Microspace Revitalization Design around Xihuangcun Railway Station from the Perspective of Urban Renewal

Railways within the city carry the historical memory of urban development and are important industrial heritage resources.However,with urban development and changes in transportation functions,railways lose their original application value and are gradually left unused or even abandoned,affecting the vitality of the region.Taking the space around Xihuangcun Railway Station as the research object,the public activity space on both sides of the railway is reshaped through five strategies:function revitalization,traffic revitalization,heritage revitalization,spatial revitalization,and landscape revitalization,and the grey area of the city is transformed into a vibrant development zone of the city.

Comparison of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban,Suburban,and Background Sites in China

Surface ozone(O3)and fine particulate matter(PM2.5)are dominant air pollutants in China.Concentrations of these pollutants can show significant differences between urban and nonurban areas.However,such contrast has never been explored on the country level.This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban-to-suburban and urban-tobackground difference for O3(Δ[O3])and PM2.5(Δ[PM2.5])concentrations in China using monitoring data from 1171 urban,110 suburban,and 15 background sites built by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center(CNEMC).On the annual mean basis,the urban-to-suburbanΔ[O3]is−3.7 ppbv in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei,1.0 ppbv in the Yangtze River Delta,−3.5 ppbv in the Pearl River Delta,and−3.8 ppbv in the Sichuan Basin.On the contrary,the urban-to-suburbanΔ[PM2.5]is 15.8,−0.3,3.5 and 2.4μg m^−3 in those areas,respectively.The urban-to-suburban contrast is more significant in winter for bothΔ[O3]andΔ[PM2.5].In eastern China,urban-to-background differences are also moderate during summer,with−5.1 to 6.8 ppbv forΔ[O3]and−0.1 to 22.5μg m^−3 forΔ[PM2.5].However,such contrasts are much larger in winter,with−22.2 to 5.5 ppbv forΔ[O3]and 3.1 to 82.3μg m^−3 forΔ[PM2.5].Since the urban region accounts for only 2%of the whole country’s area,the urban-dominant air quality data from the CNEMC network may overestimate winter[PM2.5]but underestimate winter[O3]over the vast domain of China.The study suggests that the CNEMC monitoring data should be used with caution for evaluating chemical models and assessing ecosystem health,which require more data outside urban areas.

Spatial Impact of High-speed Railway on the Urban Scale:An Empirical Analysis from Northeast China

The emergence of rapid transit,primarily represented by high-speed railway(HSR),while reshaping the regional traffic patterns,leads to the reconstruction and redistribution of population and industry.This leads to either shrinkage or expansion of urban scale.However,research on the influence mechanisms of the urban scale has mostly concentrated on historical,economic and social factors.The influence of traffic factors is rarely mentioned in current research.Therefore,this study examines Northeast China,where the change in urban scale is most significant,to discuss the spatial impact of high-speed railway on the urban scale.This is of great significance in terms of enriching current understanding of the factors affecting the urban scale.The results included the following:1)The high-speed railway produced considerable space-time convergence effects,however,simultaneously aggravated the imbalance in traffic development in Northeast China.The increase in accessibility presents attenuation characteristics from the high-speed railway.Additionally,the high-speed railway has changed the mode of cooperation between cities in the provinces,inter-regional and inter-provincial cooperation models gradually become popular.2)The change rate of accessibility and the urban scale present significant spatial coupling phenomena,with the change rate of the Harbin-Dalian trunk lines and its surroundings being more significant.3)There are predominantly four modes of the influence of high-speed railway on the urban scale,which make difference city present expansion or shrinkage.

