Delta Cities Research Articles

Household solid waste generation and characteristic in a Mekong Delta city, Vietnam

This study was undertaken to evaluate the quantity and composition of household solid waste to identify opportunities for waste recycling in Can Tho city, the capital city of the Mekong Delta region in southern Vietnam. Two-stage survey of 100 households was conducted for dry season and rainy season in 2009. Household solid waste was collected from each household and classified into 10 physical categories and 83 subcategories. The average household solid waste generation rate was 285.28 g per capita per day. The compostable and recyclable shares respectively accounted for 80.02% and 11.73%. The authors also analyzed the relations between some socioeconomic factors and household solid waste generation rates by physical categories and subcategories. The household solid waste generation rate per capita per day was positively correlated with the population density and urbanization level, although it was negatively correlated with the household size. The authors also developed mathematical models of correlations between the waste generation rates of main physical categories and relevant factors, such as household size and household income. The models were proposed by linear models with three variables to predict household solid waste generation of total waste, food waste, and plastic waste. It was shown that these correlations were weak and a relationship among variables existed. Comparisons of waste generation by physical compositions associated with different factors, such as seasonal and daily variation were conducted. Results presented that the significant average differences were found by the different seasons and by the different days in a week; although these correlations were weak. The greenhouse gas baseline emission was also calculated as 292.25 g (CO 2 eq.) per capita per day from biodegradable components.

Study on the Assessment of Urbanization Level Based on Set Pair Analysis

The method of Set Pair Analysis is to study the certain and uncertain relationship between the different things and the key of this method is to calculate the connection degree of these things. In order to assess the urbanization levels, this paper proposed a new method to establish the assessment standards according to the value of assess indexes. The urbanization level of Yangtze River delta cities was assessed by Set Pair Analysis, and the results calculated are generally consistent with Nonlinear Mapping Analysis and Factor Analysis. Set Pair Analysis can provide an effective solution to urbanization assessment. The proposed method of standards establishment and Set Pair Analysis can also be used in other areas without unified assessment standards.

Belgrade's Delta City shopping mall – design and construction

The structure of Delta City shopping mall in Belgrade consists of two separate structures: the structure of the mall and the structure of the multi-storey open garage. The overall dimensions of the irregular layout of the structure are 210 m × 120 m, with four main levels in the mall and five parking levels in the garage. Because of the different exposure conditions, the structure of the garage is separated from the mall's structure with an expansion joint at all of the levels, except the level of the foundation slab. The mall's framed structure is designed without any expansion joints, except for temporary joints during the construction stage. It consists mainly of reinforced concrete columns cast in place, at typical spans of 8·2 m × 8·2 m, precast reinforced concrete simple beams and precast prestressed hollow core slabs. The moment resistant reinforced concrete frames cast in place are designed mostly at the façade, to provide additional seismic resistance and to control lateral deflections. The main structure of the open multi-storey garage consists of reinforced concrete frames cast in place and precast hollow core slabs, and it is designed for exposure class XD3, with special attention paid to durability requirements. Owing to the mainly precast structure, especially the hollow core slabs as a floor solution, the complete concrete structure of approximately 80 000 m2 was constructed in less then 12 months.

Seasonal and daily generation and characteristic of household solid waste in a Mekong Delta city, Vietnam

Seasonal and daily generation and characteristic of household solid waste in a Mekong Delta city, Vietnam

Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners in the Aquatic Environment of the Mekong River, South of Vietnam

Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs) were analyzed in sediments and clams' soft tissues from sampling sites in the Mekong River delta from the border with Cambodia to the coast of South China Sea. Concentrations of 13 individual PCB congeners are reported. Median concentration of SigmaPCB congeners was 0.279 ng g(-1) dry weight (range 0.106-2.016 ng g(-1) dry weight) in sediments, and 5.20 ng g(-1) dry weight (range 1.89-19.37 ng g(-1)) in clams. Distribution and bioaccumulation of PCBs in the delta are discussed. It is concluded that in the Mekong River delta PCB concentrations were generally lower than in other regions of Vietnam and their likely sources have been waste discharges from repair workshops and other facilities in the delta cities.

