Bottom-up Demand Research Articles

Megacity urban green space equity evaluation and its driving factors from supply and demand perspective: A case study of Tianjin

Urban green space (UGS) equity is crucial for sustainable urban development, social harmony, and stability. Given the escalating environmental justice crisis in megacity UGS, ensuring spatial justice and social equity in these areas is vital for sustainable development. This study analyzes the equity of UGS in megacity by assessing both spatial equity from the supply perspective and social equity from the demand perspective while exploring key factors driving this equity. This study found that: 1) The green Gini coefficient in Tianjin's central city, stands at 0.7787, indicating significant spatial inequity, with small UGS exhibiting the highest, followed by medium and large spaces. 2) There is a varying perception of UGS equity across different socioeconomic groups, most pronounced in the center urban area, then in the encircling urban area and remote urban area, indicating a gradual diffusion of green equity from the city center outward. 3) Key external factors influencing UGS equity include economic development, population density, traffic patterns, and local environmental quality, while internal factors like accessibility and size also play a role in spatial equity. Thus, enhancing UGS equity in megacities requires not only top-down supply interventions but also bottom-up demand feedback mechanisms.

Aggregate demand response strategies for smart communities with battery-charging/switching electric vehicles

Demand response (DR) plays an important role in the peak shaving and load-shifting of a community, but the avalanche effect creates a huge obstacle in DR with uncoordinated usage of appliances and charging of electric vehicles (EVs). Recognizing the remarkably rising deployment of EVs, there is great potential to coordinate EVs' charging in a charging station or a battery switching station for providing DR. However, the potential benefits of the battery-switching EVs for providing DR and their impacts on the aggregate load of the community have not been fully studied. In this regard, the present study proposes two novel aggregate community-level DR strategies, i.e., a strategy employing battery-charging EVs and a strategy employing battery-switching EVs. The proposed strategies are compared with the conventional strategy that only incorporates community battery energy storage for enabling peak shaving. The cost optimization is conducted with optimization parameters including demand limits during different periods and the power and energy capacity of the battery energy storage system. A stochastic bottom-up demand model for households, a probabilistic model for predicting loads of EVs, and a redistribution time-of-use tariff are implemented in the optimization. A group with 20 households and 20 EVs in New York, USA is used in the case study. The results in the case study show that the total annual costs (electricity tariff cost and battery energy storage cost if any) are reduced by 63.3 %, 54.0 %, and 14.7 % under the battery-switching EV strategy, the battery-charging EV strategy, and the battery energy storage strategy compared to the base case (i.e., DR-free strategy), respectively. Additionally, the battery-switching EV strategy enables DR throughout the day with the maximum temporal flexibility. Last, the developed two EV strategies can provide a good stability of the household loads on the grid and avoid the avalanche effect.

1.5\xa0\xb0C pathways for the Global Industry Classification (GICS) sectors chemicals, aluminium, and steel

To achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, decarbonization targets and benchmarks for specific industry sectors are required. This opens up a whole new research area for energy modelling because although decarbonization pathways have been developed for countries, regions, or communities, few have been developed for industry sectors. In this research, we document the development of energy scenarios for industry sectors classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). A bottom-up energy demand analysis based on market projections for the chemical, aluminium, and steel industries forms the basis for scenario development, with the aim of completely decarbonizing the electricity and process heat supplies for these industries by 2050. We document the individual steps in the energy demand analyses based on industry-specific market projections and energy intensities. In the last step, the carbon budget is calculated. The complete decarbonization of the industries analysed seems possible based on the available technology.

District Drinking Water Planning for Sustainability in Maharashtra: Between Local and Global Scales

Sustainable rural drinking water is a widespread aim in India, and globally, from the household to district, state, and national scales. Sustainability issues in the rural drinking water sector range from increasing water demand to declining groundwater levels, premature deterioration of village schemes and services, inadequate revenues for operations and maintenance, weak capacity of water operators, frequently changing state and national policies, and destabilizing effects of climate change. This paper focuses on the special role of district-scale drinking water planning, which operates at the intersection between bottom-up water demand and top-down water programs. After surveying the challenges associated with bottom-up and top-down planning approaches, we present recent efforts to strengthen district and block drinking water planning in the state of Maharashtra. A combination of district interviews, institutional history, village surveys, GIS visualization, and planning workshops were used to advance district planning goals and methods. Results assess bottom-up processes of water demand; top-down water programs and finance; and intermediate-level planning at the district and block scales. Discussion focuses on potential improvements in district planning methods in Maharashtra.

