First-tier City Research Articles

Factors Impacting Plant-Based Meat Product Consumption: A Consumer Survey Conducted in a New First-Tier City in China

In recent years, the worldwide plant-based meat sector has undergone substantial and rapid expansion. The swift advancement of plant-based meat products in the Chinese market is ascribed to changes in customer dietary preferences. To accelerate the rapid expansion of China’s plant-based meat sector, it is essential to conduct research on consumer demand trends. Citespace was utilized in this study to conduct a bibliometric analysis of research pertaining to plant-based meat. A study model was then created to analyze the primary elements affecting the consumption behavior of plant-based meat products. This study employs Zhengzhou as a case study to construct a research model to examine consumers’ inclination to purchase plant-based meat products. The model is derived from survey data obtained from 570 consumers. The findings indicate that the characteristics of plant-based meat products significantly influence consumers’ purchase intentions and consumption behaviors by shaping their perceptual activity. Price rationality, technical security, and flavor richness are three principal factors influencing customer purchasing of plant-based meat products. The perceived value and trust of consumers can somewhat mediate the influence of plant-based meat consumption behavior. This study offers significant insights into purchasing intentions and consumer behavior in first-tier cities in China. The outcomes of this study can provide a beneficial framework for imitation meat producers to improve product development and stimulate customer interest in the plant-based meat market.

Research on the Mechanism of Digital Economys Impact on Regional Industrial Structure Upgrading: A Case Study of Shenzhen

The digital economy, as an integrated economy, has become the driving force behind economic growth in various regions, fueling economic transformation and upgrading and serving as the focal point of industrial competition. Shenzhen, as a major first-tier city and a pilot demonstration area for socialism with Chinese characteristics, is taken as an example in this study. By exploring the mechanisms through which the digital economy impacts the upgrading of regional industrial structures, this paper analyzes how the digital economy promotes regional industrial transformation and upgrading through technological innovation, industrial integration, and market competition. It also discusses the existing problems and challenges, and proposes corresponding policy recommendations in areas such as talent cultivation, improving social welfare, and supporting enterprises to better leverage the role of the digital economy in upgrading the regional industrial structure. These efforts aim to ensure the sustainable development of Shenzhens economy, making the new engine more powerful in leading development, creating jobs, supporting international competition, and driving Shenzhens economic and social progress toward high quality.

The relationship between the rise of Vintage clothes’ market, culture and the new media

In resent years, vintage clothes have caught more and more people’s attention. To be specific, in the first-tier city and the new first tier city (such as Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing), the increases of the number of the vintage shop and the account about vintage in the new media have demonstrated that the vintage market share is growing. The aim of this study is to explore vintage culture and vintage clothing, the emotional connection people have with vintage garments, and how new media social platforms have renewed interest in vintage culture. The study aims to provide cultural and marketing insights for the future development of the vintage clothing market.

Discovering the spatial heterogeneous constraints of distance on migration from counties to Shenzhen in China

Distance holds significant importance in the decision-making processes of migration flows. Previous studies have predominantly adopted a global perspective to understand distance constraints. However, same spatial heterogeneity exists in distance constraints, and this heterogeneity contributes to understanding of the effect of regional characteristics in human migration. This study answers three questions: Does distance work for all counties in the same way? Why distance works for some counties but does not for others? And what makes distance decay differently among counties? We adopt geographically weighted regression, binary logistics regression, and random forest regression to analyze the migration from counties all over the China to Shenzhen to explore the spatial heterogeneity of distance decay. The results show that distance does not always work, and that demographics and transportation facilities are important determinants of whether distance works. For counties where distance works, distance decay is nonlinearly related to regional development. This non-linear relationship is due to the game between the appeal of intervention opportunities in the nearest new first-tier city, the constraints represented by the socio-economic development of the source county, and the attractiveness of Shenzhen. This further reflects the dynamic interplay between costs and opportunities, give and gain in the decision process of migration.