Source characterization and the environmental impact of urban street dusts from Egypt based on hydrocarbon distributions

The aliphatic and aromatic fractions of the extracts of ten street dust (SD) samples collected from eight cities covering a wide geographic area of Egypt were analyzed using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and GC–MS to compare their hydrocarbon distributions. To identify their sources, the extracts of the possible source materials were also analyzed. The impact of SDs on the marine environment was investigated in a marine sediment collected from the Western Harbor of Alexandria. The GC-FID profiles of the aliphatic fractions showed considerable differences in the n-alkane distribution that permits the classification of the SDs into five groups. This grouping reflects the environments of the cities in which they are collected. The carbon preference index and the unresolved complex mixture relative to the total resolved peaks values revealed that automobile exhaust is the main source of the hydrocarbons in these SDs with a significant contribution from terrestrial higher plant waxes to group 1 (Nile Delta cities). The sterane and hopane profiles supported this conclusion. The total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations ranged from 27 to 379 ng/g (dry wt.) and showed clear differences between the SDs. The lowest and highest concentrations were found in samples from Shebeen and Port Said, respectively. The PAH distribution patterns and the ratio of the sum of combustion specific PAHs to total PAHs in samples from Alexandria, Port Said and Cairo were similar, implying similar sources. PAH ratios indicated a mixture of pyrogenic and petrogenic sources of PAHs in all samples where asphalt and automobile fuel exhaust were the major contributors of PAHs in Alexandria, Port Said, Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh cities. These ratios also indicated the predominance of diesel-operated vehicles to the PAHs signatures of Alexandria, Port Said and Cairo while gasoline emissions influence more strongly the PAH distributions in the SDs from Shebeen, Kafr El Sheikh and Sharkea. The PAH fingerprints excluded fresh oil and tire particles as major contributors. Both SDs and petrogenic sources significantly contributed to the hydrocarbon signature of the marine sediment from the Western Harbor of Alexandria.

GIS-based emission inventories of urban scale: A case study of Hangzhou, China

This research established GIS-based urban-scale emission inventories of SO 2, NO X , and PM 10 from both fossil energy consumption and industrial production process. Hangzhou, a typical Yangtse Delta city in south China, was selected to be the case study city. It is found that PM 10 emission from industrial production process is the third highest, about 17.1% of total PM 10 emission. The total emissions of SO 2, NO X , and PM 10 were 41385.9, 54780.4, and 24239.2 t a −1 in 2004. AERMOD model was used to simulate pollutants concentration in the urban area of Hangzhou. The simulated concentrations were compared with the observed data collected at seven air quality-monitoring stations. The results show that simulated data of SO 2 and NO X annual average concentrations agreed reasonably with observation data in five monitoring stations, but had obvious differences with observation data in the other two monitoring stations because of boundary and geographical data limitation in the simulation. The simulated data of PM 10 annual average concentrations were much lower than observation data of all monitoring stations because secondary PM 10 data were not included in the simulation.

Economic valuation of environmental services sustained by water flows in the Yaqui River Delta

We attempted to estimate the economic value of environmental services provided by restored instream flows in the water-scarce Yaqui River Delta in Mexico. The Yaqui River begins near the U.S.–Mexico border and continues for 400 km before reaching the Oviachic dam, but has not reached the nearby Gulf of California for decades due to diversions for irrigation. These diversions have degraded the riparian ecosystem, coastal wetlands, and estuaries. Environmental services provided by restored flows in the Yaqui River would include healthy riverside vegetation, wetlands and estuaries, fish and wildlife habitats, non-use values, and recreation. A contingent valuation survey in 40 neighborhoods in the most populated Delta city, Ciudad Obregon, was administered to estimate non-market values of instream uses. Respondents were given a current and hypothetical Delta scenario (the latter assumed restored water flows in the River) and asked a willingness-to-pay (WTP) question regarding purchasing water for environmental flows through higher water bills. Results from 148 in-person interviews indicated that households would pay an average of 73 pesos monthly. WTP was found related to key variables suggested by economic theory and contingent valuation studies elsewhere: income, educational level, number of children in the household, and initial bid amount. These results will allow decision makers to compare the benefits generated by different water uses, including environmental services, and to manage scarce water resources under a long-term sustainable approach.