Suburbanization and Subcentering of Population in Beijing Metropolitan Area:A Nonparametric Analysis

This study focuses on the suburbanization and subcentering of population and examines the nature of spatial restructuring in terms of the population distribution in the Beijing metropolitan area.Instead of the classic density function approach,we employ the nonparametric analysis to characterize the spatial pattern of population densities in the Beijing metropolitan area and identify the suburban subcenters.Our findings suggest that the population has spread with rapid urban growth in the Beijing metropolitan area,and the compact urban form has been replaced by a more dispersed polycentric spatial distribution.However,compared with the decentralization of western cities,the spatial extent of the decentralization of population in the Beijing metropolitan area is quite limited.The rapid growth of population in the near suburbs has expedited the sprawl of the central city,with a larger central agglomeration of population dominating the metropolitan area.In this sense,the spatial pattern of the Beijing metropolitan area is still characterized by the continuous compactness.However,our findings do provide the evidence that the city has been turning to a polycentric structure.We find significant population subcenters have emerged in the suburbs of Beijing since the 1980s.But the polycentricity emerged in the Beijing metropolitan area is very different by nature from that observed in Western cities.The subcenters emerged are adherent to the development scheme planned for the city,so it can be referred to as the so called 'planned polycentricity'.

Impact of high-speed railway construction on spatial relationships in the Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration

The Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration is a response to the Belt and Road Initiative in Northwest China that aims to promote regional development.The direct impact of high-speed railway construction is to shorten the spatial-temporal distance among regions,improve the accessibility of regional transportation,and promote socioeconomic linkages.From the perspective of accessibility,this study analyzes the impact of high-speed railway construction on the spatial pattems and county-level economic relationships of the Guanzhong Plain urban agglom-eration.The results show that the construction of high-speed railway significantly improves regional accessibility,increases the potential for urban economic development,and gradually narrows the gaps in economic potential among cities.The construction of high-speed railway has increased the intensity of extenal economic relations among numerous counties in the Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration,and most of the areas with increased connections are located in the direction of routes extension.The development of the internal economic network of the Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration is unbalanced,and a complex network is gradually emerging with a few large cities at the core,but the construction of high-speed railway is changing the struicture of the economic network.In general,a certain degree of intrinsic coupling exists between regional accessibility change and the evolution of economic relations caused by high-speed railway,reflecting the requirements of the regional overall development strategy.

Simulating train movement in an urban railway based on an improved car-following model

Based on the optimal velocity car-following model, in this paper, we propose an improved model for simulating train movement in an urban railway in which the regenerative energy of a train is considered. Here a new additional term is introduced into a traditional car-following model. Our aim is to analyze and discuss the dynamic characteristics of the train movement when the regenerative energy is utilized by the electric locomotive. The simulation results indicate that the improved car-following model is suitable for simulating the train movement. Further, some qualitative relationships between regenerative energy and dynamic characteristics of a train are investigated, such as the measurement data of regenerative energy presents a power-law distribution. Our results are useful for optimizing the design and plan of urban railway systems.

Equilibrium analysis of mixed passengers in urban railway network

A model is proposed to describe the passengers’route choice behaviors in urban railway traffic with stochastic link capacity degradation by considering two types of demand,sensitive and insensitive passenger.The insensitive passengers choose their route without paying much attention to congestion.To the contrary,sensitive passengers who consider route congestion choose travel route based on generalized cost.An equilibrium state is given by variational inequalities in terms of travel generalized cost,which is represented by the combinations of mean and variance of total travel time.The diagonalization algorithm is given to solve this programming.Results show that insensitive passengers have large effects on the path choice than sensitive ones,especially for the larger demand.

Impacts of Suburbanization on Urban Eco-environment of Xi'an in China

Suburbanization in large cities is an important phenomenon in the process of urbanization development in China in recent decades,which plays a very important role in promoting city development,whereas some side effects on the eco-environment appeared at the same time.This paper,taking Xi'an City in China as a case study site,analyzed the features of population suburbanization and industry suburbanization and pointed out the impacts of suburbanization on urban eco-environment.Based on the research,suggestions of countermeasures for urban planning and municipal management of Xi'an City in protecting urban eco-environment and conserving natural ecology were put forward in the end.

