scholarly journals Variations in Levels and Sources of Atmospheric VOCs during the Continuous Haze and Non-Haze Episodes in the Urban Area of Beijing: A Case Study in Spring of 2019

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Lihui Zhang ◽  
Xuezhong Wang ◽  
Hong Li ◽  
Nianliang Cheng ◽  
Yujie Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diesel Exhaust ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Photochemical Reaction ◽  
Petrochemical Industry ◽  
Exhaust Emission ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Source Contributions ◽  
The Government ◽  
Haze Days

To better evaluate the variations in concentration characteristics and source contributions of atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during continuous haze days and non-haze days, hourly observations of atmospheric VOCs were conducted using a continuous on-line GC-FID (Airmo VOC GC-866) monitoring system during 1–15 March 2019, in urban areas of Beijing, China. The results showed that the total VOC concentrations during haze days and non-haze days were 59.13 ± 31.08 μg/m3 and 16.91 ± 7.19 μg/m3, respectively. However, the average O3 concentrations during the two haze days were lower than those of non-haze days due to the extremely low concentrations at night instead of the reported lower photochemical reaction in daytime. The ratio of OH radical concentration during haze and non-haze days indicating that the rate of photochemical reaction during haze days was higher than those of non-haze days from 13:00–19:00. The stable air conditions and the local diesel emission at night were the main reasons for the decreased O3 concentrations during haze days. Six major sources were identified by positive matrix factorization (PMF), namely, diesel exhaust, combustion, gasoline evaporation, solvent usage, gasoline exhaust, and the petrochemical industry, contributing 9.93%, 25.29%, 3.90%, 16.88%, 35.59% and 8.41%, respectively, during the whole observation period. The contributions of diesel exhaust and the petrochemical industry emissions decreased from 26.14% and 6.43% during non-haze days to 13.70% and 2.57%, respectively, during haze days. These reductions were mainly ascribed to the emergency measures that the government implemented during haze days. In contrast, the contributions of gasoline exhaust increased from 34.92% during non-haze days to 48.77% during haze days. The ratio of specific VOC species and PMF both showed that the contributions of gasoline exhaust emission increased during haze days. The backward trajectories, potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) showed that the air mass of VOCs during haze days was mainly affected by the short-distance transportation from the southwestern of Hebei province. However, the air mass of VOCs during non-haze days was mainly affected by the long-distance transportation from the northwest.

Flood alleviation in a heavily urbanized area – Kai Tak Nullah, Hong Kong

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan K. L. Chan ◽  
Colin K. C. Wong ◽  
Robin H. N. Lee ◽  
Mike W. H. Cho
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Hydraulic Modelling ◽  
The Public ◽  
Design Considerations ◽  
Urbanized Area ◽  
Development Area ◽  
The Government ◽  
Exercise Design

The existing Kai Tak Nullah flows from Po Kong Village Road along Choi Hung Road and Tung Tau Estate into Kai Tak Development Area before discharging into the Victoria Harbour. Historically its upstream has been subject to flooding under storm conditions and this has had serious repercussions for the adjacent urban areas. A study has been commissioned by the Drainage Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), China to investigate the flood mechanisms and to provide flood alleviation measures by improving the capacity of the Kai Tak Nullah. In addition to flood alleviation, there is a strong public aspiration to rehabilitate the Kai Tak Nullah by a comparatively natural river design. Since the Kai Tak Nullah is located within a heavily urbanized area, traffic and environmental impacts are also highly concerned. The final flood alleviation scheme has thus had to strike a balance among the aforesaid factors with assistance from the hydraulic modelling utilizing InfoWorks Collection Systems (CS) software. This paper presents the public engagement exercise, design considerations, methodologies, and recommendations regarding the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Kai Tak Nullah.

Impact of Elected Women Representatives of Panchayati Raj in Physical and Financial and Business Assets Development of Rural Women: A Study among the Rural Women’s of Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu[1]

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalaichelvi Sivaraman ◽  
Rengasamy Stalin
Keyword(s):  
Rural Women ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Panchayati Raj

This research paper is the part of Research Project entitled “Impact of Elected Women Representatives in the Life and Livelihood of the Women in Rural Areas: With Special Reference to Tiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu” funded by University of Madras under UGC-UPE Scheme.The 73rd and 74th amendments of the Constitution of India were made by the government to strengthen the position of women and to create a local-level legal foundation for direct democracy for women in both rural and urban areas. The representation for women in local bodies through reservation policies amendment in Constitution of India has stimulated the political participation of women in rural areas. However, when it’s comes to the argument of whether the women reservation in Panchayati Raj helps or benefits to the life and livelihood development of women as a group? The answer is hypothetical because the studies related to the impact of women representatives of Panchayati Raj in the life and livelihood development of women was very less. Therefore, to fill the gap in existing literature, the present study was conducted among the rural women of Tiruvannamalai district to assess the impact of elected women representatives in the physical and financial and business development of the women in rural areas. The findings revealed that during the last five years because of the women representation in their village Panjayati Raj, the Physical Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (55.8%) and Highly (23.4%) and the Financial and Business Asset of the rural women were increased or developed moderately (60.4%) and Highly (18.7%).

