Island Megalopolises： Tunnel Systems as a Critical Alternative in Solving Transport Problems

A principal difficulty with island megalopolises is the transport problem, which results from limited sur- face land on an already developed island, on which roads and car parking can be placed. This limitation leads to traffic jams on the small number of roads and to intrusive car parking in any available surface location, resulting in safety issues. The city of Vladivostok is located on the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula in the Russia Far East region （the Primorsky Krai）. This city is essentially the third capital of Russia because of its important geopolitical location. To address the car traffic problems in Vladivostok, and because of the absence of places to build new roads, the city administration has pro- posed the usage of the beaches and waterfronts along the sea coast in this regard. This decision is in sharp conflict with Vladivostok＇s ecological and social aspirations to be recognized as a world-class city. It also neglects the lessons that have been learned in many other waterfront cities around the world, as such cities have first built aboveground waterfront highways and later decided to remove them at great expense, in order to allow their citizens to properly enjoy the environmental and historical assets of their waterfronts. A key alternative would be to create an independent tunneled transport system along with added underground parking so that the transport problems can be addressed in a manner that enhances the ecology and INability of the city. A comparison of the two alternatives for solving the transport prob- lem, that is, underground versus aboveground, shows the significant advantages of the independent tun- nel system. Complex efficiency criteria have been developed in order to quantify the estimation of the alternative variants of the Vladivostok transport system. It was determined that the underground project is almost 1.8 times more advantageous than the aboveground alternative.

Living environment shaped residents’willingness to pay for ecosystem services in Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis,China

Profound understanding on the diversity of local residents’willingness to pay(WTP)for ecosystem services(ESs)may aid evaluation of policy impacts by uncovering trade-offs and synergies for achieving sustainable environmental resource management.However,the reasons for the spatial preference heterogeneity of WTP are still unclear.In this study,an extensive survey with 4,580 residents in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis(YRMRM),central China,was carried out to investigate the public’s WTP to maintain and improve ESs.We identified key influencing factors and explored how they shaped the preference heterogeneity in WTP by random forest model and surface fitting method.Our results showed that 81.4% of residents reported WTP for ESs greater than zero.Water supply,waste treatment,food supply and raw material supply were the preferred ESs for residents.Living environment factors(i.e.,extent of farmland,water and forest near the residence)were found as the key drivers of WTP.Proximity to farmland,water and forests resulted in high WTP values for a series of specific ESs.The reasons for the heterogeneity of WTP are(1)the difference in proximity to farmland,water and forest(i.e.,the contributor to ESs),(2)the divergence of local residents’preferences for ESs.This study disclosed the heterogeneity and causes of public preferences in YRMRM,which could help policy and decision makers to develop eco-compensation initiatives towards conservative and sustainable use of the environmental resources.

Leave or Stay?Antecedents of High-level Talent Migration in the Pearl River Delta Megalopolis of China:from a Perspective of Regional Differentials in Housing Prices

Rapid urbanization and population growth have triggered an increase in urban housing demand and rising housing prices,which can influence the migration intention of high-level talents.Much work within the literature has focused more on the migration of the general public.However,antecedents of migration intention and the impact of housing prices on the migration of high-level talents remain unclear.Therefore,based on the push-pull theory,this study investigates the influencing factors of talent migration intention and explores the role of housing prices.This study reveals a complex mechanism underlying migration decisions by using logistic regression models and survey data of high-level talents in the Pearl River Delta(PRD)megalopolis of China.The results indicate that:1)in high house-price regions,social integration is the primary push factor,and the main factors for retaining talents are the expectation of future work and intimate family relationships;2)in medium house-price regions,the main factors that attract talents are the current salary level and close family ties;3)in low house-price regions,living convenience is a determining factor in retaining talents.This study provides a new perspective for talent mobility research and offers valuable inputs for retaining and attracting talents in different economic development regions.Findings are of great significance for formulating talent introduction policies and forming a new pattern of rational spatial docking and effective allocation of human resources.

POPULATION EXPANSION IN CHINA'S METROPOLISES AND ITS SCALE-CONTROL

Metropolises are centers of politics, economy, culture and information, and also economic growth poles in comparatively large areas. After 1949, China’s urban structure have changed greatly, from original 'pyramid' shape into 'upside -down pyramid' shape, that is, more megalopolises and metropolises, fewer medium-sized and small cities. The most distinguishing feature of urban population growth was the remarkable increase of population in megalopolises and metropolises. The key reason for urban population expansion is to want to obtain the benefits of scale -agglomeration economy of metropolises. The number of urban functions directly determines the quality and quantity of urban population. Metropolises appeal not only agricultural population but also the population of medium-sized and small cities, which put much more population pressure on metropolises. The ideal goals of scale-control of metropolitan population are discussed in terms of economy, society and ecollogy. In order to control the