Characterizing ionic species in PM 2.5 and PM 10 in four Pearl River Delta cities, South China

Abstract PM 2.5 and PM 10 samples were collected at four major cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), South China, during winter and summer in 2002. Six water-soluble ions, Na +, NH 4 +, K +, Cl −, NO 3 − and SO 4 2− were measured using ion chromatography. On average, ionic species accounted for 53.3% and 40.5% for PM 2.5 and PM 10, respectively in winter and 39.4% and 35.2%, respectively in summer. Secondary ions such as sulfate, nitrate and ammonium accounted for the major part of the total ionic species. Sulfate was the most abundant species followed by nitrate. Overall, a regional pollution tendency was shown that there were higher concentrations of sulfate, nitrate and ammonium in Guangzhou City than those in the other PRD cities. Significant seasonal variations were also observed with higher levels of species in winter but lower in summer. The Asian monsoon system was favorable for removal and diffusion of air pollutants in PRD in summer while highly loading of local industrial emissions tended to deteriorate the air quality as well. NO 3 −/SO 4 2 − ratio indicated that mobile sources have considerably contribution to the urban aerosol, and stationary sources should not be neglected. Besides the primary emissions, complex atmospheric reactions under favorable weather conditions should be paid more attention for the control of primary emission in the PRD region.

Dear Mayor

E-government at the local level in China has emphasized numerous interactive features. One such feature has been the “leader’s mailbox” for citizen communications with the government. In the Yangzi Delta cities of Hangzhou and Nanjing, new reform-oriented mayors have emphasized e-government as an important tool for improving governmental performance; their decisions to publish many of the “mayor’s mailbox” communications online were intended to encourage grass-roots feedback, place pressure on bureaucratic agencies to change their behavior, and build a stronger popular image for local governments. The mailboxes in the two cities are managed differently, and differ in their articulation with other bureaucratic processes. Those differences may in part reflect somewhat different political priorities for the mayors, and may spell differences in the effectiveness and potential for institutionalization of this aspect of e-government. Ultimately, these mailboxes are effective because they work alongside other reforms in urban governance. By eliciting citizen feedback and increasing intragovernmental transparency, the mailboxes have become important information sources for government managers, but they are more likely to be effective in improving bureaucratic-administrative operations than in fostering participatory-democratic developments or progress towards civil society.

Regional division of labor from agglomeration economies’ perspective: some evidence

This study aims at elaborating the evolving degree of completeness of outward investment of manufacturing and its consequence from the view of regional development since the People’s Republic of China opened her door to foreign direct investment. After two decades of Hong Kong’s progressive manufacturing cross-border processing of labor-intensive operations performed in the proximate Guangdong province, a regional division of labor has developed by taking advantages of the agglomeration economies of the Hong Kong-Pearl River Delta region.The analysis is conducted based on such a perspective using the 1998 data of a population of 2,441 electronics joint ventures in Guangdong. Findings suggested that firms’ location (density) distribution, via exploiting the agglomeration economies, followed a pattern well explained by a simple gravity model with Hong Kong as the main core. The existing Pearl River Delta cities and the associated cluster economies have also demonstrated attraction for foreign direct investment. Firm size and age effects were also investigated. The findings confirmed the economic contributions of electronics joint ventures, the small ones in particular, to the development of Guangdong and the Hong Kong-Pearl River Delta region. Some suggestions on regional policy coordination were initiated.

Effect of meteorology and air pollutant transport on ozone episodes at a subtropical coastal Asian city, Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a subtropical coastal city situated at the rapid urbanizing and industrializing region of South China. High frequencies of elevated ozone are found in various remote, rural, and metropolitan districts of Hong Kong. Meteorological conditions related to synoptic‐scale flow pattern, mesoscale weather phenomenon, and local micrometeorology have strong effects on the pollutant transport to South China and the occurrence of ozone episodes in Hong Kong. The transport processes and the source regions of ozone are analyzed with the combined use of surface pressure patterns, streamline charts and prevalent winds, and with representative episodes. The synoptic meteorological conditions can be classified into nine patterns. The patterns associated with winter monsoon and traveling cyclones are found to be most conducive to the occurrence of ozone episodes. Long‐range transport of ozone with enhanced CO level from the aged continental air accompanying northeast monsoon contributes to substantial cases of episodes, which are especially noticeable in the upwind remote areas. These episodes feature consistently high ozone at night in the remote station and early morning peaks in the metropolitan stations. The possible source regions of this ozone may include Asian continent, the coastal areas of Mainland China, southern Japan, and Taiwan. This high inflow of background ozone together with elevated ozone enhanced by the channeling effect, and local transport causes the highest frequencies of ozone episodes in the downwind western side of the territory. The short‐range transport of ozone and pollutants from the industrial and urban centers in the Pearl River Delta region and Guangdong Province in southern China is another source of ozone. When transported ozone is being superimposed on ozone formed from local sources, territory‐wide and extremely high concentration episodes are found. Our meteorological and ozone episode diagnosis have also demonstrated that the ‘background’ outflow of Asian pollutants can be significantly modified on its way to the Pacific Ocean when passing through the fast growing Pearl River Delta cities such as Hong Kong.

