmental pollution the culprit for the lagging subjective well-being? To explore this issue, this paper adopts sentiment analysis to construct a real-time daily subjective well-being metric at the city level based on the big data of online search traces. Using daily data from 13 Chinese cities centred on Beijing between August 2014 and December 2019, we look at the corelation between subjective well-being and air pollution and the heterogeneity in this relationship based on two separate identification strategies. We find that air pollutants are negatively correlated with subjective well-being, and well-being tends to decline more from pollution during hot seasons. In addition, residents in wealthier regions tend to be more sensitive to air pollution. This result may be explained by the differences in the subjective perception of air pollution and personal preferences at different levels of income. These findings provide information about concerns of the public, thereby helping the government to take appropriate actions to respond to the dynamics of subjective well-being. • Sentiment analysis and big data are adopted to construct a daily city-level subjective well-being metric. • Higher levels of airborne particulates lead to a decline in subjective well-being. • Peoples' well-being tends to decline more from pollution during hot seasons. • Residents in wealthier regions tend to be more sensitive to air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The measurement errors in long-time series remote sensing images are corrected by statistical and spatio-temporal prediction model. • The ecological degradation of the Miyun Reservoir basin from 1985 to 2021 is mainly caused by anthropogenic factors. • Through statistical theory, the ecological development trend in the experimental area is analyzed, and the conclusion is verified by land use evolution. Miyun Reservoir, located in the Miyun District, Beijing, China, is the largest comprehensive water conservancy project and is an important ecological protection area in the North China region. Changes within the basin are the driving factors affecting the ecosystem in the watershed; therefore, it is important to analyze the changes in the ecological environment of Miyun Reservoir. For the analysis of a long time series of image data remotely sensed by satellite, the outliers caused by atmospheric, lighting, and sensor measurement errors are significant, and it is difficult for traditional algorithms to effectively recover the true image value. To address this, this paper proposes a theoretical model for predicting spatio-temporal variation based on deep learning to identify and correct invalid and anomalous values in extended time series data. This study corrected and analyzed the results of Remote Sensing based Ecological Index inversion of Landsat data of the Miyun Reservoir watershed from 1985 to 2021. The findings and conclusions of this study are important for the analysis of long time series image data from satellite remote sensing and for improving regional ecological evaluation and sustainable development planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creative industries and the digital economy have become the drivers for the metropolises of China. Despite the rapid transformation towards knowledge production in China, the understanding of the role of informalities (like urban villages) in creative cities is still lacking. This paper examines the following interrelated questions: a) why have urban villages become the cluster/assemblages for a circuit of knowledge production (e.g. , digital work, media, and arts); and b) how is the assemblage of creative communities created by the growing rent-gap seeking regimes with different agency and everyday practices as shown in Beijing's artist and IT worker villages? Our investigations of the Heiqiao and Shigezhuang Villages in Beijing reveal that the Chinese rural land system has shaped the porous and interstitial spaces (e.g. , urban villages as the " semi-commons " for landowners and migrant tenants) in the regime-specific community-making and is distinctive from Western models of creative cluster formation. This study refines Florida's elitist-oriented analysis where the "creative class" prefers the "quality of place," and the city thus needs to enhance the quality of life to attract creative workers. The artist and IT worker villages, as a microcosm of the like-minded creative worker assemblage, are also sites for establishing contacts and fostering interaction in creative production. It is the quality of the public realm and networking (beyond the quality of the built environment) that shapes the assemblage of creative communities in urban villages. The networking and grass-roots alliance (as " semi-commons ") can help cope with the appropriation and provision problems facing " commons." • Urban village as semi-commons is a floating oasis for low-wage creative workers. • We need a relational and negotiated view on temporary land use in semi-commons. • Creative workers can unleash creativity in the Rent Gap Seeking Stage II . • Artist and IT worker villages take varied spatial forms and neighborhood activity. • Urban planning can become "softer" to allow for temporary uses of space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, tenants' residential relocations always present diverse spatial-temporal tendencies and are highly influenced by disadvantages of origin (push) and attractiveness of destination (pull). This paper aims to construct a relocation intention (RI) model and estimate the effects of residential push–pull factors on tenants' RIs, such as the household registration system (hukou), homeownership status, and residential dissatisfaction. The empirical research relies on a questionnaire-based survey of 2187 tenants conducted in 2019 in Beijing, China. Our findings confirm that non-local hukou status significantly pushes female and unmarried tenants to relocate, and non-local homeownership noticeably pulls male and married tenants' relocation. These two factors also significantly influence the RIs of tenants without higher education. For tenants younger than 35, non-local hukou status shows a strong pushing force, but non-local homeownership does not present notable differences by age. Additionally, residential dissatisfaction significantly pushes tenants' RIs and has a moderating effect on non-local homeownership. Moreover, for tenants who have explicit relocation intentions, non-local hukou status plays a vital role in shortening their intended stay before their actual relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inner structure of urban built-up land sprawl (UBLS) is crucial for the level and quality of urbanization. This paper attempts an in-depth analysis of the inner structure of UBLS based on site data of granted built-up land parcels within the Beijing Metropolitan Area from 2001 to 2012. Structure entropy analysis and kernel density estimation (KDE) are employed to characterize the spatial-temporal variation of different types of UBLS and to summarize their patterns. The results reveal that during the sprawl process, residential land expanded rapidly in the first half of the study period while industrial land expanded rapidly in the second half. Residential land sprawl illustrated “radial sprawl”, with a trend of “living suburbanization”; commercial land tended to follow the pattern of “ribbon sprawl along the main roads”; and industrial land sprawl was scattered in a “leapfrog sprawl” pattern. These results reveal the particular characteristics of the coexistence of market mechanisms and government macro-control of the land market in China. The land analysed in this study does not present the high-efficiency circle-layer land-use structure. Driven by top-down power allocations and