Utilization and affordability of health insurance coverage for rare disease drugs in a first-tier city in Northeast China from 2018 to 2021: a study based on the health insurance claims database

ObjectiveThe accessibility issue of orphan drugs in China is prominent. Based on real-world data from a tier-one city in Northeast China, this study aims to analyze the current usage and affordability of orphan drugs for rare diseases.MethodsThe data was sourced from the health insurance claims data of a certain city from 2018 to 2021, including a total of 16 orphan drugs. The utilization of orphan drugs is assessed using four indicators: frequency of medical insurance claims, medication cost, defined daily doses (DDDs), and defined daily drug cost (DDDc). Affordability is measured using the concept of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE).ResultsBetween January 2018 and December 2021, there were a total of 2,851 medical insurance claims in the city, with a total medication costs of $3.08 million. Overall, during the study, there was a year-on-year increase in the utilization frequency of individual rare disease drugs in the city, with DDDs rising from 140.22 in 2018 to 3983.63 in 2021. Additionally, the annual medication costs of individual drugs showed a consistent upward trend, increasing from $10,953.53 in 2018 to $120,491.36 in 2021. However, the DDDc of individual drugs decreased from $398.12 in 2018 to $96.65 in 2021.The number of sales and the amount of sales for orphan drugs in community pharmacies have significantly increased. Prior to medical insurance coverage, out of the 16 orphan drugs, 9 drugs had annual treatment costs exceeding CHE for urban residents, and 15 drugs had annual treatment costs exceeding CHE for rural residents. After medical insurance coverage, there were no drugs with out-of-pocket costs exceeding CHE for urban residents, while 8 drugs had out-of-pocket costs exceeding CHE for rural residents. Furthermore, both before and after medical insurance coverage, the four treatment drugs for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension were more affordable compared to the four treatment drugs for multiple sclerosis.ConclusionThe usage frequency of orphan drugs in a certain city increased gradually, but the disease burden remained heavy. More policy support should be provided to the priority rare disease populations, and the rare disease medical security and diagnosis and treatment systems should be improved.

The Feasibility of TOD Mode in Transportation Planning of Nantong City

The study examines the feasibility of the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) model in the transportation planning of Nantong City. In the context of the "14th Five Year Plan for the Comprehensive Transportation System Development of Nantong City", it investigates the viability of the TOD mode within Nantong's rail transit system. This article will examine the successful TOD development cases in Shanghai, a first-tier city, and Suzhou, a new-tier city, both located in the Yangtze River Delta region. It will also compare the rail transit systems of Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nantong. Based on the current development status of rail transit in Nantong City, SWOT model is used to position the development of rail transit in Nantong City. hrough this analysis, this paper identified the advantages and disadvantages that Nantong City may face in advancing the TOD mode, as well as the potential opportunities and threats.Measures such as creating TOD channels, formulating ride discounts, expanding regional connectivity, flexible commuting time, and optimizing station facilities are proposed. hese strategies aim to promote the sustainable development of Nantong rail transit system, improve the convenience and efficiency of urban transportation, and then provide strong support for the economic and social development of Nantong city and the improvement of residents' quality of life.

The usage and costs of national drug price-negotiated anticancer medicines in a first-tier city in Northeast China: a study based on health insurance data

BackgroundThe National Drug Price Negotiation (NDPN) policy has entered a normalisation stage, aiming to alleviate, to some extent, the disease-related and economic burdens experienced by cancer patients. This study analysed the use and subsequent burden of anticancer medicines among cancer patients in a first-tier city in northeast China.MethodsWe assessed the usage of 64 negotiated anticancer medicines using the data on the actual drug deployment situation, the frequency of medical insurance claims and actual medication costs. The affordability of these medicines was measured using the catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) incidence and intensity of occurrence. Finally, we used the defined daily doses (DDDs) and defined daily doses cost (DDDc) as indicators to evaluate the actual use of these medicines in the region.ResultsDuring the study period, 63 of the 64 medicines were readily available. From the perspective of drug usage, the frequency of medical insurance claims for negotiated anticancer medicines and medication costs showed an increasing trend from 2018 to 2021. Cancer patients typically sought medical treatment at tertiary hospitals and purchased medicines at community pharmacies. The overall quantity and cost of medications for patients covered by the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) were five times higher than those covered by the Urban and Rural Resident Medical Insurance (URRMI). The frequency of medical insurance claims and medication costs were highest for lung and breast cancer patients. Furthermore, from 2018 to 2021, CHE incidence showed a decreasing trend (2.85–1.60%) under urban patients’ payment capability level, but an increasing trend (11.94%–18.42) under rural patients’ payment capability level. The average occurrence intensities for urban (0.55–1.26 times) and rural (1.27–1.74 times) patients showed an increasing trend. From the perspective of drug utilisation, the overall DDD of negotiated anticancer medicines showed an increasing trend, while the DDDc exhibited a decreasing trend.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that access to drugs for urban cancer patients has improved. However, patients’ medical behaviours are affected by some factors such as hospital level and type of medical insurance. In the future, the Chinese Department of Health Insurance Management should further improve its work in promoting the fairness of medical resource distribution and strengthen its supervision of the nation’s health insurance funds.

