CitiesPub Date : 2024-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105490
{"title":"Varying influences of the built environment on household travel in the United States – An update with 36 diverse regions and machine learning","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105490","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105490","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>People's daily travel behavior can have far-reaching impacts on issues ranging from climate change and public health to social equity. This study addresses a gap in the literature regarding the effects of built environments on travel behavior using a large (one million trips from 100,000 households), geographically precise (household XY coordinates), and multiregional (36 regions) dataset and machine learning analysis (boosted regression trees, BRT). BRT models were estimated in two stages for household VMT, walking, bicycling, and transit usage. The results show the built environment outweighs the impact of socioeconomics in all mode choice models and were significant in the trip generation models as well. Density and distance to transit were the most consistently influential built environment variables across the models estimated. Nonlinear and threshold effects were found for all dependent variables, suggesting key applications for planning. Suggested values are provided for minimizing VMT and maximizing active travel and transit usage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2024-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105484
{"title":"Digital Twin Technology for sustainable urban development: A review of its potential impact on SDG 11 in New Zealand","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105484","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105484","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid rate of urbanization and increased infrastructural complexities significantly affects achieving the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11). Digital Twin Technology (DTT) has emerged as a promising and transformative tool, yet there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of its potential impact on SDG 11 within the New Zealand (NZ) context. This research examines how DTT can advance SDG11 by analysing its application, benefits, challenges, and implications within the NZ context. The novelty of this study lies in its use of a mixed-method approach as it integrates NZ specific trend analysis, keyword analysis, and an interrelationship network diagram. This comprehensive methodology employed provides a unique understanding on how DTT advancement can be adapted to NZ's urban landscape. The findings highlight critical challenges, including data integration, cross sector collaboration, and governance barriers which hinder widespread adoption. The study underscores the importance of Knowledge Sharing and Transfer (KS&T) to translate insights into local actions effectively. In addition, the interrelationship network diagram highlights the need for a holistic approach towards DTT implementation in the context of urban sustainability. These insights can play a fundamental role for guiding policymakers and shaping urban development strategies both in NZ and globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2024-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105493
{"title":"Age disparities and socioeconomic factors for commuting distance in Beijing by explainable machine learning","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105493","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105493","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing commuting issues faced by residents in China's megacities have led to a growing body of literature on commuting equality. However, longitudinal evidence on the heterogeneous and nonlinear associations between socioeconomics and commuting distances across different age groups remains unknown. This study employs a large-scale dataset of location-based data from mobile devices to identify age disparities in commuting patterns, home-work balance, and commuting distance. We take the commuting patterns in Beijing as a case study. Employing the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) machine learning model and the Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method, we examined and explained the nonlinear interactive effects of individual and socioeconomic characteristics on commuting distance. The results revealed significant age disparities in the work-home balance within Beijing, with young individuals tending to have longer intra-city commuting distances than the old. This study highlights the impacts of individual and socioeconomic attributes on commuting disparities across age groups. Housing prices emerged as the most significant factor explaining commuting distance, followed by the importance of achieving a suitable home-work balance for young people. The spatial contradiction between housing and employment opportunities has played a crucial role in shaping commuting patterns. These insights contribute to urban planning efforts aimed at achieving social equity in commuting and enhancing the overall quality of life in cities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2024-10-13DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105488
{"title":"“It is no longer the sunshine city, it is now a dump site city”: Discursive construction of urban space and street trading in Harare, Zimbabwe","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105488","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105488","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Street trading, a highly contentious phenomenon in many Global South cities, represents an interplay of power, resistance, and urban governance. In this paper, we use Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to interrogate how street traders are portrayed in media and institutional discourses, providing insights into the discursive construction of urban space in Harare, Zimbabwe. Methodologically, the study draws on a dataset consisting of interviews with urban practitioners, and policymakers, as well as an analysis of media representations. The debate related to urban space and street trading in Harare has been largely one-sided for many years, dominated by a top-down discourse of power that pathologizes, marginalizes and stigmatizes street traders as “agents of urban disorder, diseases and pollution”, “economic parasites” and “criminals”. The success of these hegemonic discourses has justified and legitimized regressive policies of displacement, eviction, and penalization, thereby undermining street traders' contributions to the urban economy and livelihoods. Ultimately, this study contributes to the growing body of research on street trading in Global South cities, shedding light on the power structures and ideological underpinnings within the urban discourse. The findings of this study aim to inform more inclusive urban governance practices that acknowledge the rights of marginalized groups.