the GDP-dominated views of local governments, the land supply inclined toward structural imbalance, which generated a disordered urban spatial structure. Hence, we suggest formulating a market-driven land supply mechanism to adjust the land-use supply structure, which has important implications for optimizing urban land-use structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the resale prices of housing around the 10 rail stations opened in the last four years in Beijing. The premium effect of rail transit on surrounding residences is compared and analyzed using the hedonic price model. The research shows that the scope of influence, the degree of influence, the range of influence of negative externality and negative impact of transfer stations are greater than that of non-transfer stations, and the difference between transfer stations and non-transfer stations is much greater in the suburbs than that in the city. This research can assist with policy making, subway station planning, housing investment and real estate development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a case study on planning the locations of public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Beijing, China. Our objectives are to incorporate the local constraints of supply and demand on public EV charging stations into facility location models and to compare the optimal locations from three different location models. On the supply side, we analyse the institutional and spatial constraints in public charging infrastructure construction to select the potential sites. On the demand side, interviews with stakeholders are conducted and the ranking-type Delphi method is used when estimating the EV demand with aggregate data from municipal statistical yearbooks and the national census. With the estimated EV demand, we compare three classic facility location models – the set covering model, the maximal covering location model, and the p -median model – and we aim to provide policy-makers with a comprehensive analysis to better understand the effectiveness of these traditional models for locating EV charging facilities. Our results show that the p -median solutions are more effective than the other two models in the sense that the charging stations are closer to the communities with higher EV demand, and, therefore, the majority of EV users have more convenient access to the charging facilities. From the experiments of comparing only the p -median and the maximal covering location models, our results suggest that (1) the p -median model outperforms the maximal covering location model in terms of satisfying the other’s objective, and (2) when the number of charging stations to be built is large, or when minor change is required, the solutions to both models are more stable as p increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite modes of governance having been recently identified, little research has explained the impetus for the formation and transformation of these modes of governance in an authoritarian political setting. This paper aims to close the gap by combining fragmented state and grassroots governance with institutionalism's “structure–agency” framework. A case study of Jiuxianqiao's redevelopment was undertaken to analyze its shifting modes of governance. The research found that the mobilized citizens and the Central government with its priority on social stability indirectly resulted in the formation of an alliance, which strongly counteracted the pro-growth coalition between Chaoyang's District Government and private enterprises in Jiuxianqiao redevelopment. Consequently, the alliance of the Central government and society moved the transformation from the realm of public–private governance to a more inclusive type of governance in urban redevelopment. However, additional research is needed to verify its generality in China's urban redevelopment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past Beijing has experienced rapid development. This growth has been accompanied by many problems including traffic congestion and air pollution. Understanding what stimulates urban growth is important for sustainable development in the coming years. In this paper, we first estimate a binary auto-logistic model of land use change, using physical and socioeconomic characteristics of the location and its access to major centers within the city as predictors. We find that variables determining regional access, like time distance to the city center, the Central Business District (CBD), industrial centers, employment centers, and the transportation system, significantly impact urban land conversion. By using measures of access to predict land use change we believe that we can better understand the planning implications of urban growth not only in Beijing but other rapidly developing cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The household solid waste generated in Beijing is increasing quickly due to rapid population growth and lifestyle changes. However, there are no rigorous data on the generation and collection of recyclable household solid waste. The Beijing city government needs this information to establish policies and make plans for waste management. To address this need for information, we undertook the first comprehensive study of recyclable household solid waste for Beijing. We surveyed 500 families across sixteen districts in Beijing. We also analyzed the quantities, spatial distribution and categories of collected waste handled by permanent recycling centers and curbside recyclers for 340 of the 9797 city-defined residential areas of Beijing. From our results, we estimate that the total quantity of recyclable household solid waste was 1.805 million tons in 2013, and 72% of that was collected. The main generation categories were waste paper (24.4%), waste glass bottles (23.7%) and waste furniture (14.3%). In addition, we estimate there were 5.7 thousand permanent recycling centers and 22.8 thousand curbside recyclers in Beijing. The recycling rate of solid waste generated by urban households in Beijing was not low but varied significantly among different types of solid waste. The collecting capability of permanent recycling centers was inadequate. Urban residents had low awareness of some categories of solid waste recycling. The statistical system for waste management needed to be improved. Based on the problems mentioned above, the implications for solid waste management were discussed. We suggest accelerating the construction of permanent recycling centers and innovating the recycling modes. Meanwhile, it is also necessary to strengthen education on solid waste recycling and improve the recycling information statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper proposes a unified MILP model for optimal bicycle sharing system planning from an integrated and long-term perspective. • The model combines strategic design and operation decisions in an integrated way while considering stochastic demand and service level. • A concept of subjective distance is proposed to characterize the coverage area of bicycle stations. • A case in Beijing, China is studied and sensitivity analyses are performed for key parameters. This paper investigates optimal planning of a bicycle sharing system (BSS) from an integrated and long-term perspective, namely by combining strategic design and operation decisions in an integrated way while considering the stochastic demand and service level. The methodological contribution of the current research effort is to propose a unified mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model, in which several sub-problems such as the number, location, and capacity of bicycle stations; total fleet size design; depot location design; and rebalancing and maintenance plans are combined