A trade theoretic analysis of outward capital flows: with special reference to Hong Kong

This paper sets up a trade theoretic model to explain the output, price and welfare consequences of the outward investment from Hong Kong to the Pearl River Delta. A four-good trade theoretic model is set up to incorporate some special features of the Hong Kong Economy. We assume that the economy produces four goods: an exportable good, an importable good and two non-traded goods. A special feature of the model is that one of the non-traded goods (locally produced) is also consumed by foreigners and produced under the assumption of non-competitive market framework. As tourist or business-centre trade is of great significance to Hong Kong, this model allows us to capture this phenomenon. First, precise conditions are derived regarding the decline in manufacturing output in Hong Kong. Second, it is shown that, in spite of the supply side determination of the relative price of non-traded goods, income effects in this market are of great significance in both income (welfare) and output movements. These income effects cannot be captured in industrial organization type applied work. Third, it is shown how outflow of capital affects labour productivity. A surprising result obtained for this part of the analysis is that a fall in productivity (outflow of capital and de-industrialization) creates a favourable terms-of-trade effect in the monopolized sector. The welfare effect consists of four terms: (1) a terms-of trade effect via the price of non-traded goods consumed by tourists/foreigners; (2) the loss (gain) in productivity due to an outflow of capital; (3) repatriation payments; and (4) the gains from exporting from the Special Economic Zones as well as other Pearl River Delta cities. Our decomposition has two very important features in contrast to traditional models: a terms-of-trade effect from the consumption of services and productivity gains or losses. The last point is exceedingly important for policy makers specifically if outward flow of capital affects productivity negatively.

Remarks on Two Cities of the Delta

Remarks on Two Cities of the Delta

Colloquial Arabic Poetry, Politics, and the Press in Modern Egypt

On 9 November 1956, a poem in colloquial Arabic appeared in the month-old Cairo daily al-Masāʾ. The poet was an unknown named Hamid al-Atmas, a carpenter from the Delta city of Damanhur. Entitled “That's It, I'm Off to the Battlefield,” al-Atmas's poem celebrated the worker as soldier, for British and French troops had just landed in Port Said. The narrator states that he will put down his tools—as will many laborers and craftsmen—to go and fight. Following victory, he will return to his shākūsh (hammer) and mingār (plane). This, he stresses, is a people's struggle.1 The point is made no less subtly through the poet's choice of language: the narrator's diction is based on that of shop, home, and street.

