A practical water–energy–climate solution for sustainable and resilient coastal cities: smart use of seawater in municipal services

Municipal services for buildings in developed (sub)tropical coastal cities contributed 18% of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in 2020. One mitigatory solution is the direct use of seawater for district cooling and toilet flushing, which has been applied in Hong Kong on various scales and achieved 30% water and energy savings. However, no systematic evaluation and strategy for this solution are available. Herein, we develop a high-resolution quantitative scheme to elaborate the co-benefits and optimal strategies for expanding this use of seawater. We find that in Hong Kong, Jeddah, and Miami, using local seawater at the city-scale would achieve life-cycle GHG mitigation (42%–56%), energy savings (45%–49%), and freshwater savings (11%–43%). High-resolution analysis reveals that population density and district marginal performance are essential to optimize the efficiency of seawater use. Our scheme confirms the utility of seawater for municipal services and is an effective tool for innovative municipal-service enhancement.

Assessment of Prevention Performance Target Rainfall in Coastal Cities with Sea Level Rise

The rise in average sea level due to climate change aggravates the vulnerability of coastal areas, increasing the likelihood of flooding due to erosion of outfall to the coast and rivers. Therefore, the design standards of defense facilities should be strengthened to address such increased risk of flooding. Accordingly, in this study, a plan to adjust the disaster prevention performance target rainfall for two research areas was selected in consideration of the regional characteristics of the coastal area and the average sea level rise predicted for 2050, and the disaster prevention performance target rainfall increased from at least 89% to up to 169%. Based on these results, it is believed that this study can serve as a basis for improving data on rainfall targets for disaster prevention performance with consideration of future sea level rise in coastal cities.

Establishment of a Flood Nomograph in Coastal Areas Considering Sea-Level Rise

Climate change caused by global warming is raising the average sea level. The rise in sea level leads to an increase in river water levels within the affected range, which increases the possibility of flooding in water due to erosion of outfall to the coast and rivers. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize in advance the risk of occurrence of domestic flooding, which is aggravated by the effect of rising sea levels, and to construct new boundary conditions for predicting urban flooding accordingly. In this study, Flood Nomograph for two research areas was selected in consideration of the regional characteristics of coastal areas and the scenario of sea level rise. As a result of the analysis, as the sea level rose, the amount of flood critical rainfall decreased numerically. It is believed that this study can be used as a necessary basis for improving flood forecast and warning data considering sea level rise in coastal cities in the future.

Assessing measurement invariance of the CETSCALE in Guangxi, China

PurposeThis study sets about assessing measurement invariance of the widely used CETSCALE in the context of an economically disadvantageous inland city in China. The 10-item CETSCALE (Shimp and Sharma 1987) was administered to a college-level student sample (male = 55 and female = 198) in Nanning City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. AMOS v. 20 was used to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and assess measurement invariance across gender.Design/methodology/approachThis study is designed to assess measurement invariance of the 10-item CETSCALE with student sample in Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi, China.FindingsThe results support full metric invariance and factor variance invariance and partial scalar invariance and measurement residual invariance for the refined 5-item CETSCALE. It is found that college students in an economically underdeveloped multi-ethnic inland city like Nanning were less consumer ethnocentric than those in the affluent coastal cities.Originality/valueThis is the first study to assess measurement invariance of the CETSCALE with student sample from an economically underdeveloped multi-ethnic inland city in China.