Renewable energy analysis in indigenous communities using bottom-up demand prediction

This paper provides a methodology for the holistic analysis of hybrid renewable energy systems in rural communities. Electric demand is an important component for modeling and analysis of renewable energy systems. Typically, electric demand data is not available due to the internal privacy policies of utility providers. Therefore, this study proposes the use of bottom-up approaches for the development of the electric demand profile, considering the general homogeneity of residential and commercial buildings in rural communities. As a test case, this study develops the electric demand profile and investigates the technical and environmental feasibility of a hybrid renewable energy system for the New Town community on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (FBIR) in North Dakota. This study conducts the hybrid renewable energy system’s analysis by developing scripts in the LK scripting language and integrating System Advisor Model software’s open-source modules for modeling of renewable energy systems. The results for the validation testbed of this study show that hybrid renewable resources have higher ratios of energy used for self-consumption to the total energy generated compared to stand-alone wind and PV farms.

A multi-method approach for the integrative assessment of soil functions: Application on a coastal mountainous site of the Philippines

The projected increase of the world's population and the sustainability challenges the agricultural sector is facing, call for the enhancement of multi-functionality in agriculture in order to simultaneously provide food while meeting environmental targets.Here, we use the Functional Land Management (FLM) framework to assess the supply of and the demand for soil functions to inform agri-environmental policy for Udalo, a mountainous site in the Philippines. As many emerging communities in developing nations, Udalo is on the cusp of rapid development due to the construction of a major road increasing its accessibility and attractiveness for land investment.We assessed the supply of four soil functions in relation to six land-use types and four slope categories. The function “productivity” was assessed by interviews with 128 farmers, “habitat for biodiversity” by a vegetation survey, and “soil conservation” and “water conservation” via a literature review.The demand for functions was first assessed from the “top-down” policy perspective via interviews and reviews of policy targets, then complemented by integrating the local “bottom-up” demands for functions. These were assessed by applying a Q methodology, providing insights in the prioritisation of functions from the perspective of 22 local actors. Maps of supply and demands were generated for each function: supply maps by overlaying land use and slope category, top-down demand maps from administrative zoning/land-use plans, and bottom-up demand maps from local actors designation of geomorphological areas.Our results revealed contrasting demands for functions, as well as a heterogeneous spatial distribution of supply and demands. Discrepancies emerged (i) between supply and demand, (ii) between bottom-up (local) demands and the top-down (policy driven) demand, and (iii) among local actors perspectives.Our study indicates that discrepancies are not necessarily conflicting, but can uncover pathways for defining compromises, representing attainable policy entry points. Not one single development model can meet the needs of every stakeholder; however, a combination of land uses and management strategies can meet divergent interests and allow for optimisation of functions. This integrative approach of FLM provides a socially embedded biophysical analysis and is a valuable tool for the design of customized land-use and agri-environmental policies.

Knowledge Models for Spatial Planning: Ecosystem Services Awareness in the New Plan of Bari (Italy)

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) arises as a formal outcome of historical processes of understanding and interpreting settlements as complex ecological systems. Because of a straightforward, bottom-up demand for environment enhancement, this concept increasingly occurs in discourses, in narratives, in the demands of common people, triggering a new urban environmental awareness. This is now often arising spontaneously in the protocols of participatory plan processes, especially when planning for the future of complex environments such as city areas. The present study tries to elicit reflections around the significance of ES issues awareness in the case study of Bari (Italy), which is experiencing an inclusive and participatory process of construction of shared knowledge for the new master plan. Starting from an initial campaign of civic walks (CWs) along the urban neighborhoods and a subsequent semi-structured interview to the community, the paper carries out comparative analyses using problem-structuring methods (PMs), in order to evaluate and reflect on community behaviors and expectations about ES. Then the paper ends by emphasizing the role of structured knowledge-raising approaches, as critical activities to enhance ecosystem awareness in planning settlements as complex ecological systems.