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427157","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Energy taxes recycling as an instrument for the mitigation of the expenditure on energy products of vulnerable households in the European Union","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103787","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103787","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Environmental problems, particularly climate change, have raised awareness of the need to decarbonize the energy sector. Several policies have been followed worldwide, including high energy taxes in European countries. However, simultaneously, many countries still suffer from energy poverty, and energy taxation only aggravates this problem. Considering this situation, this research proposes implementing green tax reform in European countries where energy tax revenues would be used to alleviate energy poverty. This article analyzes the situation of European Union Member States regarding some relevant variables such as energy tax revenues and energy poverty indicators (inability to keep the home adequately safe, low final energy consumption in households, arrears on utility bills, and electricity prices). The results show a significant variation in the total share required for energy bills, ranging from 5 % to 40 %. Countries with high energy tax revenues suffering from energy poverty are identified as potential candidates for the proposed reform. It was found that Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Slovakia are good candidates for reform. This situation is combined with an inefficient tax policy, resulting in a large amount of money being transferred for direct and indirect fossil fuels and environmentally harmful subsidies. An energy tax recycling scheme focused on reducing energy consumption using energy efficiency measures, for example, under a scheme of Public Energy Services, can be optimally combined to redistribute the energy tax income to reduce energy poverty and contribute to decarbonization if combined with a new scheme that removes harmful fossil fuel subsidies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142424924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Navigating emergent effects in off-grid systems: Ostrom's design principles and rural energy policy implications","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103786","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.erss.2024.103786","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The study explores the resilience of Ostrom Design Principles (ODPs) in the governance of rural community off-grid systems as complex adaptive socio-technical systems displaying emergent behavior, and whose environment is constantly changing and unpredictable. Applying Systems thinking and feedback loop analysis, this study utilizes Gwere-Luzira, a rural Sub-Saharan African community off-grid project, as a case study to investigate the complexity of interactions between the institutional and physical infrastructures of off-grid systems, their external environment, the influence of people-culture on their design and functioning, and the resulting emergent effects stemming from these interactions. It identifies emergent effects, such as poor infrastructure access, limited local economic prospects, and community disengagement, as challenges to the robustness of the ODP framework, hindering off-grid system sustainability. The analysis maps out reinforcing feedback loops to trace perceived governance failures from their root causes to cascading impacts across subsystems, while proposing balancing loops to counteract negative spirals and enhance project sustainability. The study recommends integrating ODPs with broader strategies to address external challenges outside of host community control and ensure the long-term viability of community-owned off-grid systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48384,"journal":{"name":"Energy Research & Social Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142424868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Energy PolicyPub Date : 2024-10-12DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114373
{"title":"Economy-wide impact of targeting and repurposing fossil fuel subsidies in Malaysia","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114373","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114373","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fossil fuel subsidy reform is a critical strategy for fostering cleaner energy systems and promoting sustainable development. The Malaysian government has signalled commitments to implement a targeted fuel subsidy reform where vulnerable households would be unaffected by the direct impact of higher fuel prices even after the reform. But despite this commitment, little is known about the economy-wide impact of the reform. This study employs a dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to examine the economic, social, and environmental impact of a targeted fuel subsidy removal in Malaysia under a spontaneous and gradual implementation scenario. The research also explores the impact of direct cash transfers to households and reinvestment in key sectors of the economy in the aftermath of the reform. Results from the study show that subsidy removal brings positive gains to the Malaysian economy in the medium to long term. Sequencing the phaseout of subsidies, providing compensation to vulnerable households, and reinvesting in education, health, transportation, and food assistance helps to avoid short-term adverse effects on households and output. The study recommends the need for a gradual removal of fuel subsidies that is accompanied by cash transfers to vulnerable households and investment in key sectors of the economy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11672,"journal":{"name":"Energy Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":9.3,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142421098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