Land Loss with Compensation: What Are the Determinants of Income Among Households in Central Vietnam?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-55
Author(s):  
Nguyen Quang Phuc ◽  
A. C. M. (Guus) van Westen ◽  
Annelies Zoomers
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Land Loss ◽  
Central Vietnam ◽  
Compensation Packages ◽  
Household Members ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of household income following the loss of land owing to urban expansion in central Vietnam. Using data mainly from household surveys in the peri-urban areas of Hue city, the regression model indicates that demographic factors and livelihood strategy choices have important impacts on household income; financial compensation and support packages do not appear to be strong determinants of household income after the loss of land. This implies a failure of the current compensation programmes in the process of compulsory land acquisition, because the government believes that compensation packages make important contributions to livelihood reconstruction. This study suggests that investing in education and skill training for household members affected by land loss as well as assistance in converting compensation money into an adequate livelihood should be taken into consideration.

Reflections on the Acquisition of Land by Non-citizens in Botswana

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-204
Author(s):  
Boga Thura Manatsha
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Government ◽  
Tribal Land ◽  
Ownership Of Land ◽  
Land Transactions

There are rising public concerns about the acquisition of prime land by non-citizens/foreigners in Botswana, especially in the sprawling urban and peri-urban areas. Indians, Nigerians and Chinese, among others, are allegedly involved in such land transactions. There is a salient local resentment towards them and/or such transactions. Sensational media reports, emotive public statements by politicians, chiefs and government officials, and anger from ordinary citizens dominate the discourse. These emotive public debates about this issue warrant some academic comment. This article argues that the acquisition of land by foreigners in Botswana, in each land category—tribal, state and freehold—is legally allowed by the relevant laws. But this does not mean that citizens have no right to raise concerns and/or show their disapproval of some of these legal provisions. Aware of the public outcry, the government has since passed the Land Policy in 2015, revised in 2019, and amended the Tribal Land Act in 2018, not yet operational, to try and strictly regulate the acquisition of land by non-citizens. There is no readily available statistical data, indicating the ownership of land by foreigners in each land category. This issue is multifaceted and needs to be cautiously handled, lest it breeds xenophobia or the anti-foreigner sentiments.

scholarly journals Feasibility of a Dual-Fuel Engine Fuelled with Waste Vegetable Oil and Municipal Organic Fraction for Power Generation in Urban Areas

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
L. De Simio ◽  
M. Gambino ◽  
S. Iannaccone
Keyword(s):  
Vegetable Oil ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Process Efficiency ◽  
Exhaust Emission ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Spark Ignition Engines ◽  
Organic Fraction ◽  
Waste Vegetable Oil ◽  
Performance And Emissions ◽  
Cogeneration System

Biomass, in form of residues and waste, can be used to produce energy with low environmental impact. It is important to use the feedstock close to the places where waste are available, and with the shortest conversion pathway, to maximize the process efficiency. In particular waste vegetable oil and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste represent a good source for fuel production in urban areas. Dual fuel engines could be taken into consideration for an efficient management of these wastes. In fact, the dual fuel technology can achieve overall efficiencies typical of diesel engines with a cleaner exhaust emission. In this paper the feasibility of a cogeneration system fuelled with waste vegetable oil and biogas is discussed and the evaluation of performance and emissions is reported on the base of experimental activities on dual fuel heavy duty engine in comparison with diesel and spark ignition engines. The ratio of biogas potential from MSW and biodiesel potential from waste vegetable oil was estimated and it results suitable for dual fuel fuelling. An electric power installation of 70 kW every 10,000 people could be achieved.

scholarly journals Performance evaluation of non-thermal plasma on particulate matter, ozone and CO2 correlation for diesel exhaust emission reduction

2015 ◽  
Vol 276 ◽  
pp. 240-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meisam Babaie ◽  
Pooya Davari ◽  
Pouyan Talebizadeh ◽  
Firuz Zare ◽  
Hassan Rahimzadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Thermal Plasma ◽  
Diesel Exhaust ◽  
Emission Reduction ◽  
Exhaust Emission ◽  
Non Thermal Plasma

scholarly journals Rural–Urban Disparities in Access to Improved Sanitation in Indonesia: A Decomposition Approach