Rural Development Policy: What does Ethiopia Need to Ascertain from China Rural Development Policy to Eradicate Rural Poverty?

The struggle against poverty is directly linked to saving rural people. Ethiopia and China have been implementing rural development policies and strategies to lead millions of rural poor out of poverty. The study investigates Ethiopia’s and China’s rural development policies since the major rural reform periods. The author utilizes data from World Bank (WB) and Food Association Organization (FAO) to scrutinize the consequence of rural development policies towards rural poverty eradication in China and Ethiopia. The paper also describes the literature and based on the data, a series of normative analyses examine the interaction among rural development policy, rural people, and poverty in both nations. The finding of our study strongly urges that the remarkable achievements of China in the huge reduction of rural poverty is basically due to the post-reform commitment of the Communist Party of China towards target-specific, research-based, achievement-oriented and pro-poor rural development policy and implementation. Ethiopia needs to develop and implement bottom-up demand based, top-down incentive oriented, target-specific, research based and pro-poor rural reform strategies to lead millions of rural people from multi-causal poverty. Formulating and implementing target specific, research-based, achievement-oriented and pro-poor rural development policies and strategies could play a substantial role to eradicate rural poverty in developing countries.

Regional-level exchange in Postclassic Central Mexico

This article uses evidence of regional-scale ceramic exchange to evaluate three proposed causal factors (Aztec imperial expansion, bottom-up demand, and elite competition) for the development of the market-based economy of Postclassic Central Mexico. The factors used to evaluate these models may be applied more widely to other cases of market development. Using previously published datasets, I compare the quantities and diversities of non-local ceramics from sites in the Basin of Mexico, Morelos, and the Toluca Valley regions of central highland Mexico across the Middle (CE 1150–1350) and Late (CE 1350–1521) Postclassic periods. The results show that the highest proportion of trade occurs under Aztec rule, and is dominated by ceramics exported out of the Basin of Mexico. However, areas outside the Basin of Mexico have higher numbers of trading partners, and these ties are well developed during the Middle Postclassic. These results provide partial support for both bottom-up demand and elite competition as causal factors for market development. This article also demonstrates the continued utility of legacy data and emphasizes the need to make basic data sets available for new analyses.

Agilometer: An Effective Implementation of Internet of Things for Agile Demand Response

Transactive based control mechanism (TCM) needs the IoT environment to fully explore flexibility potential from the end-users to offer to involved actors of the smart energy system. On the other hand, many IoT based energy management systems are already available to a market. This paper presents an ap-proach to connect the current demand-driven (top-down) energy management system (EMS) with a market-driven (bottom-up) demand response program. To this end, this paper considers multi-agent system (MAS) to realize the approach and introduces the concept and standardize design of Agilometer. It is described as an elemental agent of the approach. Proposed by authors Agilometer consists of three different functional blocks, which are formulated as an IoT platform according to the LonWorks standard. Moreover, the paper also performs an evaluation study in order to validate the proposed concept and design.

Western Economic Approaches to Banking Business: Are They Relevant to African Environment? No!

Without exaggeration from econometric jargon, this article attempts to explain narratively the extent to which the current western economic approaches to banking business is not so relevant to the much needed growth and development in most developing countries and what is an alternative financial system. It strongly suggests that, in development practice, while both modern and traditional finance aim to serve credit seekers, traditional finance derives from the grassroots, bottom-up demand of the poor for appropriate financial services, whereas modern finance derives from donor-driven, top-down supply, which may not be more relevant to the needed growth impact in the emerging world. As such, to supplement the financing activities of the existing commercial banks, the paper recommends that both the development finance banks (for provision of both macro and microloans), group lending schemes (to provide microloans) and adoption and utilization of indigenous African structures, institutions, practices and ideas in all spheres of economic life, including the financial one to nourish local businesses are inevitable in LDC’s development agenda within the new investment strategies among indigenous peoples that could help create holistic and sustainable communities.

