Exploring the effect of a low-carbon city pilot policies on carbon dioxide emission intensity:Based on the PSM-DID method

In 2010,the National Development and Reform Commission launched the low-carbon city(LCC)pilot pro‐gram.The scope of the pilot program was then gradually expanded to address the dilemma concerning eco‐nomic development and low-carbon transition.Selecting the second batch of LCCs in China,this study uses a combination of propensity score matching and difference-in-differences models to determine the effect of LCC pilot policies on CO_(2) emission intensity.We also used the mediation effect model to further investigate its in‐ternal mechanism.The findings of the study are as follows.First,the LCC pilot policy plays an important role in reducing carbon emissions.Second,LCC pilots policies reduce CO_(2) emissions through intermediary paths of output adjustment and technological innovation.Third,our heterogeneity analysis reveals that cities with higher levels of economic growth and better levels of human capital have superior carbon emission reduction effects;lastly,non-resource-based cities have better carbon emission reduction effects.

Low-carbon city communication:Integrated strategies for urban and rural municipalities in Thailand

As an important sustainable development goal,the creation of low-carbon cities(LCCs)has become crucial to creating livable cities and environmental sustainability.Thus,we aimed to understand the factors that support the transition of traditional cities to LCCs,by analyzing and synthesizing how to promote practical LCC across 15 pilot municipalities in four regions of Thailand,covering four strategies:City of Trees,City of Waste Minimization,City of Energy Efficiency,and City of Sustainable Consumption.Literature research,in-depth interviews,and observations were employed for data collection,while the 5​W(who,says what,in which channel,to whom,and with what effect)and SMCR(sender,message,channel,and receiver)models were used to create a communication analysis framework.Results revealed that the effective activities of municipalities should increase tree planting and implement more serious regulations for the conservation of existing trees.Making compost and establishing waste recycling banks are recommended for rural municipalities,while optimization of garbage and wastewater management systems and facilities should be highlighted in urban municipalities.Moreover,recycling,low-carbon agriculture,second-hand shops/markets,green markets,and homegrown vegetables should be encouraged for sustainable consumption.Working with local municipalities,credible leaders and representatives were the key senders.Additionally,message design should compare the pros and cons of behaviors,connect with local health and tourism,and promote dialogue in easy-to-understand and thought-provoking language.Receivers that drive LCC should have an excellent understanding of LCC practice and its benefits,be public-minded,and have a desire to live in a good environment.

Can the low-carbon city pilot policy promote the upgrading of high-carbon emitting enterprises? Evidence from China

As a crucial environmental reform system to realize“carbon peaking”and“carbon neutrality”,the pilot policy of low-carbon cities(LCCs)puts pressure and challenges on high-carbon emitting enterprises(HCEEs)while providing opportunities for these firms to take the path of independent transformation.Employing the data of Chinese listed enterprises from 2006 to 2016 and adopting a difference-in-differences(DID)model,we evaluated the impact of LCC construction on the upgrading of HCEEs and its mechanisms.The results indicate that LCC construction enhances the upgrading of HCEEs in the pilot cities.The conclusions remain stable after a series of robustness tests.The mechanism analysis reveals that LCC construction triggers the upgrading of HCEEs by promoting resource allocation efficiency,R&D investment,and green technology innovation.The heterogeneity results indicate that this positive effect is more pronounced for HCEEs in regions with more stringent environmental law enforcement.This study also observes that the upgrading impact is more promi‐nent for state-owned enterprises,enterprises with higher bargaining power,and enterprises whose managers have a long-term vision.The above results provide directions for upgrading HCEEs and replicable evidence for cities in developing economies to fulfill the win-win target of environmental protection and economic transfor‐mation.

Review of Research on the Evaluation Index System of Low-carbon City in China

In order to promote the research on the evaluation index system of low-carbon city,this paper reviewed and summarized the current evaluation index systems in recent years and the concepts of lowcarbon city in China.The current evaluation index systems of low-carbon city in China could be divided into two types:two class index system and three class index system.The establishment of different index systems basically adheres to the scientific,systematic,operable and dynamic principles,and the target value and weight of evaluation index could be confirmed in multiple ways.This paper analyzed the existing problems in the evaluation index systems of low-carbon city,and came up with some suggestions and advice to promote relevant research.