and can be solved together. A scenario-based approach is applied to deal with stochastic demand. Also, the concept of subjective distance is proposed to characterize the coverage area of bicycle stations, which together with the availability rate for bicycles are set as metrics of the service level. A case in Beijing, China is studied and sensitivity analyses are performed for key parameters. To illustrate the practical value of the proposed approach, a comparison between the planning results solved by the proposed MILP model with the BSS in real life regarding station layout is also undertaken. From the results, we observe that a balance between the costs borne by the operator and the service level for users can be achieved. The stations are distributed evenly across the study area, which could increase the coverage and thus enhance the convenience of the service. The model developed can be employed by BSS operators for the planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively manage the use of existing infrastructures and prevent the emergency caused by the large gathered crowd, the short-term passenger flow forecasting technology becomes more and more significant in the field of intelligent transportation system. However, there are few studies discussing how to predict different kinds of passenger flows in the subway system. In this paper, a novel hybrid model Wavelet-SVM is proposed, and it combines the complementary advantages of Wavelet and SVM models, and meanwhile overcomes their shortcomings respectively. The Wavelet-SVM forecasting approach consists of three important stages. The first stage decomposes the passenger flow data into different high frequency and low frequency series by wavelet. During the prediction stage, the SVM method is applied to learn and predict the corresponding high frequency and low frequency series. In the last stage, the diverse predicted sequences are reconstructed by wavelet. The experimental results show that the approach not only has the best forecasting performance compared with the state-of-the-art techniques but also appears to be the most promising and robust based on the historical passenger flow data in Beijing subway system and several standard evaluation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the traditional hutong street system and siheyuan courtyard house as an urban development model in contemporary Beijing by comparing it with the practiced alternative. Official government standards are used as criteria for measuring the performance of the urban form types. Criteria derived from government documents emphasise the efficiency and low-carbon emission of the transportation system and efficiency in land use, via higher densities. Minimum site areas devoted to green space are also specified. We compared the use of land resources in a sample of 9 hutong areas with those of a sample of 22 newly built communities. We collected traffic data and interviewed residents in these areas. We also examined transportation as a user of urban land, as well as the implications for land resources if the 2002 conservation plan is fully implemented. It was found that the hutong development models underperform with regard to building density depending on form type, but achieve much higher population densities than suburban housing. Motor traffic infrastructure in contemporary development takes up 3 times as much of the development area as the hutong do in their development area. The hutong outperform the rest of the urban fabric with regard to sustainable transport with 0.17 of the car mode proportion for all of Beijing. There is heavy dependency on three-wheeled vehicles for goods transport and high levels of walking. Moving the remaining population of the hutong as planned would require about 1800 ha of new residential land more than 30 km from the city centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to provide a complete picture of the spatial distribution of industries in China, a country which is presently undergoing a transition from a planned economy to a market economy. It also seeks to explore the reasons behind that distribution. We employ the negative exponential function to analyze the spatial distribution of 57 economic sectors in Beijing. Comparison of the preferred location of each sector can reveal the overall industrial spatial pattern, which functions as a spatial reflection of the influence of the government and the market on economic activities. The findings of the study suggest that the governmental force is more powerful than the market force in the urban core, although the overall spatial distribution of industries is found to comply with the laws of the market economy. The power of the government and the market also shape the industrial spatial pattern in other Chinese cities, in ways that are similar to the case of Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education of the disadvantaged population has been a long-standing challenge to education systems in both developed and developing countries. Although computer-assisted learning (CAL) has been considered one alternative to improve learning outcomes in a cost-effective way, the empirical evidence of its impacts on improving learning outcomes is mixed. This paper uses a randomized field experiment to explore the effects of CAL on student academic and non-academic outcomes for students in migrant schools in Beijing. Our results show that a remedial CAL program held out of regular school hours improved the student standardized math scores by 0.15 standard deviations and most of the program effect took place within 2 months after the start of the program. Students with less-educated parents benefited more from the program. Moreover, CAL also significantly increased the students’ interest in learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, extensive efforts have been paid on the investigation of OpenStreetMap (OSM) in developed countries, but little attention has been given to the cities in developing countries. This paper presents the results regarding the evolution of OSM road networks in Beijing, China, from four aspects. First, findings from general analysis indicate that (1) the overall growth pattern could be mainly explained by the increasing number of volunteers and their mapping contributions. Second, findings from geometric analysis suggest: (2) mapping intensity exhibits heavy-tailed pattern both for a certain time period and across time; (3) mapping direction moves from outskirts to downtown distinguished from other regions; and (4) mapping behaviors are mainly constrained by the underlying structure of road networks. Third, results of topological analysis indicate that (5) OSM road networks resemble the growth of real road networks and are undergoing an evolution process depicted by exploration and densification. Last, from the perspective of centrality analysis, (6) two kinds of nodes are identified with the ones accounting for the exploration and the other ones for the densification, which further hints the evolution process of continuous strong exploration accompanied by weak densification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stringent evaluation on passenger transfer capacity is one of the fundamental requirements to validate designs and ensure efficient operations at large transport terminals as effective transfer service is always the prime concern of the operators. This study focuses on the transport terminals at major cities where a number of transport services connecting local and inter-city traffic convert. It is rather arduous to evaluate the overall performance of passenger transfer when the performance is attributed by both quantifiable factors and subjective perceptions which are on different scales and bounds of evaluation. In this