Electricity supply and demand scenarios for the Southern African power pool

The study presents long-term electricity supply and demand scenarios for the twelve countries in the Southern African Power Pool, based on detailed bottom-up demand analysis for all countries and a set of internally consistent development scenarios. Total regional electricity demand and supply increase by eight to fourteen times from 2010 to 2070, with major shifts in both the sectoral composition of demand and the geography of demand, with South Africa becoming a much smaller share. On the supply side, the fuel mix shifts from coal and toward hydro in the medium term, but towards other renewables, such as solar, in the longer term, particularly in the scenarios with the fastest decline in capital costs for renewables. This leads to declining unit carbon dioxide emissions in the more aggressive scenarios, even though total power sector emissions still increase. The unit cost of generation for the entire region is stable across all scenarios. The potential transformation of the supply sector would require a fundamental shift in resource use, grid management and infrastructure development in the region, as well as greater regional integration. This also implies significant institutional capacity development in the SAPP Coordination Centre or similar structures for cooperative management of resources.

Ecosystem services in spatial planning and strategic environmental assessment—A European and Portuguese profile

Despite the growing interest on ecosystem services (ES) in research, significant knowledge gaps on ES integration in decision making subsist. Particularly, ES-focused profiles of governance frameworks for different policy areas, like spatial planning, are scarce. The goal of this research is to draw a profile on ES integration in the European policy and guidance framework for spatial planning and strategic environmental assessment (SEA). To investigate how this framework might be translated in a particular country of the EU and across different levels of governance, the Portuguese spatial planning and SEA framework is also analysed. To achieve these goals, a content analysis of policy and guidance documents was conducted. We have found a general low level of explicit ES integration, but some notions associated with ES are present in the documents, although more indirectly. Results highlight the potential role of SEA for ES integration. However, in the Portuguese context, the contribution of SEA in practice is currently limited and for the coming years ES will not be specifically targeted or integrated in regional spatial planning practice. Recent changes in the wider European governance framework contribute to potentially higher degrees of ES integration in the future. Nevertheless, bottom-up demand for improved ES integration in plans and policies will be an important driver. Our approach contributes to identify which policies, plans and guiding documents need improved ES integration.

Bottom-Up Demand Response by Following Local Energy Generation Voluntarily

We present an open-source low-budget hardware and software prototype of a smart plug, and the principles behind its capability to align power demand with a ref- erence signal, e.g. from local renewable energy genera- tion. We envision its use in conjunction with a platform that combines social-media and gamification elements with energy networks.

Climate policy: hard problem, soft thinking

Climate change is more uncertain, more global, and more long-term than most issues facing humanity. This trifecta makes a policy response that encompasses scientific correctness, public awareness, economic efficiency, and governmental effectiveness particularly difficult. Economic and psychological instincts impede rational thought. Elected officials, who cater to and foster voters’ misguided beliefs, compound the soft thinking that results. Beliefs must change before unequivocal symptoms appear and humanity experiences the climate-change equivalent of a life-altering heart attack. Sadly, it may well take dramatic loss to jolt the collective conscience toward serious action. In the long run, the only solution is a bottom-up demand leading to policies that appropriately price carbon and technological innovation, and that promote ethical shifts toward a world in which low-carbon, high-efficiency living is the norm. In the short term, however, popular will is unlikely to drive serious action on the issue. Policy makers can and must try to overcome inherent psychological barriers and create pockets of certainty that link benefits of climate policy to local, immediate payoffs. It will take high-level scientific and political leadership to redirect currently misguided market forces toward a positive outcome.

Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Demand Forecasts: The Value of Shared Point-of-Sale Data in the Retail Supply Chain

Accurate demand forecasts are critical to maintaining customer service levels and minimizing total costs, yet increasingly difficult to achieve. Using weekly point-of-sale (POS) and order data for 10 ready-to-eat cereal stock-keeping units from 18 regional U.S. grocery distribution centers, this research empirically investigates two demand forecasting issues: (1) the accuracy of top-down versus bottom-up demand forecasts; and (2) whether shared POS data improve demand forecast accuracy. The results reveal a previously unexplored relationship between demand forecast methodology and the use of shared POS data. We find that the superiority of the top-down or bottom-up forecasting as the more accurate demand forecast method depends on whether shared POS data are used.