Interpretation of Low-carbon City Planning and Design——A Case Study of Gaochun Zijin Science and Technology Special Community

It is an important and unique approach of achieving sustainable urban development to save and use energy intensively, reduce carbon emission, and take the low-carbon development road. Taking Gaochun Zijin Science and Technology Special Community for example, this paper introduced planning measures for building a low-carbon city, including building a green network, compound utilization of urban spaces, establishing green transportation, using renewable resources, development of green architecture, so as to provide references for the future researches on the low-carbon urban development.

A review of low-carbon city construction research in China

Based on the analysis on the global warming and environmental deterioration,low-carbon concept has received more and more attention from governments,experts and scholars at home and abroad.The British government first put forward the concept of low-carbon economy,and after that the Japanese government proposed the construction of low-carbon society.In our country,experts and scholars began to research on low-carbon city from 2007.This paper looks through the practical and theoretical studies on low-carbon city construction of the domestic experts and scholars.The current background of lowcarbon city construction is first introduced.To clarify fundamental connotation,characteristics and target of China's low-carbon city is very important.Therefore,this paper summarizes the research progress of the low-carbon city construction from the necessity,the connotation and characteristics of target.Then,we should pay attention to choosing the right index,combining the region characteristics with the current development model and evaluation indexes system,to reflect and improve carbon emissions.Finally,the paper gives an overview of suggestions by experts and scholars on the construction of low carbon city.

Study on Low-carbon City Planning Strategies Based on Urban Greenhouse Gas Inventory

From the perspective of urban greenhouse gas inventory, this paper analyzed the composition and tendency of urban greenhouse gas inventory of Guangzhou, and compared greenhouse gas inventory of representative international cities. Taking Guangzhou Haizhu Eco-city for example, this paper from the perspective of urban-rural planning put forward the low-carbon development paths and strategies such as increasing carbon sink, industrial transformation, spatial restructuring, traffic organization, green civil engineering and resource utilization, and green building for the main carbon-emitting fields such as industry, energy supply, transport, building and waste disposal.

New framework of low-carbon city development of China:Underground space based integrated energy systems

Cities play a vital role in social development,which contribute to more than 70%of global carbon emission.Low-carbon city construction and decarbonization of the energy sector are the critical strategies to cope with the increasingly serious climate change problems,and low-carbon technologies have attracted extensive attention.However,the potential of such technologies to reduce carbon emissions is constrained by various factors,such as space,operational environment,and safety concerns.As an essential territorial natural resource,underground space can provide large-scale and stable space support for existing low-carbon technologies.Integrating underground space and low-carbon technologies could be a promising approach towards carbon neutrality,and hence,warrants further exploration.First,a comprehensive review of the existing low-carbon technologies including the technical bottlenecks is presented.Second,the features of underground space and its low carbon potential are summarized.Moreover,a framework for the underground space based integrated energy system is proposed,including system configuration,operational mechanisms,and the resulting benefits.Finally,the research prospect and key challenges required to be settled are highlighted.

Transitional Road of Resources-exhausted Cities to Low-carbon Economy:Tourism Resources Development——A Case Study of Gejiu City

Tourism is of vital practical significance to low-carbon economic transition of resources-exhausted cities.By taking Gejiu City of Yunnan Province for example,the paper discussed that Gejiu City as the resources-exhausted city should positively develop tourism,particularly industrial heritage tourism,treating tourism development as the breakthrough and motive power of low-carbon economic transition of resources-exhausted cities,so as to walk out a unique road of tourism promoting low-carbon economic development.

Impact of coupling coordination development of port and city environments on urban economic competitiveness:Evidence from the coastal port cities in eastern China

Promoting the coupling coordination development of port and its hinterland city environments is an important way to improve urban economic competitiveness.Based on relevant data of 13 coastal port cities in eastern China from 2000 to 2018,this study explores the coupling coordination development of port and city environments and its impact on urban economic competitiveness by constructing the coupling coordination degree model and the panel threshold model.The research results show that:(1)In terms of the coupling coordination development of port and city environments,most coastal ports and their hinterland cities are in a state of moderate or serious disorder.Overall,the degree of coupling coordination of port and city environments needs to be further improved;(2)The coupling coordination degree of port and city environments has a significant impact on urban economic competitiveness,and this effect gradually increases with the development of the ports and the urban economy.Among the variables that impact the urban economic competitiveness,fixed assets investment and foreign trade are significant factors that can enhance urban economic competitiveness.(3)At present,there is a“U-shaped”relationship between the coupling coordination degree of port-city environments and the urban economic competitiveness.This relationship lies on the right side of the inflection point of the“U-shaped”curve.Therefore,following the concept of assigning priority to ecological development,expanding fixed assets investment and actively developing foreign trade can further enhance the urban economic competitiveness.