Book Review: Cities of the Delta, I, Naucratis

Book Review: Cities of the Delta, I, Naucratis

Cities of the Delta, I, Naucratis

Cities of the Delta, I, Naucratis

Central City, Colorado; the upper part of an alkaline porphyry molybdenum system

The distribution of molybdenite, fluorite, rhodochrosite, enargite, and telluride minerals, together with anomalous quantities of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Mo in rocks, and variations in stable isotope ratios define a complex, zoned hydrothermal system in the Central City mining district. The molybdenite mineralization is centered on a Laramide quartz bostonite or alkali rhyolite breccia pipe that occurs at the intersection of the Dory Hill fault and the Idaho Springs-Ralston shear zone. Stream sediment geochemistry suggests that significant amounts of W may be present in the system. Uranium, base, and precious metal mineralization of a similar age, but with a distribution different from the molybdenite mineralization, is also present and is considered to be a part of the same hydrothermal system.Fluid inclusion data for the molybdenite and precious and base metal mineralization indicate that fluid inclusions associated with early molybdenite veins are of two types: CO 2 rich and rare halite-bearing, with respective homogenization temperatures of 340 degrees to 420 degrees C and 240 degrees to 340 degrees C. Inclusions associated with precious metal-bearing pyrite and base metal veins are aqueous, two-phase types with homogenization temperatures in the range of 220 degrees to 380 degrees C. Those from late molybdenite veins are aqueous, two-phase inclusions with homogenization temperatures of 200 degrees to 280 degrees C. Salinities (as equiv. wt % NaCl) are between 34 to 42 for halite-bearing inclusions and 2 to 12 for all other types. No evidence of boiling has been found. Trapping pressures of CO 2 -rich inclusions are 0.46 to 0.75 kb, which suggest an emplacement depth of about 2 km for the molybdenite mineralization.Respective quartz delta 18 O and fluid inclusion delta D values are: (1) early molybdenite veins: +9.3 to +14.3 per mil and -87 to -66 per mil; (2) precious metal-bearing pyrite and base metal veins: +8.4 to +15.9 per mil and -90 to -47 per mil; and (3) late molybdenite veins: +10.1 to +15.4 per mil and -77 to -69 per mil with associated fluorite having fluid inclusion delta D values of -70 to -57 per mil. A late telluride vein has a quartz delta 18 O value of +11.2 per mil and fluid inclusion delta D value of -86 per mil. These data suggest that all except the telluride ore fluids contained large proportions of a D-rich (magmatic) fluid. The distribution of fluid inclusion delta D values defines two distinct anomalies, each zoned with delta D enrichment occuring inward toward centers which correspond to the areas of known molybdenite occurrences and precious and base metal mineralization. Likewise, delta D values for sericites developed during early hydrothermal activity increase inward toward the quartz bostonite pipe, various intrusive breccias, and molybdenite mineralization in the district. There is no indication at Central City of negative delta 18 O anomalies in the Precambrian country rock within or peripheral to the centers of mineralization suggesting that ore fluids were thus essentially confined to discrete fractures.It is concluded that molybdenite and other mineralization in this classic gold mining district may be related and may represent the upper part of an alkaline porphyry molybdenum system.

The Fear of Crime in a Small Town

There has been in American history a myth that attributes virtue to small town life and evil and corruption to urban life. This myth has been on the decline in "Delta City,"* a small industrial town in California. The traditional myth allowed Delta City adults to perceive the source of deviance in their community in either external urban influences or in certain limited local groups ("hoods'). Their sudden realization that there was widespread drug use among youth constituted the first vital blow to this myth. This awareness opened a "Pandora's box," producing considerable confusion and anxiety over locat ing the sources of local deviance. The community's confusion and fear were reflected in its response to youthful drug use and crime.

Nembe : the City Idea in the Eastern Niger Delta.

The following discussion of the delta city is confined to the four main 1j9 metropolitan centres of the Eastern Delta, namely Nembe (Brass), Elem Kalabari (New Calabar), Bonny, and Okrika; and excludes the cities of Ode Itsekiri (Warri) in the Western Delta, and Atakpa (Old Calabar) on the Cross River estuary to the east. The four cities seem to have started from a similar cultural and political base-line, and to have responded to similar historical factors such as the overseas trade in slaves, and later, palm oil, with only slight variations. A number of attempts have already been made to define the cities in the Niger Delta. Dike (I956) first studied them in the nineteenth century. He considered them proper states and not tribal states, since citizenship in them was based on residence rather than on kinship. Specifically, he named them city-states, comparable to the Greek city-states, because of the manner in which their political authority radiated from one city to surrounding settlements, and especially to posts in the hinterland. Jones (I963) called the cities trading states. He saw them as creations of the European trade in slaves and palm oil, and as organised, in the main, for the purposes of carrying on overseas trade. The problems of interest in their internal history were, accordingly, the intergroup rivalries between the 'Houses' (trade corporations organised on a lineage model) to be expected in a society organised for commercial competition. Horton (I969, p. 5o) has paid greater attention to the cultural criteria for citizenship, and especially the fact that even bought slaves could become full citizens by becoming fully acculturated: In positive terms, the identity of New Calabar was seen in the possession of a distinct, isolated settlement area; of autonomy under a distinctive body of laws; and of the possession of a distinctive culture. As in the villages, this definition of identity was essentially open in its implications. Any one who could acquire the culture and pull his weight could become a citizen. As the drum-name of the earth of New Calabar puts it: 'If a dog walks on him, he does not spurn the leg; if a goat walks on him, he does not spurn the leg'. All these views of the Delta city are largely valid, in the aspects of their organisation considered. It is only necessary to sketch in one view that has so far escaped adequate treatment, that is, the religious dimension. Religion, in fact, serves as the ligament holding together the various joints of the social and political structure of each of these Eastern Delta city-states.