Embracing Free Trade Agreements, Korean Style: From Developmental Mercantilism to Developmental Liberalism

This study analyzes how and to what extent South Korea has embedded developmental liberalism into its free trade agreement (FTA) initiative, departing from its traditional focus on developmental mercantilism. In the wake of the global economic crisis of 2008-09 and the subsequent expansion of government interventionism across the world, the developmental state model has attracted renewed scholarly attention. It offers a useful conceptual framework to examine how a particular set of arrangements between the competitive and uncompetitive sectors in South Korea has shifted from developmental mercantilism to developmental liberalism. South Korea`s FTA initiative constitutes a notable policy shift to liberalism, departing from a mercantilist approach with a policy mix of import protection and export promotion. It has been shaped by a top-down political initiative rather than a bottom-up demand from business groups and the general public. Despite South Korea`s liberal but state-centric nature, its FTAs are closely embedded in its social fabric.

Regional Governance Capacity and Political Agency: A Comparative Study of EU Regions

The debate on the effects of regionalism and European integration on European nation states has been prominent for more than a decade. Regionalisation of EU states has not brought with it genuine regional autonomy and regionalism has not emerged as a bottom-up public demand in European regions. I contend here that to determine the future of regional devolution, whether as a result of bottom-up or top-down processes we have to be able to identify the role of regional political agents (acting often as political entrepreneurs). I examine whether that role is determined by regional governance capacity, regional institutional competence and the degree of emancipation of regional political actors from their respective nation states. The existence of a regional economic milieu and the acquiescence of regional economic elites are also assumed to be relevant. This paper examines some determinants of regional political capacity as identified by a survey of experts (institutional thickness, autonomy in policy making, decisional autonomy, financial autonomy, EU governance role etc) in tandem with regional political actor parameters in a comparative context across 12 regions of the EU, four each from Spain, Poland and the UK. I also employ measures constructed from institutional assessments of regional competence and economic measures of regional weight. I conclude with a look at specific dimensions of regional political capacity and an examination of the role of political agency. In an appendix I present panel data comparisons (1995-2002) to determine economic convergence for regions which would provide the background for testing a number of hypotheses on whether regional autonomy can have an effects on economic growth. Research from this working paper has generated one publication: D. Christopoulos (2006) 'Governance Capacity and Regionalist Dynamics' Regional and Federal Studies, December 2006, 16/4: 363-83. One more manuscript is currently under review: 'Elite Social Capital and Regional Growth in European Regions'

Governance Capacity and Regionalist Dynamics

The debate on the effects of regionalism and European integration on European nation states has been prominent for more than a decade. Regionalization of EU states has not brought with it genuine regional autonomy and regionalism has not emerged as a bottom-up public demand in European regions. It is contended here that to determine the future of regional devolution, whether as a result of bottom-up or top-down processes, the factors at play must be contextualized. This paper examines some determinants of regional political capacity, as identified in the policy literature, in tandem with a number of determinants of economic prospects and the existence of an economic milieu. This is done in a comparative context across 12 regions of the EU. It is suggested that the potential for regionalist pressures to emerge is dependent on regional governance capacity and the relative economic weight of a region.

Prospects for Improved Air Quality at the Regional Level in Poland

Environmental conditions in Poland have improved since 1990 - a trend common to many countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Poland was also among the first former Eastern bloc countries to have its environmental chapter provisionally closed in the European Union (EU) accession process. Nevertheless, environmental quality in Poland severely lags behind that of its neighbours to the west. Bivariate correlations reveal that, at the regional level in Poland, there is a strong linear relationship between private wealth generation and emissions of one of Poland’s most ubiquitous pollutants, sulphur dioxide (SO2). The capital region of Poland has lower levels of SO2 emissions than would be expected for its high income level. However, regression models relating SO2 emissions to economic growth do not demonstrate convincingly the instrumental effect of wealth in tamping down emissions. CEE governments, like Poland, that joined the EU in 2004 have relatively less impetus to make major, additional environmental investments, because they have already crossed the key legal hurdles for EU membership. In Western Europe and in North America, strong public demands and organized interest-group pressure have been necessary for continuous improvements in environmental quality. Comparable bottom-up demand is necessary to drive environmental reforms in CEE. However, surveyed opinion in Poland, including at the regional level, does not intimate any near-term groundswell of support for costly environmental investments and, in particular, investments in air pollution abatement.