Application Strategies of Spatial Refinement Design in Ancient Cities Supported by Digital Te-Zhaoyu Ancient City in Qixian County as an Example

Digital technology provides a method of quantitative investigation and data analysis for contemporary landscape spatial analysis,and related research is moving from image recognition to digital algorithmic analysis,providing a more scientific and macroscopic way of research.The key to refinement design is to refine the spatial design process and the spatial improvement strategy system.Taking the ancient city of Zhaoyu in Qixian County,Shanxi Province as an example,(1)based on obtaining the integrated data of the ancient city through the drone tilt photography,the style and landscape of the ancient city are modeled;(2)the point cloud data with spatial information is imported into the point cloud analysis platform and the data analysis is carried out from the overall macroscopic style of the ancient city to the refinement level,which results in the formation of a more intuitive landscape design scheme,thus improving the precision and practicability of the landscape design;(3)Based on spatial big data,it starts from the spatial aggregation level,spatial distribution characteristics and other evaluation index system to achieve the refinement analysis of the site.Digital technology and methods are used throughout the process to explore the refined design path.

Research on Budding "Villages in Cities" during Urbanization Process in Lanzhou City of China——A Case Study of Chaijiahe Village,China

By introducing the theory of suburb urbanization,it was considered that budding villages in cities emerged with the close relation between city and suburb during rapid urbanization process.The paper had briefly analyzed development of villages in cities in China.By taking villages in Lanzhou City for example,it had studied geological location,appearance,spatial structure,economy and demographic feature of budding villages in cities.Furthermore,with Chaijiahe Village of Xiguoyuan Town as case study,empirical study had been conducted and development thought of Chaijiahe Village as budding village in city had been discussed.It emphasized that it should control the development scale of villages,economically and intensively utilize lands;develop industrialized high-efficiency agriculture and leisure agriculture,develop lily economy and explore the potential of characteristic industries;realize integration of urban and rural development;strive to develop education,improve villages' quality and cultivate villagers of new generation who possessed pioneering spirit and modern agriculture technology.On this basis,it summarized approaches to realize sustainable development of budding villages in cities.

Research on Landscape Ecology Mode of New Resources-based Cities—A Case Study of Yulin City of Shaanxi Province in China

Based on the overall understanding of new cities developing based on resources,by taking Yulin City of Shaanxi Province for example and combining with relevant statistical data,main problems existing in resources development have been pointed out,covering simple resources industrial structure and serious wastes in resources development;insufficient intensive processing of products and low level of resources integrated utilization;and deteriorative regional eco-environment.On this basis,a new mode of landscape ecology of resource-based cities have been proposed,emphasizing constructing new green energy industrial development mode from the perspective of microscopic view;ecological industrial park of circular economy from the perspective of mesoscopic view;and the overall ecological recovery mode of the mining area from the perspective of macroscopic view.It hopes to give a vital inspiration to the sustainable development of new resources-based cities.

Transition to a low-carbon city： lessons learned from Suzhou in China

Climate change has become one of the most serious challenges facing humanity; developing a low- carbon economy provides new opportunities for addressing this issue. Building a low-carbon city has been pursued by people with a high degree of enthusiasm in China. Different from actions at the national level and distinct from practices of developed countries, low-carbon development in Chinese cities should be placed on diverse concerns. Taking Suzhou of Jiangsu Province of China as a case city, this paper adopts a scenario analysis approach to explore strategic focal points in the transition to a low- carbon city. Within this transition, we mainly focus on the different contributions from two factors-economic restruc- turing and technological upgrading. Scenario analysis results show that 1） in the case of no breakthrough technologies, it is difficult to achieve absolute emission reductions; 2） technologies involved in optimizing energy structure and improving energy efficiency of basic service sectors should be highly emphasized in local planning; 3） in comparison with technological upgrading, economic structural adjustment could be a stronger contributor to mitigation, which is one of the main differences from developed countries. However, the key issue of economic restructuring is to promote the growth of emerging low- carbon industries, which requires not only a strategic choice of new industries but also an introduction of advanced low-carbon technologies. It is also found that establishing a local carbon emissions accounting system is a prerequisite and the first priority for realizing a low-carbon transition and government capacity buildings should be strengthened accordingly.

