Defining Cities by Water: Addressing Capital Misallocation in a Race to Conserve Resources

As part of its efforts to promote a sustainable and high-quality development,China has pledged to reduce water consumption and create a water-efficient society.On the basis of identifying the institutional root causes of excessive capital allocation and excessive water consumption in China’s water-intensive industrial sectors,this study elaborates how the national water-efficient cities assessment contributes to optimized capital allocation.Our research shows that national water-efficient cities assessment has motivated local governments to compete for water efficiency.To conserve water,local governments regulated the entry and exit of water-intensive enterprises,discouraged excessive investments in water-intensive sectors,and phased out obsolete water-intensive capacities within their jurisdictions.This approach has resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes,including improved allocation of capital,enhanced water efficiency,and reduced emissions.This paper offers policy recommendations for establishing a water-efficient society throughout the 14^(th) Five-Year Plan(2021-2025)period by presenting empirical evidence on the policy effects of resource efficiency evaluation.

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.

ISM-based Correlation Analysis of Development Constraints of Forest Resource-exhausted Cities

Forest resource-exhausted cities have to face with various constraints in the acceleration of its urbanization.This paper analyzed major development constraints of these cities,such as unitary economic structure,weakened forest ecological functions,and geographical barriers,and applied ISM method(Interpretive Structural Modeling) to analyze the correlation among the constraints,and gave suggestions for promoting the development of forest resource-exhausted cities.

Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

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.

The comprehensive evaluation on resource environmental bearing capacity of central cities in the Yellow River Delta-A case study on Dongying City

Dongying City, which is the most important central city in the Yellow River Delta, is located in the estuary of the Yellow River. With a short land formation time, ecological environment is very weak in this area. To realize the sustainable economic development of the Yellow River Delta, resource environment and resource environmental bearing capacity(REBC) must be improved. This study builds assessment system of regional REBC through resource and economic characteristics in Yellow River Delta and uses principal component analysis(PCA) method to evaluate REBC of five counties and districts in Dongying City in 2011-2015 on the dimensions of time and space. Results show that, on the time dimension, Guangrao County is ranked first, Dongying district second for four years and Hekou and Kenli districts with lower ranks in 2012-2015, indicating that more attention needs to be paid to REBC of Hekou and Dongying districts and these two districts should be included into key monitoring areas. From space scale, REBC in five counties and districts has been gradually improving. In order to further develop REBC in Dongying City, measures such as intensifying protection of urban ecological environment and developing circular economy, etc. should be implemented.

Geographical Space Development Zone Classification:An Essential Guide for Transformation of Mountain Resource Cities

Sustainable development of mountain areas and resource cities has been a significant issue worldwide. Transformation of mountain resource cities is facing tremendous difficulties. In the context of National Major Function-oriented Zone Planning raised to a national strategic level in China, it is important to effectively implement the planning by studying geographical space development zone classification of prefecture- and county-level cities based on their major function orientation. This research is even more critical for the transformation of mountain resource cities. In this study, we evaluated geographical space development suitability, and classified geographical space development zones for Dongchuan Distric in Kunming City of Yunan Province, China, a typical mountain resource city. A quantitative grid-based evaluation was conducted using key-factor identification and restrictive-supportive comprehensive index determinati based on a geographic information system framework with different source data. The results included a classification of geographical space of Dongchuan into five types: the prohibited development zone, the inappropriate development zone, the controlled development zone, the moderate development zone and the preferential development zone. The distribution characteristics of geographical space development zones showed that the proportion of the prohibited development zone is the highest, while that of the other four development zones is comparatively lower and significantly fragmented. The geographical space development suitability is greatly controlled by the geomorphic pattern. Although Dongchuan is extremely restrained in terms of suitable geographical space for industrialization and urbanization, it still has the certain preferential and moderate development zones with an area of 207.81 km2 with large parts being concentrated and contiguous, which makes these areas the most favorable for development. Only by adapting to this reality and implementing centralized development strategy in the regions with higher suitability may Dongchuan achieve smooth transformation from expansion mode to compact mode and its sustainable development capacity may be improved. Suggestions with an angle of industrial and spatial development pattern were put forward for the transformation of the city in future.