World DevelopmentPub Date : 2024-10-12DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106797
{"title":"Energy Trade Access and Market Monopoly: Evidence from China’s Power Sector","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106797","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106797","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We theoretically and empirically investigate the effect of energy trade access on the monopoly power of China’s power sector. We construct plant-level import and export tariff shocks, and calculate the market power markups through the joint estimation of the restricted cost function and the inverse supply relation. Exploiting the variations in plant-level tariffs, we find that a 1% cut in energy import tariffs leads to a decrease in market power markups by 10.54%. This effect is driven by a combination of a price drop in the product market and reduced marginal cost in the input market. However, the declines in marginal cost are small relative to the falls in prices, due to trade-induced increases in capital demand (and price) partially offsetting the savings in energy cost. By identifying additional potential channels, we validate the presence of the classical Ricardian effect and the Schumpeterian effect. Our results demonstrate that import tariff reductions result in substantial net trade gains.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48463,"journal":{"name":"World Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
CitiesPub Date : 2024-10-12DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105498
{"title":"Cultivating change: Exploring policies, challenges, and solutions to support city region food systems development in six European countries","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cities.2024.105498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>City Region Food System (CRFS) initiatives exist in various forms, featuring a diversified set of social, economic and environmental performances and impacts. The CRFS approach includes all actors, processes, and relationships involved in the food chain (from production and processing to the distribution and consumption of food) in a given geographical area. Therefore, it encompasses the most crucial elements for facilitating interactions between rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Existing policies may have the potential to support or hinder the progress and development of CRFS initiatives. This research addresses international and national policies as well as the related constraints and challenges that affect CRFS development in six European countries. The overall goal of this research relates to the research questions of how this all-encompassing policy system impacts urban food production and how stakeholders, researchers, and practitioners perceive the current policies at the multi-national level. Various strategic plans with positive and negative impacts, as well as current policy gaps, were compiled from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Data collection was conducted through desktop research, stakeholder interviews and a workshop. Thus, expanding upon the analysis of the results, the study discusses the current challenges in the field of CRFS policies by providing examples, proposing potential improvements, and offering recommendations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48405,"journal":{"name":"Cities","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142427079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Greening urban mobility: Assessing environmental and functional characteristics of bicycle infrastructure in the post-pandemic Era","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103200","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103200","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainability and CO<sub>2</sub> reduction are vital topics nowadays. In urban and suburban contexts, road traffic is widely recognised as one of the primary sources of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions. Thus, to reduce environmental pollution, there is an urgent need to replace vehicles with more sustainable transport modes. In this regard, electric bikes and scooters are emerging rapidly, especially with the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic, leading to a significant redesign of cities. Moreover, the rapid development of bike lanes is reshaping contemporary urbanism following the evidence provided by recent studies, which proved that more considerable investment in bicycle infrastructure encourages bicycle travel. The recent pandemic and current energy crisis are prompting the demand for defining tools to improve the planning and design of bicycle infrastructure. Hence, it is essential to analyse the environmental and geometric-functional characteristics of the infrastructure to be implemented and its temporality (whether definitive or pop-up lanes). Above all, the perception of different groups of users should be considered to understand the possible attitudes related to the perception of safety, comfort, and sustainability. Therefore, this study demonstrates using the full consistency method (FUCOM) to detect the most suitable cycle lane alternative amongst the design models (5) for cycle lanes developed by a group of design field experts. The paper illustrates the findings from a pilot study in Palermo, Italy. The adopted results show that a separated lane was the most favoured type. The research findings are equally valuable for policymakers to promote sustainable urban cycling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48376,"journal":{"name":"Habitat International","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142428016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}