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110299
Author(s):  
Sri Irianti ◽  
Puguh Prasetyoputra
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Decomposition Analysis ◽  
Multivariate Regression Analysis ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Decomposition Approach ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Improved Sanitation ◽  
The Government

One of the targets in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is Target 6.2, aims to achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation. The Government of Indonesia targets universal access to improved sanitation in 2019. However, almost two out of five households in Indonesia are without access to improved sanitation. Moreover, access to improved sanitation is lower in rural areas than that in urban areas. Studies examining the drivers of the disparity in Indonesia are also limited. Therefore, this study was aimed at assessing the characteristics associated with the rural–urban disparity in access to improved sanitation facilities among households in Indonesia. We employed data from the 2016 Indonesian National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) comprising 290,848 households. The analysis was twofold. First, we fitted multivariate probit regression models using average marginal effects as the measure of association. We then conducted a detailed non-linear decomposition of the rural–urban disparity attributable to all the explanatory variables. The multivariate regression analysis suggested that households living in rural areas were 11.35% (95% confidence interval = [10.97, 11.72]) less likely to have access to improved sanitation facilities than those residing in urban areas. The decomposition analysis suggested that 48.78% are attributable to spatial, demographic, housing, and socio-economic factors, which meant that almost half of the inequalities could be reduced by equalizing these factors. The results provide a decomposition of factors amenable to curtail urban–rural inequalities. Hence, equity-oriented approaches to increasing access to improved sanitation should be prioritized to achieve universal access in 2030 in line with SDG Target 6.2.

Measurement and Analysis of Multidimensional Poverty Using Fuzzy Set Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 495-509
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty Index ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Measurement And Analysis ◽  
Individual Household ◽  
The Government

The study was carried out to measure and analyse aspect based multidimensional poverty in rural and urban Haryana using a fuzzy set approach. The necessary data for the study was obtained from the 69th round conducted in 2012 by the NSSO on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and housing conditions. The Totally Fuzzy and Relative Approach was used. The fuzzy multidimensional poverty index for rural, urban and overall Haryana was calculated based on drinking water, sanitation, and housing conditions. The results revealed that 33.28 percent of households in Haryana overall were multidimentionally poor, with 36.64 percent of households in rural and 30.46 percent in urban areas. The government should lay the water connections and water pipes, construction of individual household latrines, sanitary complex for women, school, and sanitation housing schemes for all BPL families under schemes initiated by the government to overcome poverty based on these aspects.

scholarly journals Environmental Vulnerability by Floods and Occupation of Permanent Preservation Area: An Approach about Three Cities of Midwest of Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Greyce Bernardes de Mello Rezende ◽  
Telma Lucia Bezerra Alves
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Satellite Imaging ◽  
Environmental Vulnerability ◽  
Industrial Buildings ◽  
Araguaia River ◽  
The Government ◽  
Very High

The purpose of this article is to identify the areas of environmental vulnerability by flooding in urban areas of the municipalities of Barra dos Garças - MT, Pontal do Araguaia - MT and Aragarças - GO; and demarcate the occupations in permanent preservation areas (PPAs) in the study area. The methodology uses variables such as time series of maximum quotas of the Araguaia River, from 1968 to 2014, the frequency of those floods, as well as the local level curves. From the junction of these data, it was stipulated the levels of environmental vulnerability by floods in five levels: very high, high, medium, low and very low. The results indicate that areas with very high vulnerability correspond to approximately 1,58 square kilometers which equals to 0.5% of the total area studied; the high vulnerability areas, have only 3.19 square kilometers, corresponding to 1% of the area; the medium vulnerability areas have 7.66 square kilometers, which corresponds to 2.41% of the area; low vulnerability areas, have 11.18 square kilometers of extension relating to 3.52% of the area; and finally the remainder of the study area was characterized as very low vulnerability. After this mapping, it was found by satellite imaging from Google earth software dated 2014, the main occupations in PPAs. The main uses and occupations refer to human activities related to tourism, as well as commercial, residential and industrial buildings. It was found that it is of salutary importance that the Government enforces the fulfillment of the restrictions set out in the Forest Code, preventing that more occupations occur in PPAs and areas subject to flooding. Moreover, the mapping of areas of flooding is also a tool for future public policies that aim to guide the recommended areas to urban expansion, as well as ordering the use and occupation of land by developing zoning.

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