Vulnerability assessment of water resources to climate change in Chinese cities

Climate change is an inevitable trend,which challenges security of water resources in China,especially in cities.Assessing vulnerability of water resource to climate change in cities has important role for policy makers. The paper constructs a vulnerability function,including exposure,sensitivity and adaptive capacity,according to the vulnerability concept proposed by IPCC,establishes an assessment indicators system of water resources to climate change in cities,and analyzes vulnerability features of Chinese cites based on 655 cities＇data in 2006.The vulnerability assessment results show that there are distinctive differences among all the cities,between east,central and west cities,between ordinary,big and mega cities,while there is no statistical significant difference between north and south cities.Based on the research,the paper suggests that strategic emphasis should focus on the central cities and ordinary cities

Analysis on the situation and countermeasures of water resources supply and demand in the cities of small and medium-sized river basins along southeast coast of China-taking Xiamen City as an example

The small and medium-sized river basins along southeast coast of China hold comparatively abundant water resources.However,the rapid resources urbanization in recent years has produced a series of water problems such as deterioration of river water quality,water shortage and exacerbated floods,which have constrained urban economic development.By applying the principle of triple supply-demand equilibrium,this paper focuses on the estimation of levels of water supply and demand in 2030 at different guarantee probabilities,with a case study of Xiamen city.The results show that water shortage and inefficient utilization are main problems in the city,as the future water supply looks daunting,and a water shortage may hit nearly 2×10^(8)m^(3)in an extraordinarily dry year.Based on current water supply-demand gap and its trend,this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions for developing and utilizing groundwater resources and improving the utilization rate of water resources,which can supply as a reference for other southeast middle-to-small-sized basin cities in terms of sustainable water resources and water environment protection.

Population Shrinkage in Resource-dependent Cities in China: Processes, Patterns and Drivers

Resource-dependent cities(RCs)are a vulnerable group of urban settlements that often face population shrinkage;however,population changes in RCs in China are not well understood.This study offers new insight into this matter through a robust analysis that features a longer time scale,a larger sample of RCs,and a finer unit of analysis.It finds new evidence that problems of population shrinkage in RCs are more serious than previous literature has suggested.Approximately 30%of the studied units have experienced either long-term or short-term population shrinkage,and many more are experiencing a slowing down of population growth.Problems are especially common among three types of RCs:the resource-depleted RCs,the forestry-based RCs,and RCs in Northeast China.These results underscore transition policy inadequacies in addressing population loss,and call for a more comprehensive and diversified population policy that tackles the multifaceted factors that contribute to population shrinkage,including lack of industrial support,maladjustment to market oriented reformation,poor urban environment and natural population decline.

Landscape Architecture Development Path of Water Resource-Scarcity Cities: Summary of Jinchang City's Efforts in Constructing National Garden City

Jinchang City, a city with scarce water resources, has developed through 32 years of efforts from a small town in the Gobi desert into a medium modern city, and green coverage ratio of the downtown area has risen from 2.6% before the founding of the city to 36.11%. This paper summarized the measures adopted by Jinchang City for building national garden city.

Towards Urban Resource Flow Estimates in Data Scarce Environments: The Case of African Cities

Data sourcing challenges in African nations have led many African urban infrastructure developments to be implemented with minimal scientific backing to support their success. In some cases this may directly impact a city’s ability to reach service delivery, economic growth and human development goals, let alone the city’s ability to protect ecosystem services upon which it relies. As an attempt to fill this gap, this paper describes an exploratory process used to determine city-level demographic, economic and resource flow data for African nations. The approach makes use of scaling and clustering techniques to form acceptable and utilizable representations of selected African cities. Variables that may serve as the strongest predictors for resource consumption intensity in African nations and cities were explored, in particular, the aspects of the Koppen Climate Zones, estimates of average urban income and GDP, and the influence of urban primacy. It is expected that the approach examined will provide a step towards estimating and understanding African cities and their resource profiles.