paper, multi-criteria evaluation on transfer alternatives is developed by formulation of criteria systems and integration of performance factors. Multilevel grey evaluation (MGE) and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) are employed to devise the overall evaluation results and produce ranking for alternatives. The merits of the proposed methodology are illustrated through a case study on the Beijing South Railway Station in China. This study is particularly useful for the designers and operators to assess transfer performance and level of service in large transport terminals amid the increasing demands of the modern transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rapid urbanization has greatly altered the urban metabolism of material and energy. As a significant part of the infrastructure, urban roads are being rapidly developed worldwide. Quantitative analysis of metabolic processes on urban road systems, especially the scale, composition and spatial distribution of their stocks, could help to assess the resource appropriation and potential environmental impacts, as well as improve urban metabolism models. In this paper, an integrated model, which covered all types of roads, intersection structures and ancillary facilities, was built for calculating the material stocks of urban road systems. Based on a bottom-up method, the total stocks were disassembled into a number of stock parts rather than obtained by input–output data, which provided an approach promoting data availability and inner structure understanding. The combination with GIS enabled the model to tackle the complex structures of road networks and avoid double counting. In the case study of Beijing, the following results are shown: 1) The total stocks for the entire road system reached 159million tons, of which nearly 80% was stored in roads, and 20% in ancillary facilities. 2) Macadam was the largest stock (111million tons), while stone mastic asphalt, polyurethane plastics, and atactic polypropylene accounted for smaller components of the overall system. 3) The stock per unit area of pedestrian overcrossing was higher than that of the other stock units in the entire system, and its steel stocks reached 0.49t/m2, which was 10 times as high as that in interchanges. 4) The high stock areas were mainly distributed in ring-shaped and radial expressways, as well as in major interchanges. 5) Expressways and arterials were excessively emphasized, while minor roads were relatively ignored. However, the variation of cross-sectional thickness in branches and neighborhood roads will have a significant impact on the scale of material stocks in the entire road system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since 1958 the hukou (household registration) system has assigned Chinese citizens either a rural or urban status. Some studies argue that the rural-to-urban migrants in China who do not have urban hukou are not entitled to urban social insurance schemes, due to institutional discrimination, which applies differing treatment to urban and rural hukou (chengxiang fenge). Although rural–urban migrants participate less in the social insurance system than their counterparts with urban hukou, a closer examination of recent policy developments shows that migrants actually do have the legal right to access the system. This implies that discrimination between rural and urban workers has been declining, and distinctions based on household registration status are less able to explain China's current urban transition. This paper provides a new way of examining Chinese migrants' social insurance participation, by adopting a framework that includes both rural-to-urban migrants and urban-to-urban migrants, which are an important, but less studied, migrant group. Among our key findings are that urban migrants are more likely to sign a labour contract than rural migrants; urban migrants have higher participation rates in social insurance than rural migrants; having a labour contract has a greater impact than hukou status in determining whether Beijing's floating population accesses social insurance; and urban migrants who have signed a labour contract have higher participation rates in social insurance than either rural migrants or urban migrants without a labour contract. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to analyze the dynamic evolutionary process of Chinese emerging housing market, the paper defines the behavioral functions of household agents in terms of demand generation, information search and price negotiation, and incorporates multi-agent technique and geographic information system to conduct a series of simulation studies on Beijing housing market. By setting different market scenarios, the impacts of new housing supply and information level on Beijing housing market are addressed. The findings show that, Beijing housing market is characterized by the prominent urban expansion with the formation of consolidated residential zones outside the 5th ring road; the growth in new housing supply can reduce the buyer search duration significantly, and lead the buyer search flow to the new housing market; higher information level can increase the sales of resale housing market, but inhibit the sales and time on market for new-built houses to some extent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Through a case study on Beijing's No. 4 Metro line, this paper illustrates benefits, costs, opportunities and risks in public–private partnerships (PPP) in China. It describes the process to land a concession agreement; demonstrates the consequences for revenue and costs from using a private entrepreneur; and estimates the benefits to the public sector. By using a PPP model, the public sector may save up to 31% of its initial investment and 9.4% of total expenses during the concession. The private investor may earn a profit, but bears a risk due to absence of the rule of law. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite the rapid transformation of art villages in Beijing, an understanding of their location dynamics has been lacking. This paper will supply that insight by exploring three interrelated questions: What are the location characteristics of Beijing's art villages? How has economic transformation shaped their location? Is there anything unique about the evolution of Beijing's art villages? Analyses of information gathered through field reconnaissance and secondary sources reveal that these art villages have expanded rapidly in the urban fringe of metropolitan Beijing. Major factors influencing its location and relocation include the cost of rental properties, the quality of the creative environment, attributes of the transitional land and art markets, and public policies for Beijing's metropolitan development. Rapid economic transition and urban growth in China have shaped a trajectory of art village evolvement distinctive from that in Western metropolises. The fate of art villages in Beijing is determined by the transitional characteristics of urban development, art markets and state policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses the duration of housing project sales in the city of Beijing, China. In the housing market, new properties sometimes experience delays before they are sold. Such delays reflect the preferences of buyers with regard to the characteristics of the dwelling. Therefore, it is important for managerial purposes to identify the causes of delays in the sales of housing projects. A survival model with heterogeneity is adopted in the present research. The principal finding of this study is that delays are largely explained by the characteristics and the location of the housing project. Policy implications of the research findings, particularly those related to means of reducing the