Groundwater quality in the vicinity of a dumpsite in Lagos metropolis,Nigeria

Inappropriate management of municipal solid waste dumpsites is a major cause of groundwater contamination in developing countries,but the extent of the problem is not known.This study investigated groundwater quality in the vicinity of Olusosun dumpsite in Lagos,Nigeria,the most populous city in sub-Saharan Africa.During 2020,monthly groundwater samples were collected in 17 wells and boreholes used as drinking water sources,and analysed for 20 physico-chemical parameters.Differences between sites and seasons were statistically assessed,together with changes in water quality index(WQI).The results indicated that heavy metals(Pb^(2+),Ni^(+),Mn^(2+),Fe^(2+),Cr^(6+)),cations(Ca^(2+),Mg^(2+),K^(+)),total hardness and pH were the main parameters impairing water quality.Drinking water quality standards from both the World Health Organization and Nigeria government were exceeded more often in the wet season than in the dry season.Some groundwater properties were negatively correlated with distance to dumpsite(e.g.,Fe^(2+),Pb^(2+),NO_(3)^(−)).Significant differences between sites were identified,but with no clear spatial trend.WQI varied from excellent(6%-24%of the sites over the study period)to unsuitable for drinking water purposes(12%-18%),with good quality prevailing at most sites(35%-47%).Although groundwater quality declined at 24%of the sites over 2020,the results indicated improvements compared with previous decades.Remediation strategies must be implemented to safeguard public health and the sustainability of water resources.

World cities in terms of the sustainable development concept

The article considers the issue of the world cities in terms of sustainable development.The population has been increasing in such intensive rates never reached during the middle of the 20th century.The expansion of the cities indicates,on the one hand,the growth of the world’s general socio-economic development,on the other hand,it raises a number of economic,social and environmental problems.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the current state and prospects of the world cities in terms of the sustainable development concept,to identify opportunities,threats,strengths and weaknesses of the world cities,to determine the role of cities in the con-temporary global world and consider further research of the world’s cities.The authors analyzed the world cities rankings and noted that highly developed cities have more chances to quickly implement the sustainable devel-opment concept compared to medium-sized cities due to larger financial resources.The authors built a SWOT analysis of the world cities transformation in terms of the sustainable development concept,identified strengths,weaknesses,opportunities and threats.According to the results of the SWOT analysis,the authors established that sustainable development of cities requires significant investments,particularly in the social sphere develop-ment,purification,and preservation of urban nature from the anthropogenic impacts.The research result is the systematization of the sustainable development criteria used in compiling the world cities rankings,determining the possibilities of the contemporary cities transition to the sustainable development concept.

Development versus conservation: evaluation of landscape structure changes in Dem?novská Valley, Slovakia

This paper presents the changes of landscape structure in the Dem?novská Valley which ranks among the most valuable protected areas of Slovakia. The area was selected on the basis of changes associated with the rapidly growing tourism industry and the rise of an important destination in the center of Low Tatras National Park, Slovakia. To document any changes, we visually interpreted data from aerial and satellite images in three periods(1949, 2007 and 2013) and for predicting future changes we used land use planning documentation. Interpreted data were analyzed using overlay analysis and landscape metrics. Results showed extensive changes in the landscape structure mainly connected with the development of tourism infrastructure. We also identified long-term changes whose causes stem from the transformation of society and forest management in the past. The dynamics and extent of these changes may increase in the future. We propose to stop future development of ski slopes and expansion of related infrastructure, to focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly operation of the existing ski resort and to invest a substantial portion of profits to support projects aimed to preserve surrounding lands and wildlife.