Paths and strategies of resource-exhausted city transformation: A case study in coal city Pingxiang of Jiangxi Province

Appearance and exhaustion of the resource city is an inevitable objective phenomenon in the process of industrialization. Transformation of the resource city became the focus of attention with highlighting problems and contradictions in the city. The paper places emphasis on path selection and transformation strategies of resource-exhausted city transformation taking the coal city Pingxiang as an example. From the perspective of profi le and effectiveness of transformation in Pingxiang city, the paper analyzes the main problems in the city transformation, points out its main path direction from economic transformation, social transformation and ecological transformation, and fi nally presents transition strategy and policy recommendations to the city.

Coordination of economic development and ecological environment in resource exhausted cities

This paper establishes the evaluation index system of ecological environment and economic development in resource exhausted cities, and calculates the level of economic development and ecological environment during the year 2005-2012 by using the entropy method. Furthermore, this study analyzes the coordination degree and coordinated development degree by using the coordination model. The results show that the coordination relationship of economic development and ecological environment continues to improve from 2005 to 2012 in most of these resource exhausted cities. By 2012, other resource depletion cities are in all kinds of hierarchical coordination except Yichun and Hegang. From the standpoint of coordination development degree, although most of these resource exhausted cities have been increased continuously but the level is also lower except in Tongling and Xinyu. Finally, this paper puts forward the corresponding countermeasures and suggestions according to the results of the analysis.

Discussion on the Problems and Path of Characteristic Town Construction in Underdeveloped, Resource-Based Cities: A Case Study of Ganzhou City

Characteristic towns as a characteristic industry are one of the important measures of China's new urbanization strategy. The construction of characteristic towns in different regions needs to pay attention to regional differentiation. At present, the research on characteristic towns focuses on the developed the developed central and eastern regions. There are still few studies on characteristics towns in underdeveloped areas. Starting from the analysis of the concept of the characteristic town, this paper sorted out the general situation of the construction of characteristic towns in China based on the existing research literature, selected Ganzhou City for research, pointed out there were "two restrictions and two singles" in the construction of characteristic towns in Ganzhou City, and clarified that the characteristic towns of Ganzhou City should adhere to the construction path of "two characteristics and two integrations", with a view to providing a useful reference for in Ganzhou City the construction of characteristic towns, industrial transformation and upgrading, and poverty alleviation in such underdeveloped, resource-based cities.

Evaluation and Exploration of Citrus Germplasm Resources in the Origin of Shatangju(Citrus flamea Hort.ex Tseng Shiyueju)

[Objectives]To protect the local rare citrus germplasm resources and further develop and cultivate new citrus varieties.[Methods]The germplasm resources of Shatangju(Citrus flamea Hort.Ex Tseng Shiyueju)in Sihui City of Guangdong Province and other 8 citrus varieties from the same origin were evaluated.The appearance characteristics of tree shape,the length and thickness of shoot at each shoot stage,the appearance characteristics of leaves and the fruit quality of each variety were investigated.[Results]Through the comparison of various citrus varieties grafted with sour mandarin,the results showed that the overall advantages of the length and thickness of the shoots of Shatang tangerine in summer and autumn were more prominent,which was conducive to fruit setting.The sprouting time of the three shoots of each variety was different,and there were sporadic sprouting phenomena in different seasons,so the growth was different,and the length and thickness of the shoots were different in different seasons.There were significant differences in shoot length and diameter among different varieties in the same season.The coefficient of variation of Shatangju's leaves was low,and the traits were stable;leaf shape,leaf base shape,leaf margin and other indicators among the three shoots of the same variety and the differences among the same shoots of different varieties were compared.All varieties had strong flavor,separately sweet and sour,sweet and sweet taste.Shatangju has many segments,orange pericarp,rough texture,easy peeling,and high oblate fruit shape.The orange pericarp was favored by the participants,while the rough and thick peel was not favored by the participants.[Conclusions]Based on the improvement of local varieties,it is recommended to improve the smoothness of pericarp,reducing the thickness of pericarp and improving the flavor of fruit will be conducive to increasing sales.In the cultivation process of various quality resources,especially in the period of fruit growth and development,the plan of nutrition and fertilization should be formulated according to the rules of fruit growth and development,the rules of yield formation and the rules of quality composition,so as to establish the integrated nutrient management system of various varieties.