URBAN REGIONAL STRUCTURES TRANSFORMATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: CASE STUDY OF NANJING MEGALOPOLIS

s: Since 1978, many changes have happened on the background of urban regional structure in China, such as the economy system restructuring, the social transforming including the population flow accelerating and social demand diversifying and individualizing, the political and economic systems reforms, the rise of the real estate market and the changing relationship between human and nature. From the macroscopic view, these changes make the national urban system to be a newer pattern with a widening gap among the cities in spite of the rising of the cities as a whole. At the same, the urban land use structures are changing with both the trends of intensification and diversification, and the trends of the regional diversification and the economic integration. Besides, urban structures with multiple centers are emerging in several metropolitan areas in China. These changes and trends mentioned above are confirmed by a case study of Nanjing City, a growing metropolitan area in east China. The case study also points out some problems in urban regional structure reforming, especially the poor social and ecological considerations. We should pay more attention to some ideas like balance of intensification and decentralization, development of suburban centers and a reasonable mixing of the functional activities to develop a sustainable urban regional structure.

Megalopolis:Analyze Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region based on Urban Design Since 1945

This paper introduces the definition,the features,and advantages of megalopolis according to the book called Urban Design Since 1945,and compares the definition,features,advantages and problems of the megalopolis mentioned in the book with Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei(BTH)urban region.Although megalopolis solves different urban problems for regions,it still faces different problems.In the future,urban planners should pay attention to the sustainable development of urban ecology and make rational use of various resources.

New Babylon Religion—The Religious Code for the Megalopolis Life: Common Home-Common Rules

The megalopolis is a unique system that offers unique opportunities for a person.But in return,this system requires respecting its rules of life,as well as creating and maintaining new social relationships.This is a very complex problem especially for religious sphere,because there are a lot of different religion representatives in megalopolis.Babylon is a symbol of megalopolis.Megalopolis problems can be called Babylon problems.New megalopolis religion(the religious rules)can be called New Babylon religion.In order to explore the religious code(rules)for the megalopolis life,this paper makes an analysis from the following three aspects:the religion problems existing in the megalopolis;the general sources of world religion;and the relationship between religion and modern science.Finally,the conclusion is drawn that the modern life of society in a megalopolis allows individualizing not only educational,but also religious sphere,which will create the necessary feedback effect and help to solve internal conflicts of residents at their initial stage,as well as to create common religious rules for megalopolis—our common home.

Study on Emphases and Trend of Tianjin Urban Public Safety Planning from the View of Bohai Rim Megalopolis

Nowadays urban public safety has been an important subject of study in urban planning study. And planners realized that a safe city is very important for sustainable development. Traditional urban public safety planning begins to perfect the contents and method. And regional research is an important aspect in the improvement of new era urban public safety planning. This paper chooses Tianjin, the important city in Bohai rim area as the example for research. Tianjin urban public safety planning includes not only comprehensive disaster prevention and reduction, effectively preventing and reducing disasters, ensuring the safety of the life and property of the residents, but also sharing resources and facilities from the view of megalopolis, eliminating hidden area troubles, reducing whole environment risks and so on.

Developing a Megalopolis of the Future

ON February 26, 2014, at a meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping after his inspection tour of Beijing, he proposed the strategy of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region’s coordinated development, a plan for China’s new megalopolis. “It is a national strategy that we must insist on following a scientific and sustainable development path to give full play to complementary advantages and advance in win-win cooperation.” Four years after this announcement, China Today tracks the changes through the experiences of those in the midst of these developments, with workplaces transferring from Beijing to Hebei.

Influence of biomass burning on ozone levels in the Megalopolis of Central Mexico during the COVID-19 lockdown

The massive reductions in anthropogenic emissions resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the effect of mitigation measures aiming to abate air pollution.In Mexico,the total lockdown period took place during the dry-hot season when biomass burning activity is enhanced.Here,we investigate the role of biomass burning emissions on regional ozone levels in the Megalopolis of Central Mexico.The studied period covers the lockdown phases 2 and 3,and the first month of the New Normal.We applied a factor separation technique and process analysis to estimate the pure and synergistic contributions of emission reductions under lockdown and that from biomass burning to daily ozone maximum concentrations in 7 metropolitan areas of different states in the Megalopolis.The results revealed that biomass burning plumes likely masked the effect of massive reductions from mobile emissions,impacted the PBL development during phase 3 and favored transition and mixed NO_(x)-limited and VOC-limited regional regimes.This contributed to increased ozone production in the middle to lower PBL by changing the regional background levels which potentially could bias high ozone production efficiency estimations.Given the Megalopolis contribution to economic and societal development at national scale,our study suggests that ozone mitigation measures during the dry-hot season targeting mainly mobile emissions will likely be offset by biomass burning plumes.A regional and synergic policy aiming to control biomass burning would help to reduce the occurrence of high ozone levels in Central Mexico with the co-benefit of tackling short-lived climate pollutants.