Expansion Strategy of Agricultural Industrial Chain of Suburban Villages and Towns in the Process of Urbanization——A Case Study of Yongle Town in Nanming District of Guiyang City

On the basis of introducing the connotation of agricultural industrial chain, taking Yongle Town in Nanming District of Guiyang City as an example, this paper analyzes the advantages and constraint factors of the suburban villages and towns in the process of expanding agricultural industrial chain in the context of urbanization. Corresponding strategies of expanding the agricultural industrial chain of Yongle Town in the process of urbanization as follows: vigorously develop the leading enterprises; strengthen the construction of farmers' specialized cooperatives and agricultural associations; build and perfect agricultural industrial chain organizations; set up the public information platform; rely on the food industrial park to propel the deep processing of agricultural products; vigorously develop the logistics of agricultural products; promote the development of operation model of "brand+ standard+ scale"; vigorously develop ecology-oriented rural tourism; give full play to the functional role of the government.

Study on Urban Design of Luohu Railway Station Area from the Perspective of Integrated Urban Design

Traffic hub in modern cities has gradually evolved into a multi-functional, all-around and three-dimensional complex. Based on the integrated thinking and relevant urban design theories, this paper took Shenzhen Luohu Railway Station for example, evaluated the status quo of the study area from the perspectives of spatial form and public space, including traffic space, square, walking space, green space and waterfront system, and put forward corresponding suggestions.

Agglomeration Shadows amid China’s Urbanization:From a High-Speed Railway Perspective

Using China’s county-level panel data of 2007-2016,this paper verifies the existence of agglomeration shadows from an infrastructure development perspective.With high-speed railway(HSR)launch as a quasi-natural experiment,we find that the launch of HSR lines was followed by a decrease in GDP per capita of counties along the route by 2.6 percentage points.This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests and the treatment of potential endogeneity problem.Mechanism analysis suggests that such effect is the most significant for counties within a distance of 97 to 195 km to the nearest central city,which is a manifestation of the“agglomeration shadows.”We also uncover that HSR would spur economic growth for counties with favorable endowments.However,HSR also has a significant negative impact on permanent population in counties.When change in permanent population is taken into account,HSR’s negative impact on the countywide economy becomes smaller.Shrinking permanent population in counties after HSR launch is a manifestation of such agglomeration shadows.HSR has facilitated the free flow of population.These findings point to the possibility that HSR may have induced regional economic equilibrium amid agglomeration.

Research on Urban Memory-Oriented Shared Railway Landscape Design

The rapid development of urbanization leads to the transformation of urban industrial structure,resulting in prominent issues such as factory relocation and abandoned railway.As a city memory,abandoned railway implies rich material and spiritual connotations,and it comes to be a trend that abandoned railway is transformed into urban landscape.By illustrating the concept of urban memory and sharing,the paper divides the types of shared railway landscape from the perspective of urban memory,and analyzes relevant cases at home and abroad.On this basis,the design strategy of shared railway landscape is summarized to better awaken the memory of the city,to stimulate the emotion of citizens,and to continue the history and culture of the city.

Weak influence of natural vegetation in urban green spaces compared to agricultural ecosystems on House Martin populations:Insights from nationwide citizen science data in the Czech Republic

The House Martin(Delichon urbicum)is a common farmland bird species in the European landscape,yet its population numbers are currently in decline.However,it is not yet sufficiently explained why this long-term decline occurs.To fill this gap in our knowledge,we investigated how land cover composition affects the abundance of House Martins on the landscape scale by using nationwide citizen science data.Utilizing a generalised linear mixed-effect model(GLMM),we evaluated 12,094 records from the Czech Republic spanning 2009-2017.Our analysis underscores the significance of land cover type in shaping House Martin abundance.More specifically,our results indicate that within agricultural land covers“naturally managed arable lands”exhibited significant positive effect,while forests,orchards,and vineyards were deemed less favourable for House Martin populations.Within urban land covers,we found a clear distinction in the impact on House Martin populations,with a positive effect observed in urban infrastructure,development areas,and post-industrial sites(i.e.,UrbanAreas),while an indifferent impact was noted within urban green spaces and landscaped areas(i.e.,GreenUrban).Notably,our findings suggest that the simple spatial,age,and species structure typical of forests in Europe,and similarly,the uniform structure of parks and gardens,may be responsible for the decline in the abundance of the House Martin.We advocate for the preservation or enhancement of urban greenery,expansion of natural vegetation in rural areas and adoption of ecological management practices in orchards and vineyards to mitigate further declines in House Martin populations.