Qingdao City Resources Water Price Estimate

The water resource price is currently one of the difficult problems of water price research.After references collection,investigation and analysis,the water resource price of Qingdao City was calculated by applying fuzzy mathematics.According to the present situation and region characteristic of Qingdao,water quality,per capita water supply,economical level,population density and alternative water resources were selected as water resource influence factors and weigh coefficients of all these factors were ascertained.The results show that the water resource price of Qingdao is 3.05yuam/m3 and total water price is 4.65Yuan/m3.

Evaluation of regional water resources carrying capacity based on binary index method and reduction index method

Based on the regional water resources carrying capacity(WRCC)evaluation principles and evaluation index system in the National Technical Outline of Water Resources Carrying Capacity Monitoring and Early Warning(hereafter referred to as the Technical Outline),this paper elaborates on the collection and sorting of the basic data of water resources conditions,water resources development and utilization status,social and economic development in basins,analysis and examination of integrity,consistency,normativeness,and rationality of the basic data,and the necessity of WRCC evaluation.This paper also describes the technique of evaluating the WRCC in prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the District of the Taihu Lake Basin,which is composed of the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin.The evaluation process combines the binary index evaluation method and reduction index evaluation method.The former,recommended by the Technical Outline,uses the total water use and the amount of exploited groundwater as evaluation indices,showing stronger operability,while the latter is developed by simplifying and optimizing the comprehensive index system with greater systematicness and completeness.The mutual validation and adjustment of the results of the above-mentioned two evaluation methods indicate that the WRCC of the District of the Taihu Lake Basin is overloaded in general because some prefecture-level cities and city-level administrative divisions in the Taihu Lake Basin and the Southeastern River Basin are in a severely overloaded state.In order to explain this conclusion,this paper analyzes the causes of WRCC overloading from the aspects of basin water environment,water resources development and utilization,water resources regulation and control ability,water resources utilization efficiency,and water resources management.

System dynamics model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity and its application

A model of Suzhou water resources carrying capacity （WRCC） was set up using the method of system dynamics （SD）. In the model, three different water resources utilization programs were adopted： （1） continuity of existing water utilization, （2） water conservation/saving, and （3） water exploitation. The dynamic variation of the Suzhou WRCC was simulated with the supply-decided principle for the time period of 2001 to 2030, and the results were characterized based on socio-economic factors. The corresponding Suzhou WRCC values for several target years were calculated by the model. Based on these results, proper ways to improve the Suzhou WRCC are proposed. The model also produced an optimized plan, which can provide a scientific basis for the sustainable utilization of Suzhou water resources and for the coordinated development of the society, economy, and water resources.

Towards sustainable mining cities: what policies should be sought and experiences could be learnt for China?

This paper aims to explore interinks between population, resoures, environment anddevelopment of mining cities in China. The authors place emphasis on speeific policy stud of how tostep a sustainable rnining city based on the analysis of six components constituting the integrative andsystendc backdrop to mining city sustainability. The attempts are taken to make a deep comparisonbased on the studies in the five typical cities of Datong, Daqing, Panzhihua, Jinchang and Golmud ofChina, combining some experiences and theorehca thoughts from the Western countries. Therelationship between the resourees endoment, mining (in broader sense) and economic developmentis given based on the analysis of development of mineral resources and formahon of mining cities.Morcover, some changing characteristics and related issues of China's mining cities on environmentand socio-econondc dimensions are considered. The last part of the paper focuses on the discussion ofrestructuring approach to the mining cities in China, some reflections and suggestions are put forward.