delays, are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The identification of the relationships between different landscape services is important in social–ecological complex systems, especially in areas with intensive human activities. In this paper, Beijing and its peripheral regions are taken as a case study to calculate and map the intensities of five classic landscape services including material production, carbon storage, soil retention, habitat conservation, and population support based on grid maps. Overlap and correlation analyses were used to identify multiple service hotspots and the relationships between landscape services. The results show that (1) landscape services have spatial heterogeneity: high-intensity area of material production and population support is on the southeast plains of this region and high-intensity area of soil retention and habitat conservation is on the northwest; (2) approximately 96.03% of the region can provide at least one type of landscape services, whereas approximately three-quarters of the area provide multiple services, with the multiple service hotspots surrounding Beijing and Tianjin; (3) correlations exist between all pairs of landscape services, but strong correlations (correlation coefficient >0.5 or <−0.5) exist between four pairs, which are soil retention and habitat conservation (0.672), soil retention and population support (−0.613), habitat conservation and population support (−0.540), and material production and population support (0.529); (4) the services can be divided into two trade-off service bundles: the “natural” bundle, which contains carbon storage, soil retention, and habitat conservation, and the “artificial” bundle, which contains material production and population support. Only 4.19% of the area in this region contains these service bundles simultaneously. Finally, an improved understanding of the relationships between services was illustrated, and the importance of such services was highlighted for decision-makers and stakeholders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although the scale and speed of China’s urban and economic transition is well acknowledged, a detailed account of the transformation of a single city’s development in this context is quite rare. This paper provides an insight into the recent dynamics of China’s capital city, Beijing. In the early 1980s, China’s transition process from a planned to a market economy started to deeply affect the urban economy of Beijing, so much so that the city is on its way to become one of the world’s leading cities. This article focuses on this development by looking at Beijing’s institutional context and its economic-spatial dynamics over the past 30years. Economic Clusters (ECs) are also discussed because they have contributed significantly to Beijing’s rapid growth and change. The city’s development is however under increasing pressures of ecological deterioration, limited water resources, high living costs and uncertainties regarding the future urban policy orientation of the city region. These current challenges and responses in planning are assessed and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims to describe the joint choice of residential location, travel mode, and departure time. First, based on random utility maximization theory, the Cross-Nested Logit model and traditional NL models are formulated respectively. House price, travel time, travel cost, and factors depicting the individual socio-economic characteristics are defined as exogenous variables, and the model choice sets are the combination of residential location subset, departure time subset, and travel mode choice subset. Second, using Beijing traffic survey data of 2005, the model parameters are estimated, and the direct and cross elasticity are calculated to analyze the change of alternatives probability brought by factors variation. Estimation results show the Cross-Nested Logit model outperforms the three kinds of NL model. It is also found by estimation results that decision makers will change first their departure times, then their travel modes, and finally their residential locations, when exogenous variables alter. Moreover, elasticity analysis results suggest that, for long-distance commuting, it is difficult to decrease car travels even if additional charges are imposed on car users. The effect on choice probability by variations in travel time of other travel mode can be considered as negligible for alternatives within 5km commuting distance, and this effect are greatest for alternatives between 10 and 20km commuting distance. These findings have important implications for transport demand management and residence planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Land development impacts of mass transit have long been studied in the developed economies. Yet relatively little is known by the outside world about the Chinese experience due to China''s rather short history in the development of modern mass transit and land/property market. This paper attempts to fill the gap by presenting evidence from China, with a detailed case study of Beijing. Selecting three newly built suburban transit lines in Beijing, the study examined land development context and estimated hedonic housing price models to measure the proximity premiums associated with these three lines. The empirical evidence in Beijing, one of the first tier mass transit cities in China, shows that investments in mass transit can have significant and positive impacts on land development. Properties with transit proximity enjoy sizable price or value premiums. The study also confirms the international experience: transit impacts on land development are unlikely to occur automatically; they rely greatly on supportive regional and site conditions. Integrated planning and design for mass transit and land development are critical to expand and maximize the return of transit investments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hydraulic Control Rod Drive Technology (HCRDT) is a newly invented patent of the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University which owns HCRDT’s independent intellectual property rights while the integrated valve made up of three direct action solenoid valves is the key part of this technology. Therefore, the performance of the solenoid valve affects the integrated valve and the HCRDT directly. In this paper, firstly, we improve particle swarm optimization (PSO) by Cloud Model and the improved PSO is called CloudPSO. Then, the method is used to optimize the parameters of the direct action solenoid valve. At last, the results are verified by the experiments. The results prove that the method is feasible and accurate to obtain the key parameters of the solenoid valve in order to achieve the biggest electromagnetic force. Besides, the algorithm is analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems are undergoing rapid development in many countries due to the unique characteristics of this form of mass transit. In China, BRT schemes are being adopted as a key strategy for relieving traffic problems. As a case-study, this paper examines the performance and impacts of BRT in Beijing, the first full-featured BRT system in China. It considers in turn the role of ITS technology in influencing the operational efficiency, technical performance and cost issues associated with BRT. Particular attention is given to the consequent impacts of BRT on travel behaviour change, traffic environment and property development. While some challenges remain, the early performance of BRT suggests that it is one of the key measures for promoting sustainable mobility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since the late 1970s, transitions in socioeconomic status and new governmental policies have led