Implication for Designing a REDD+ Program in a Frontier of Oil Palm Plantation Development: Evidence in East Kalimantan, Indonesia

To examine the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) program as an alternative to an oil palm plantation in West Kutai district of East Kalimantan, we determined the profitability of land use and REDD+, and the land use preferences and practices of the local people, as well as their participation in and preferences for forestry programs. Our findings indicate the following: 1) the profitability of an oil palm plantation was higher than that from other land uses and the REDD+ program;2) the local preferences for land uses were mostly consistent with the profitability of the land uses, except for oil palm plantation due to non-financial concerns;3) the local people combined each land use in accordance with their various needs;and 4) the local people were interested in a Forest and Land Rehabilitation (RHL) program in nonforestry zones. Considering these evidences, an improved RHL program based on an intensive agroforestry system and a conservation-based REDD+ program based on existing customary conservation forest management by the local people are proposed. Given the high opportunity cost and the low preference for an oil palm plantation, designing the REDD+ program by paying attention to the non-financial benefits for a community is a way forward. To enhance the non-financial benefits, it is important to take into consideration local preferences and livelihood activities in designing the REDD+ program. This study also implies the need for a reconsideration of the position of participation of local people in the safeguards of REDD+.

Increasing the Adaptive Capacity in Unembanked Neighborhoods? An Exploration into Stakeholder Support for Adaptive Measures in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Cities in deltas are vulnerable to climate change, especially their unembanked neighborhoods that are not protected by dikes. Rising sea levels and extreme water levels in the rivers can lead to the flooding of these urban areas. The Netherlands has a long history in water management. However, building dikes and the elevation of land are traditionally treated as rather stand-alone measures. Attention is rarely paid to the surrounding area, let alone to the complex context of cities and certainly not to disadvantaged neighborhoods. Yet, inner-city area redevelopment may provide opportunities to integrate flood management in these planning processes. In order to investigate the support of stakeholders for risk-reducing adaptive measures and more resilient measures, we did research in an unembanked inner-city area in the city of Rotterdam (The Netherlands), in which we conducted in-depth interviews with the central stakeholders. The main conclusion is that the most important barriers for integrating climate adaptation measures into that neighborhood are the fragmentation of water-safety policy (e.g. elevation of rebuilding locations) and the hierarchical governance arrangement in water management. This type of fragmentation led on its turn to fragmentation with other policy goals for the neighborhood. It also led to fragmentation between different areas in the same neighborhood that received political attention and those that are excluded from water-safety policy. This questions the approach in terms of social justice. An important side effect is that this governance arrangement also restricted innovation towards climate adaptation. Therefore, integrating water-safety policies in urban planning (in its capacity as a more integrative and comprehensive spatial approach) should be considered the best option to increase the adaptive capacity in delta cities. Not only can the negative effects in terms of policy fragmentation be dealt with effectively, but also spatial fragmentation can be tackled.

Fighting the Ignorance: Public Authorities’ and Land Users’ Responses to Land Subsidence in Indonesia

Land subsidence can have a considerable impact on the socio-economic viability of areas. In urban areas, land subsidence tends to damage buildings and infrastructures gradually, while in rural peat land it slowly destroys vegetation. The damages will worsen since climate change has further implications for the areas affected by land subsidence. In Indonesia, the response to land subsidence varies in different areas in terms of awareness, urgency and action on the part of both public authorities and land users. This paper systematically investigates these varied responses in urban and rural peat land areas. Interviews with experts and surveys of 330 land users in selected sub-districts were conducted and further supplemented by focus group discussions. We found that both the public authorities as well as the land users’ responses were considered as of limited value to contest land subsidence. We suggest that the endorsement of land users’ response into governmental policies would make a significant difference in improving land subsidence management.

Living in a Bottomless Pit: Households’ Responses to Land Subsidence, an Example from Indonesia

Land subsidence has severe physical and economic implications for both areas and people. Numerous scholars have shown that land subsidence has had massive impacts at global, national and regional levels, and that the impacts were usually responded to by the government. However, little attention has been paid to what land subsidence means to people’s daily lives and how much it costs them. To fill that gap, this article draws on empirical research carried out in three areas in Indonesia to provide a better understanding of what land subsidence means to households, and how they respond to the consequences and how much it costs them to do so. An analysis of a survey of 330 households shows that they have been suffering from various severities of impacts of land subsidence for an extended period. Whereas some of the households respond to the impacts by making small preparations or adapting to the damages, others can do nothing due to a lack of money and their continuously declining earning capacity. Thus, the affected households are effectively throwing money into a bottomless pit. We argue that these households must escape the vicious circle caused by land subsidence by increasing their income capacity or even abandoning the affected areas.

