Continued Monitoring and Modeling of Xingfeng Solid Waste Landfill Settlement, China, Based on Multiplatform SAR Images

Continued settlement monitoring and modeling of landfills are critical for land redevelopment and safety assurance. This paper adopts a MTInSAR technique for time-series monitoring of the Xingfeng landfill (XFL) settlement. A major challenge is that the frequent and significant settlement in the initial stage after the closure of landfills can affect the coherence of interferograms, thus hindering the monitoring of settlement by MTInSAR. We analyzed the factors that can directly affect the temporal decorrelation of landfills and adopted a 3D phase unwrapping approach to correct the phase unwrapping errors caused by such deformation gradient. SAR images from four platforms, including 50 Sentinel-1A, 12 Radarsat-2, 4 ALOS-2, and 2 TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X images, are collected to measure the settlement and thickness of the landfill. The settlement accuracy is evaluated by a cross-evaluation between Radarsat-2 and Sentinel-1A that have similar temporal coverages. We analyzed the spatial characteristics of settlement and the relationship between the settlement and thickness. Further, we modeled the future settlement of the XFL with a hyperbolic function model. The results showed that the coherence in the initial stage after closure of the XFL is primarily affected by temporal decorrelation caused by considerable deformation gradient compared with spatial decorrelation. Settlement occurs primarily in the forward slope of the XFL, and the maximum line-of-sight (LOS) settlement rate reached 0.808 m/year from August 2018 to May 2020. The correlation between the settlement and thickness is 0.62, indicating an obvious relationship between the two. In addition, the settlement of younger areas is usually greater than that of older areas.

Stakeholder Analysis and Social Network Analysis in the Decision-Making of Industrial Land Redevelopment in China: The Case of Shanghai

Currently, many large Chinese cities have entered the postindustrial era, leaving a large amount of vacant, inefficiently utilized industrial land and buildings in the inner cities. Industrial land redevelopment (ILR) can benefit cities in multiple ways, such as by increasing urban public space, improving the quality of life of citizens, and improving the environment, and is considered an effective approach to enhance people’s wellbeing. However, large-scale ILR projects often raise a series of social issues in practice, such as injustice and inequality. To address complex urban issues, ILR requires multifaceted, coordinated, and comprehensive strategies involving multitudinous stakeholders. A profound understanding of diverse stakeholders in the decision-making of ILR is a vital step in enhancing the sustainability of ILR. The aim of this paper is to use Shanghai as a case study to understand the diverse stakeholders and their participation during the decision-making of ILR in China. Interviews and questionnaires were used to collect data. Stakeholder analysis (SA) and social network analysis (SNA) were used as complementary research methodologies in this paper. First, stakeholders who participated in the decision-making of ILR were identified. Then, the characteristics of various stakeholders, including power, interests, and knowledge, were analyzed. Following this, the interactive relationships among stakeholders were explored, and their network structure was examined. Finally, policy recommendations were presented regarding stakeholder participation problems in the decision-making of ILR in China.

Development and Revitalization of Industrial Areas

SummarySubject and purpose of work: The basic challenge for post-industrial areas is their inclusion in the socio-economic circulation and assigning them new functions in urban structures.Materials and methods: This paper focuses on the analysis of selected cases of transformation of post-industrial areas for the following purposes: service, housing, cultural and educational.Results: Despite a significant possibility of developing post-industrial areas for housing, cultural and educational or service purposes, as shown by the present case study, many barriers for land redevelopment can still be found. They include, among others, information, financial or system barriers.Conclusions: Unregulated legal status, insufficient technical infrastructure, existing buildings, existing ecological contamination, and above all, limited availability of data and information on the condition of a given area.

Revitalizing Brownfields Using Law and Policy: Lessons in Process from Baraboo, Wisconsin

This case study focuses on laws and policies used in Baraboo, Wisconsin land redevelopment projects, including the state laws that regulate cleanup of environmentally contaminated properties, the authorizing laws behind the projects, and the policies incorporated into the projects. It does this by highlighting two successful land reuse projects in the City of Baraboo, Wisconsin: the Veolia Property and the Alliant Property. During the redevelopment of these brownfield sites, Baraboo sought remedy to environmental contamination and maintain the community’s health. Two grant programs assisted Baraboo in achieving these goals: the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Grant and the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Grant. The Brownfields Grant provided Baraboo the ability to conduct health monitoring with assistance from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. These redevelopment projects in Baraboo demonstrate successful interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as the role of law and policy in removing environmental hazards to reuse properties and promote human health by reducing exposure to environmental contaminants. Baraboo used these laws and policies to revitalize brownfields and account for community health in the process. Other localities and states can use Baraboo’s experience as a model to redevelop their own contaminated properties and promote environmental health through the use of their jurisdiction’s laws and policies.