Research on Ecological Livable Urban Construction in Small and Medium Cities of China——A Case Study of Huaihua City

The paper has analyzed the concept of ecological livable city,considered that small and medium cities as the major pattern of China's urbanization are more likely to become ecological livable cities compared with large cities.Based on the actual situation of Huaihua City,it has pointed out its advantages in transport,ecology,foundation and national characteristic,and analyzed existing problems in the construction of ecological livable city from the perspective of urban eco-environment.It considers that its urban ecological planning is to be perfect,urban environment pollution is still serious and people's consciousness for environmental protection is to be improved.On this basis,relevant suggestions have been proposed for ecological livable urban construction in Huaihua City,emphasizing it should perfect urban ecological planning,enhance environmental pollution treatment,intensify environmental protection education,and improve people's consciousness for environmental protection.

Investigation on the Characteristics of the Senior Citizens' Activities in the Parks and Greenbelts——A Case Study of Nanjing City

From the perspective of senior citizens,questionnaire survey and field investigation were carried on and analyzed in three parks in Nanjing City.The results showed that outdoor activities are the principal ways for the senior citizens to spend their time,the parks near home is their prior choice,and the radiation range of the park and greenbelt mostly is no more than 2 km;most of the senior citizens come to parks on foot and the parks are always within 30 minutes walking distance;the senior citizens always have fixed partners and groups for their exercise-dominant activities.

Winter Waterscape Design for Residential Areas in Northeastern Cities of China——A Case Study of Waterscape Design of “Riverbank House” in Yingkou City of Liaoning Province

The paper has proposed the design concept of "solid waterscape". It considers that in waterscape design, it should select a design style suitable for local climate, traditional culture and folk customs; respect the nature and be close to nature; and approach the life and fit in with the reality. In terms of flowing water and solid water, it should make a reasonable and comprehensive design in terms of time, space and pattern, develop new landscape factors, and enrich winter landscape; set indoor waterscape; and enrich color design. By taking waterscape design of the residential area "Riverbank House" for example, it has stressed the solid character of water to highlight snow and ice culture and northeastern style, so as to create a natural and vivid snowy and icy landscape. Snow and ice have been the lead of winter landscape. Finally, waterscape can provide two different patterns of beauty throughout the year.

Development path of Chinese low-carbon cities based on index evaluation

This work takes the 36 cities from China＇s low-carbon pilot project as the research object and uses the carbon emission per capita and GDP per capita to categorize the 36 cities into four types to reveal their low-carbon development status; these four types are leading cities, developing cities, latecomer cities, and exploring cities. On the basis of an index system that quantitatively describes low-carbon development, this research analyzes the characteristics, development trends, and low-carbon development pathways of the four types of cities. According to the present situation and objectives of national emissions and considering the differences in development stages, challenges, and opportunities for each type of the city, this research presents recommendations for the low-carbon roadmap and the medium- and long-term （by 2030） emission trend routes of different types of regions in China.

Changing Connectivities of Chinese Cities in the World City Network,2010–2016

Against the backdrop of the sizable economic growth of China in recent years, this paper uses the most recent data gathering of the Globalization and World Cities(Ga WC) research network to update and supplement earlier research on the shifting global connectivity of Chinese cities. The update consists of an evaluation of the connectivity of Chinese cities in 2016, the supplement of an analysis of the changing position of Chinese cities in the world city network between 2010 and 2016. To this end, we build on a specification of the world city network as an ‘interlocking network' in which producer services firms play the crucial role in city network formation. Information about the presence of leading producer services firms in cities in 2010 and 2016 is used as the input to a bipartite network projection algorithm in order to measure cities' network connectivity. The first set of results discusses the geographies of urban connectivity in the world city network in 2016. The second set of results discusses standardized measures of change to reveal the major dimensions of the transformations between 2010 and 2016. We find that, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao and Kaohsiung of Taiwan, all Chinese cities record connectivity gains. This wholesale rise in connectivity is nonetheless geographically uneven, with above all Beijing, Chengdu/Chongqing and Changsha/Wuhan becoming more connected. We conclude that the wholesale rise of Chinese cities in the world city network and their changing trajectories in the post-crisis era are embedded in shifting external and internal political economies.

Residential environmental evaluation of local cities considering regional characteristic and personal residential preference—a case study of Saga City,Japan

Questionnaire surveys and subjective evaluations on residential environment were performed in order to grasp the main factors of residential environment of small local cities. The suitable evaluation index system was established, and the regional residential environment characteristics and personal residential preference types were analyzed, so that their influence on residential environment evaluation could be grasped. The results can be applied to the residential environment planning, construction and monitoring of local cities.