to drastic changes in agricultural land use types and farm management practices across rural China, such as an increase in the area of land cultivated for cash–crops (e.g. vegetables and orchards) and intensive fertilization and irrigation of this land. How this more intensive management and land use for the more profitable cash crops affects soil nutrients is of great concern for carbon, soil and water quality management. In this paper, we attempted to assess the influence of cash crop ecosystems on soil nutrients in the catchment upstream of the Guanting Reservoir, in the Beijing municipality, North China plain. Soil nutrients in cash crop (orchard and vegetable) ecosystems with between 8 and 20years of intensive management history were compared with traditional agro-ecosystem management patterns (corn and soybean). Results showed that soil organic carbon (SOC) had improved, and total nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (P) concentrations had marginally increased under intensive management practices in the vegetable and orchard ecosystems in the last 25years. The increases in SOC and total P densities at the 100cm soil depth in orchard, vegetable and irrigated corn systems were greater than those in the rain fed corn and soybean systems. Soil available P and electrical conductivity (EC) were highest in the vegetable lands. However, no significant changes were found between the soil physical properties (i.e. bulk density, clay content and water stable aggregate content) of the traditional and cash-cropping systems. Multi regression analysis showed that manure and mineral fertilizer contributed significantly to the increase in soil nutrients. Intensively managed orchards are a better option for improving soil quality and SOC sequestration. However, the risks of nonpoint source pollution from, and soil salinization in, the land used for vegetable cultivation should be considered in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The focus of the current study is the wind loads on a 10.5 m × 9.0 m heliostat with a column height of 6.4 m, located in Beijing, PR China. This paper presents selected results of wind tunnel measurements of wind pressures on the heliostat. Wind pressure distributions are presented for typical configurations. Fluctuating wind pressure characteristics are analyzed, including skewness and kurtosis coefficients, fluctuating pressure spectra and probability density functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Taking Beijing as a case study, this paper analyses new trends in peri-urbanisation and the city’s planning responses after 2000 in China. The results of the analysis show that the percentage of temporary migrant residents continues to grow in the peri-urban region and the social inequalities in relation to quality of life between local people and migrants have increased there. In particular, there is a concentration of thousands of young and well-educated migrants in the peri-urban region, resulting in a new kind of urban slum. Sprawling development still dominates Beijing’s fringe. New planning policies related to an urban–rural integration strategy have played a positive role in improving living conditions in rural areas and reducing the social and economic gaps between urban and rural areas in the peri-urban region. However, planning in the peri-urban region is still facing new challenges due to vertically and horizontally fragmented management, growing market forces, and social discrimination caused by the remnants of the hukou mechanism. This suggests that it will not be easy to achieve the planning goal of urban–rural integration and harmony society unless further actions are taken to enhance political capacity of planning system in Beijing. The capacity-building of planning should be facilitated if institutional innovations can be made in arrangements of power, rights, public resources, accountability, and legitimacy in the planning system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper contributes to the study of planning for low-carbon cities by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between planning parameters (i.e., density, land use mix, accessibility to public transportation and jobs-housing balance) and household carbon emission in Beijing, China. Five neighborhoods representing different levels of carbon emission are selected using a household survey dataset that includes 1227 sample households; these neighborhoods are analyzed using the survey dataset together with land use data provided by the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Commission. Findings confirm that higher population density, mixed land-use patterns, better accessibility to public transportation, and job-housing balance are important planning parameters that reduce household carbon emission in Beijing. This research provides the first empirical evidence from a large Asian city that can assist planners and policy makers in estimating the impact that planning principles can have on reducing household carbon emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Beijing has a unique spatial pattern that is characterized by an inverted U-shape building height curve and geometrically developed transportation network (rings of highways and axial roads). The inverted U-shape curve of building heights is mainly the outcome of building height restrictions in inner city for historical preservation. This paper estimates the economic costs of the building height restrictions by using land development data. Through comparing land development without building height restrictions and simulations, we show that the economic costs are substantial. The impacts of the building height restrictions include land price decrease by up to 60%, housing output decrease by up to 70%, and land investment decrease by 85%. To accommodate the loss of housing output, the city edge has to expand, causing urban sprawl (given all other things equal). In order to offset building space reduction, housing prices rise by 20% and the city edge expands by 12%. Finally, induced travel costs resulting from urban sprawl and low density caused by building height restrictions may not be trivial. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims to study the vehicular emissions trends in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, located in northern China. The multiyear emission inventories of NO X , CO, VOC and PM10 from road vehicles in the period 1999–2010 were developed by the COPERT IV model. Results show that vehicular emissions of CO and VOC have decreased by annual average change rates (AACR) of −3.1% to −5.2% and −4.4% to −6.9% in the study area, respectively. However, due to the rapid development of freight traffic, emissions of NO X and PM10 have kept increasing in Tianjin and Hebei. Based on the vehicular emission inventories, trends of emission levels for vehicles with different standards, as well as the overall effects of implementing vehicular emission mitigation strategies were assessed. It is suggested that passenger cars (PC) with Euro 0 and Euro I standards, which were at higher emission level in the PC fleet, should be gradually eliminated. Although the increasing rates (IR) of emissions from PC were lower than those of the PC population, the sharp growth of PC population in recent years contributed to a remarkable increase of emissions, weakening the overall mitigation effect. Total vehicle population capacity and other mitigation measures should be studied in China in order to develop new and more effective vehicular emission control strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to further study the realization of carbon intensity target, find the key influencing factors of CO2 emissions, and explore the path of developing low-carbon economy, this paper