For the Greater Good?—A Critical Reflection on Assessing Indirect Economic Effects Caused by Large Transport Projects

Investing in large transport projects affects the (potential) economic development of metropolitan areas. Yet, very little critical research has been performed to understand how to assess these effects. The relationship between infrastructure investments and regional economic development is complex and indirect, and many theoretical and methodological difficulties remain. On the one hand, the assumption that investing in infrastructure is important to sustain economic growth is sometimes doubted. On the other hand, it is argued that investments in infrastructure enhance the accessibility of urban regions and that in the slipstream of such investments, social problems in urban regions can be tackled as well. Despite these contrasting views, there is at least a consensus that transport infrastructure development depends on economic development and vice versa. Yet, in many cases, the method of assessing economic impacts highly affects the results. Therefore, this paper focuses on a critical reflection of methods for estimating economic effects of infrastructure investments. A critical evaluation is made based on Indonesian and Japanese cases. After conducting in-depth desk research on both cases, we found that the broader effects on affected group of people tend to be overlooked due to the problems of time and space dimensions, the chain reaction of effects, and inappropriate data practices. The assessment on the appraisal processes tends to overlook the broader economic implication due to narrow focus and the concept of efficiency of economic theory.

New Patterns of County In-Situ Urbanization and Rural Development: Perspective of E-Commerce

Starting with the connotation of e-commerce and its development in counties,this paper analyzes the impact of e-commerce upon the urbanization pattern in China,and argues that influenced by the growing popularity of e-commerce in the internet era,human resources and economies at all city levels will get increasingly equal access to opportunities,and the centrality of big cities is compromised.In addition,counties and villages within their jurisdiction are presented with unprecedented opportunities.Development in rural areas will achieve a radical transition from being industrialization-driven to information-driven.This paper further sheds light on the fact that under this new urbanization trend,county in-situ urbanization and rural development driven by e-commerce will be a new approach toward urbanization in China.Then,in-depth analysis into the connotation and approaches of county in-situ urbanization is given,alongside with three different patterns for rural development which are the extension pattern,intervention pattern,and endogenesis pattern respectively,providing implication for the new urbanization in the context of information age of China.

Why High-Speed Railway Stations Continue China's Leapfrog Urbanization:Institutional Parameters of Urban Development

An ambitious program of High-Speed Railway (HSR) is under construction in China and already soon the network will overtake its counterparts in Europe. Reflecting on experiences in Europe, the authors explore the conditions for place making qualities of six new HSR station areas in China. The superb inter-city connectivity of the new infrastructure nodes raises a lot of expectations about the economic and social potential of the station areas, but the experiences in Europe thus far are very differentiated. With regards to the attraction of economic activities usually the existing differences between different economic regions are reproduced rather than shaping completely new conditions. Also the expectations of developing completely new integrated urban centers around stations in the urban periphery are rather ambitious. The paper questions the planning responses to HSR development in Chinese cities and investigates the institutional conditions that frame these responses. The authors explore how the plans for Chinese HSR station development account for their objectives and reflect on the potential of the station area planning by investigating the institutional parameters of urban development.

Geo-analytical question-answering with GIS

Question Answering(QA),the process of computing valid answers to questions formulated in natural language,has recently gained attention in both industry and academia.Translating this idea to the realm of geographic information systems(GIS)may open new opportunities for data scientists.In theory,analysts may simply ask spatial questions to exploit diverse geographic information resources,without a need to know how GIS tools and geodata sets interoperate.In this outlook article,we investigate the scientific challenges of geo-analytical question answering,introducing the problems of unknown answers and indirect QA.Furthermore,we argue why core concepts of spatial information play an important role in addressing this challenge,enabling us to describe analytic potentials,and to compose spatial questions and workflows for generating answers.