Safety and Quality Control Management Strategy for Urban Railway Engineering Construction

The safety management of urban railway engineering construction involves many different aspects and a wide scope,playing an important role in guaranteeing the safety of construction projects.Management agencies have more stringent requirements on the quality of railway construction.The overall quality of a construction project should meet the construction requirements before the project can be carried out.In this article,the problems in the actual work of the entire life cycle of safety management are explained,and the lessons and experience pertaining to the safety and quality of urban railway construction projects are discussed.The purpose of this paper is to provide references for the management of urban railway construction.

Changing Spatial and Structural Patterns of Non-agricultural Activities in Outward-moving Beijing Urban Fringe

As responses to metropolitan suburbanization and rural urbanization,the formation and evolution of urban fringes should be understood against the background of overall economic development and spatial reconstruction of entire metropolises.At the same time,however,endogenous interactions between industrial structure and spatial patterns of non-agricultural activities are also worthy of scholarly attention.Since the 1980s,studies on urban fringes in China have been restricted by the lack of micro-level data.This paper investigates the spatial expansion and structural evolution of the urban fringe by taking the case of Beijing and uses systematic firm-level data in 1996 and 2001 from the National Census of Basic Units.The diversity of distribution patterns across industrial sectors brings about two interrelated results.On the one hand,structural adjustment of non-agricultural industries promotes the expansion and spatial evolution of the urban fringe.On the other hand,the stability and dynamics of industrial structure coexist in the moving urban fringe.This study also reveals that the outward-moving urban fringe is the optimal location for manufacturing,especially heavy manufacturing,as well as traditional producer and consumer services.However,industries with spatial stickiness such as tourism and sports have not moved with the fringe.Most advanced services remain concentrated in the city center.The authors argue that it is essential for understanding and managing urban fringes to take into account spatial evolution and industrial structural adjustment together with their interaction with each other.

RECONSIDERATION OF THE URBANIZATION RESEARCH IN CHINA

By restudying some ideas existing in the current urbanization research field in China, this article truly puts forward the inquisitive opinion with respect to the urbanization progress, urban scale, spatial transfer of urbanization and suburbanization in China, etc. It indicates that the urbanization shall abide by the economic laws, but government should bring the appropriate adjustment and control into play as well; the urbanization shall not be limited to the west ern pattern and simple phenomenal analysis, but to pursue the virtually healthy, orderly and sustainable development of cities is the man aim for urbanization. The main views of this article are as follows: 1 ) As far as Chinese urbanization is concerned, it is in a different age compared with the west, and it has one special domestic background, so its speed and mode are different from the west and the speed can’ t be too fast. 2) External extending economic evelopment will still last for a Period. And the urbanization development has big spatial requirements. Therefore, intensive development mode of space should be explored. 3) The suburbanization in China has special forming mechanism and relevant social problems, which should be treated seriously.

Railway ground vibration and mitigation measures: benchmarking of best practices

Vibration and noise aspects play a relevant role in the lifetime and comfort of urban areas and their resi-dents.Among the different sources,the one coming from the rail transit system will play a central concern in the following years due to its sustainability.Ground-borne vibration and noise assessment as well as techniques to mitigate them become key elements of the environmental impact and the global enlargement planned for the railway industry.This paper aims to describe and compare the different mitigation systems existing and reported in liter-ature through a comprehensive state of the art analysis providing the performance of each measure.First,an introduction to the ground-borne vibration and noise gen-erated from the wheel-rail contact and its propagation through the transmission path is presented.Then,the impact and the different ways of evaluating and assessing these effects are presented,and the insertion loss indicator is introduced.Next,the different mitigation measures at different levels(vehicle,track,transmission path and receiver)are discussed by describing their possible appli-cation and their efficiency in terms of insertion loss.Finally,a summary with inputs of how it is possible to address the future of mitigation systems is reported.