empirically studied the influences of urbanization level, economic level, industry proportion, tertiary industry proportion, energy intensity and R&D output on CO2 emissions in Beijing using improved STIRPAT (stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence and technology) model. The model is examined using partial least square regression. Results show that urbanization level, economic level and industry proportion positively influence the CO2 emissions, while tertiary industry proportion, energy intensity and R&D output negatively do. Urbanization level is the main driving factor of CO2 emissions, and tertiary industry proportion is the main inhibiting factor. In addition, along with the growth of per capita GDP, the increase of CO2 emissions does not follow the Environmental Kuznets Curve model. Based on these empirical findings and the specific circumstances of Beijing, we provide some policy recommendations on how to reduce carbon intensity. Beijing should pay more attention to tertiary industry and residential energy consumption for carbon emission reduction. It is necessary to establish a comprehensive evaluation index of social development. Investing more capital on carbon emission reduction science and technology, and promoting R&D output is also an efficient way to reduce CO2 emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Permit or license plate quotas are highly effective albeit controversial policy tools for managing growth in the vehicle population and thereby, adverse traffic congestion. A judicious distribution of the scarce permits that targets the dual objectives of price efficiency and social diversity in vehicle ownership can however mitigate the controversy. This paper scrutinizes the attainment levels of these two objectives within Singapore’s multi-categorical Vehicle Quota System in two time periods (1991–1998 and 2002–2011) which differ in the number of permit allocation categories, the auction format used (sealed versus open bids) and in the frequency of distribution (monthly versus semimonthly). The lessons derived are contrasted to the other two jurisdictions which have also implemented quotas on their vehicle registrations namely, Shanghai and Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper studies Chinese media discourse on the “Blue Sky Project” in preparation for the 2008 Olympics through a textual analysis of online stories in major daily newspapers in Beijing, to examine the interaction of science and culture in environmental communication. The research finds that the news stories underscore an environmentalism practice predominantly driven by quota measurements and administrative interventions, even though grassroots activities were present. The author also finds extensive use of scientific data that details monitored steps toward periodical results. The author concludes that the concentrated coverage on air quality in Beijing demonstrates growing significance of environmental issues in Chinese media, signaling an increasingly important role of science communication in advancing state development agendas among diverse social groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Some commentators have claimed that there is a growing Beijing Consensus among emerging and developing economies concerning the merits of China’s economic policies. Within an analytical framework provided by the well known international policy trilemma, this paper investigates the empirical evidence concerning this claim with specific reference to the adoption of international macroeconomic policies. We find that there are substantial differences between what China does and what is done in other emerging and developing economies. While we discover some regional and inter-temporal variations, there seems to be little or no support for the existence of a Beijing Consensus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An identification of economic clusters and analysing their changing spatial patterns is important for understanding urban economic space dynamics. Previous studies, however, suffer from limitations as a consequence of using fixed geographically areas and not combining functional and spatial dynamics. The paper presents an approach, based on local spatial statistics and the case of Beijing to understand the spatial clustering of industries that are functionally interconnected by common or complementary patterns of demand or supply relations. Using register data of business establishments, it identifies economic clusters and analyses their pattern based on postcodes at different time slices during the period 1983–2002. The study shows how the advanced services occupy the urban centre and key sub centres. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cluster is mainly concentrated in the north part of the city and circles the urban centre, and the main manufacturing clusters are evolved in the key sub centers. This type of outcomes improves understanding of urban-economic dynamics, which can support spatial and economic planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: External wall insulation plays an important role in building energy consumption through affecting cooling and heating energy uses. In this paper, a study on the effects of external wall insulation thickness on annual cooling and heating energy uses under different Chinese climates is reported. Firstly, two indexes: Energy Gain Ratio (EGR) and Relative Variation Ratio (RVR) of the sum of annual cooling and heating energy uses, to assess the effects of external wall insulation thickness on energy saving potential are introduced. Secondly, a model space having four different exterior zones facing four different orientations in an office building is presented and the settings of the model space described. Lastly, the simulated annual cooling and heating energy uses for the four different exterior zones at different external wall insulation thicknesses under three different climates in China, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, are reported. The results suggested that energy saving was significant by increasing the external wall insulation thickness in exterior zones facing all orientations under Beijing’s climate, since the heating energy use was dominant and can be reduced remarkably with the increase in insulation thickness. Under Shanghai’s climate, increasing external wall insulation thickness to over 26mm would not reduce the sum of annual heating and cooling energy uses in the south-facing exterior zone, but would help save energy in exterior zones facing the other three orientations. For all exterior zones under Guangzhou’s climate, it was, however, hardly possible to reduce the sum of annual heating and cooling energy uses by increasing the external wall insulation thickness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With high speed of increasement in electrical and electronic products, the relevant wastes turn out to be serious in China. But a corresponding recycling system of WEEE has yet to be established. The actual WEEE flow in China is therefore kind of unknown. Through an in-depth analysis of the recycling system and extended survey of the WEEE recycling process in Beijing, this paper puts forward a WEEE closed loop chain model concerning the source, pathway and volume of the flow. It identified some key control points in the WEEE recycling process, which are taken into account in several policy recommendations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studied the effects of lime treatment on the pre-dewatered sludge from a wastewater treatment plant in Beijing. The moisture, leaching solution''s pH, heavy metals and organic matter content have been analyzed before and after lime treatment on the sludge. The results showed that: the moisture of the original sludge significantly impacted by the lime treatment. 