中亚地区能源投资网络演化与新兴能源权力——跨国并购视角

Central Asia is emerging as an important pole of global economic and political power,thanks to its unique location at the heart of Eurasia and its abundance in energy reserves.This study explores the social power change in Central Asia from the perspective of cross-border mergers and acquisitions(M&A)by using the social network method.The main results are as follows:(1)The complexity of the energy M&A network has significantly decreased after the financial crisis in 2008.In the meantime,energy M&A became an important way to enhance energy power for buyer countries.Betweenness centrality is becoming the most significant factor affecting energy power,yet the effect of out-degree is weakening.(2)The community underwent multifaceted restructuring,which reflected the shift of energy power in Central Asia.Kazakhstan is the most powerful country in the energy sector in Central Asia.In addition,East Asian countries/regions,represented by China,are actively enhancing their energy power.(3)Different M&A modes reflect various M&A motivations of countries in the energy sector.In the future,more efforts should be made to promote the establishment of a pragmatic and efficient multilateral energy cooperation mechanism and strength the cooperation of the economy and energy finance when China participates in the energy market in Central Asia.

全球城市交通出行方式和出行目的地选择对新型冠状病毒传播的影响

城市交通出行方式和出行目的地的选择与新型冠状病毒的传播具有关联性.本研究基于2020年2~12月期间,苹果和谷歌公司记录的全球58个城市的交通出行报告,通过多变量时间序列分析,研究了城市交通出行行为对每日确诊病例的影响.研究发现,在全球尺度,与出行目的地相关的行为活动对每日确诊病例的贡献最大,其次是传染源和出行方式.在三类出行方式中,开车是最安全的通勤方式.而在一些大城市,步行的风险显著提高.虽然公众对乘坐公共交通比较担心,但该出行方式在部分城市反而是相对安全的.在六类出行目的地中,与车站和工作地相关的活动对疫情的传播贡献最大,而与药店和公园相关的活动对疫情传播的贡献最小.同时发现,建城区人口密度和口罩使用率在不同时期对病毒传播的影响具有差异性.该研究有助于为交通出行政策的制定提供依据,有助于市政在控制和预防病毒流行的同时保持城市开放.

The global climate monitor system:from climate data-handling to knowledge dissemination

This paper summarizes our work on building a data model and a geovisualization tool that provides access to global climate data:the Global Climate Monitor Web Viewer.Linked to this viewer,a complete set of climate-environmental indicators capable of displaying climate patterns on a global scale that is accessible to any potential user(scientists and laypeople)will be built and published using the same online application.The data currently available correspond to the CRU TS3.21 version of the Climate Research Unit(University of East Anglia)database–a product that provides data at a spatial resolution of half of a degree in latitude and longitude,spanning January 1901 to December 2012,on a monthly basis.Since January 2013,the datasets feeding the system have been the GHCN-CAMS temperature dataset and the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre(GPCC)First Guess precipitation dataset.Climatologists,hydrologists,planners and non-experts users such as media workers,policymakers,non-profit organizations,teachers or students,can access useful climatological information through the Global Climate Monitor system.

Finding and sharing GIS methods based on the questions they answer

Geographic information has become central for data scientists of many disciplines to put their analyzes into a spatio-temporal perspective.However,just as the volume and variety of data sources on the Web grow,it becomes increasingly harder for analysts to be familiar with all the available geospatial tools,including toolboxes in Geographic Information Systems(GIS),R packages,and Python modules.Even though the semantics of the questions answered by these tools can be broadly shared,tools and data sources are still divided by syntax and platform-specific technicalities.It would,therefore,be hugely beneficial for information science if analysts could simply ask questions in generic and familiar terms to obtain the tools and data necessary to answer them.In this article,we systematically investigate the analytic questions that lie behind a range of common GIS tools,and we propose a semantic framework to match analytic questions and tools that are capable of answering them.To support the matching process,we define a tractable subset of SPARQL,the query language of the Semantic Web,and we propose and test an algorithm for computing query containment.We illustrate the identification of tools to answer user questions on a set of common user requests.