The Mechanism Behind Urban Population Growth and Shrinkage from the Perspective of Urban Network Externalities

Urban shrinkage is a global phenomenon,and it will coexist with urban growth for many years.At the same time,the network connection between cities continuously improved due to the construction of the transportation and information networks.However,the relationship between urban network externalities and urban population growth/shrinkage remains unclear.Therefore,based on high-speed railway(HSR)flow data,a spatial econometric model is used to explore the mechanism behind urban population growth and shrinkage from the perspective of network externalities in China.The results indicate that:1)the urban network experiences a certain clubbing effect.Growing cities that are strongly connected are concentrated along China’s main railway lines and the southeastern coastal areas,while shrinking cities that are weakly connected are distributed at the periphery of the network.2)Moreover,the network externality disregards spatial distance and together with the agglomeration externality influences the growth and shrinking of cities.3)Urban economic development still promotes the development of Chinese cities.However,the improvement of the urban economy has a negative cross-regional spillover effect on neighboring cities due to urban competition.4)Lastly,Local spillovers of urban network externalities are positive,while cross-regional ones are negative.Consequently,the government needs to promote the construction of multi-dimensional network connections between cities to promote cities’sustainable development.This study reveals the relationship between urban network externalities and urban development,enriches the theories of network externalities and urban growth/shrinkage,and provides a reference for regional coordinated development.

Design Strategies for Landscape Transformation of Abandoned Railways in Urban Centers

The railways have significantly contributed to the economic development of the city.However,with the evolution of the city and adjustments in the industrial structure,the relocation and rerouting of major railway trunk lines have resulted in the abandonment of numerous urban railways.The abandoned railways,resulting from inadequate management,have transformed into sites for waste disposal and are particularly vulnerable to environmental issues,including land pollution,degradation of vegetation cover,and a decline in ecological diversity.Abandoned railways in urban centers significantly hinder transportation connectivity and adversely influence the aesthetic appeal of the city.The landscape transformation of these abandoned railways is of paramount importance in the context of urban renewal.These railway sites possess significant potential for stock utilization as specialized,underutilized spaces.Through the processes of re-planning,integration,and renewal,previously underutilized spaces can be revitalized and incorporated into the urban landscape in innovative ways.This approach not only enhances the availability of green leisure areas for residents but also contributes to the realization of sustainable urban development.

Urban Chemical Industrial Cluster Area Restructuring and Determinants: A Case Study of a Typical Old Chemical Industry Area Along the Yangtze River, China

China is in a transitional period between urban renewal and industrial change.In this period,the focus has been on the suburbanization of enterprises and land transformation in old industrial areas,particularly areas with chemical industries.A life cycle theoretical framework was established to develop chemical industrial zones in the context of urban expansion and land function conversion.The long-term historical processes and mechanisms that transformed a typical old chemical industry area along the Yangtze River,Yanziji Area of Nanjing City were unveiled and comparatively analyzed.The study found that the entire life cycle of the case study area was formed through the combined action of different influencing factors.Traditional industrial location factors played important roles during the rise and continuity of the chemical industry zone,while unconventional environmental regulations and government policies drove its decline and transformation.In the transformation of the old chemical zone,the renewal and redevelopment of industrial land into higher-value residential land is a key link determining the feasibility of government fund compensation and the circulation of capital.These findings demonstrate that regional control and environmental regulation play crucial roles in determining the location of polluting industries and the renewal of urban industrial areas.This research enhances the understanding of the development history and reconstruction of chemical industry clusters and plots within megacities at a finer geographic scale.