25% of lime dosage by weight was needed in the process of treating sludge moisture from 86.60% to 60%, while only 20% is needed in the process from 80.62% to 60%; The mixed materials’ pH has no significant difference after dosing more than 10% lime, all samples’ pH values were around 13 after lime treated 30min, the pH trend basic on 120d monitoring shows the pH was slightly declined but still above 12; Lime treatment on sludge has effects on immobilization of heavy metals. After dosing 10% of lime, the leaching solution''s Ni, Cu, Zn contents dropped from 0.55mg/L, 2.42mg/L and 1.09mg/L to 0.13mg/L, 1.54mg/L and 0.01mg/L; Lime treatment on sludge has a promoted stabilization of organic matter. After dosing 10% and 20% of lime, the mixtures leaching solution''s COD reduces sharply, from 1950mg/L to 298mg/L and 152mg/L respectively. These indicate that lime treatment has obvious effect on sewage sludge stabilization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports on a qualitative research study into the test-taking strategies employed in completing two picture prompt writing tasks—Situational Writing and Interpretational Writing in the Beijing Matriculation English Test. Think-aloud and retrospective interview protocols were collected from twelve Chinese students representing two key and two ordinary senior high schools in both urban and suburban areas of Beijing. The researcher also conducted in-depth interviews with the students’ English teachers to explore issues raised by their students. The research findings suggest that driven by the high stakes involved in the test, students have developed a full set of test-taking strategies through coaching and exhibited skillful manipulation of these strategies. Moreover, with its original intention badly distorted, Interpretational Writing has become a “risky” task. Students are unwilling to freely express their own ideas. Instead they try to guess test developers’ intent. Therefore, Interpretational Writing might fail to achieve one of its goals: measuring creative thinking. The researcher also points out that more efforts should go into identifying the sources of certain test-taking strategies and clearing any possible misunderstandings between test developers and teachers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unconventional incidents bring great influence to human life, of which the most destructive is earthquake. Blood is a special resource for lives, especially in a big earthquake, in which there will be a sudden increase in demand for blood, therefore sufficient and safe blood supply is a huge challenge. In this paper, we propose an emergency blood supply scheduling model. Providing decision support for the scheduling of engineering emergency blood supply. We propose a multi-period location - allocation model, and give the heuristic algorithm based on Lagrangian relaxation. Finally, give an example case study in the context of Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Keep in pace with the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 Shanghai Expo, engineering events of different types and sizes are coming to China more than it had ever happened during years. Obviously, these could all cause safety problems. To organize the event perfectly, a lot of questions occur: How to provide the best safety to everyone participate in our event? How to deal with the emergencies during the event? These questions are the most important element of holding a successful event. This paper discusses the necessity of engineering risk management during events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In recent years, wetland restoration measures have created extensive concerns globally. The theory and practice of restoring wetland vegetation diversity in wetlands through soil seed banks is discussed in this paper. A comparative study on soil seed bank and species composition in Yeyahu Wetland, Beijing, was conducted in 2007. Species and quantities of seeds from 12 sample sites were counted and measured by the seed-germinating method. After germination, 27 species belonging to 16 families and 23 genera were recorded, with an average of 11.75 species per sample site, and total average density of 24831.0individuals/m2. There were significant differences between the soil seed bank and vegetation in spring, summer and autumn, with similarity coefficients of 0.2620±0.0868, 0.2580±0.0778 and 0.1953±0.0452, respectively. Also in 2008, by using the seed bank technique, vegetation diversity was restored in a degraded wetland near Maying River of Yeyahu Wetland through the processes of spot selection, topographic surveying, water level monitoring, and vegetation management. The results showed that in the restored regions, both species and diversity coefficients of vegetation observably increased: 73.68% of the hydrophytic species we discovered were transplanted from provenance regions; germination of seeds in the soil lasted until late September; and many species completed their life history and produced new seeds to renew the seed bank. In addition, the results suggested that seed bank technique not only increased richness and multiplicity of vegetation, but also provided food chains with animal diversity in wetlands. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel solar building cooling heating and power (BCHP) system driven by solar energy and natural gas is proposed in this paper. The performance of the presented system is greatly dependent upon the operation strategy. The primary energy consumption (PEC) and pollutant emissions of the solar BCHP system in following the electricity loads (FEL) and following the thermal loads (FTL) operation strategies are estimated based on life cycle assessment (LCA). Furthermore, three most important energy-related environment problems and human health issues, global warming, acid precipitation and respiratory effects, are considered to assess the environmental impacts of the system. In order to evaluate the comprehensive benefits achieved by the solar BCHP system in different operation modes, grey relation theory is employed to integrate the energetic benefits with environmental performances. Finally, a numerical case of the solar BCHP system for a commercial office building in Beijing, China is applied to compare the integrated performance in the FEL operation strategy with that of the FTL operation strategy. The results indicate that the energy saving and pollutant emissions reduction potentials of the FTL operation mode are the better than that of the FEL mode. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To take into account reasonably the safety requirements of the disabled on emergency evacuation in the design, usage, management and emergency response of public places, the authors of this paper organized on-site experiments for 100 disabled individuals (40 people with no supporting tools, 20 people using a single crutch and 40 people two crutches) and 17 healthy people at a subway station in Beijing. The experiments were designed to measure the unimpeded free walking speed of the participants during horizontal and stair ascending/descending movement, and to assess the possible impact of passage width on movement speed. Based on the results of the tests, the authors systematically analyzed the speed variation patterns with disability grade, gender and passage width. The validity of the value of an important parameter for evacuation safety design in the prescribed fire codes in mainland China, the width of a single stream of people, is assessed. Finally the results of the experiments are compared with that from other researches to identify the similarities and differences between them. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]