Littered cigarette butts in both coastal and inland cities of China: occurrence and environmental risk assessment

Cigarette butts (CBs) pollution is a critical global environmental issue, yet limited research exists on CBs pollution in both coastal and inland Chinese cities with varying development levels. This study investigated CBs occurrence, contamination, Cigarette Butts Pollution Index (CBPI), and heavy metal leakage in four cities. The results of CBs collected over multiple days revealed higher contamination levels in coastal city of Dalian (0.10 ± 0.03 CBs/m2), inland cities of Baoding (0.06 ± 0.02 CBs/m2) and Meizhou (0.07 ± 0.02 CBs/m2) compared to first-tier coastal city of Guangzhou (0.03 ± 0.02 CBs/m2). Patterns of CBs occurrence and CBPI varied across land usage and cities development level. SEM and EDS analysis identified microplastics and heavy metal particles released from CBs in water environments. ICP-MS detected a total of 629.7 μg/L of 14 heavy metals. Approximately 1.9 ± 0.9 g/km2 of heavy metals are leaked daily in Chinese cities due to CBs, posing a severe threat to soil and water safety given the indiscriminate disposal of CBs. This study offers scientific insights into CBs pollution and underscores the pressing need for effective measures to mitigate environmental hazards, particularly heavy metal and microplastics contamination released from CBs in China.

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms Box Office Affected by Geographical Differences in China

With economic development, more and more people choose to watch movies for leisure and entertainment. With the recent release of Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, the writer finds that the box office varies greatly from region to region. The main contributing factors are consumption preferences in different city tiers, the number of roadshows held, and the population size gap. The author will conduct a more in-depth study on people’s preferences for movie genres and consumption preferences in different city tiers. Also, the writer will analyze how the distribution of Creation of the Gods I in different city tiers influences the box office. Explore the causes of these problems and make suggestions: stimulate first-tier city residents to spend more time watching films, hold more roadshows, and refer to more data for comprehensively judging a film. Not only will this help increase the box office for the next part, but it will also increase the overall audience’s motivation to see the movie.

Age-driven energy poverty in urban household: Evidence from Guangzhou in China

Energy poverty occurs when a household cannot fulfill its energy needs. Despite its widespread occurrence, Chinese cities have yet to formally recognize energy poverty as distinct from general poverty at the national level, thereby limiting the effectiveness of countermeasures. Guangzhou, a subtropical first-tier city in China, has a complex population comprising diverse migrants and locals of all ages. This age diversity greatly affects energy demand and poverty sensitivity, so analyzing age's impact on energy poverty is crucial. Thus, this paper surveyed 1072 households in 2020 to measure the extent of energy poverty. The energy poverty rate was found to be 13.85 %. Additionally, a U-shaped relationship was discovered between age and energy poverty, with a turning point at age 44. The adults in Guangzhou who are in energy poverty are not in income poverty. Higher education levels were found to impact energy consumption in households of both younger and older adults. For individuals older than 42—or 46 with a higher education level—the likelihood of experiencing energy poverty gradually decreases with age. Our findings indicate a unique pattern in which both younger and older individuals are susceptible to energy poverty in a humid subtropical climate. To achieve the UN's 2030 clean energy goals, policymakers must focus on tailored skill training, enhanced social welfare, and effective affordable housing policies to alleviate energy poverty.

The Quality Status Analysis and Development Proposal of Combustible Gas Alarm

Combustible gas alarm is mainly used to detect the concentration of combustible gas in the environment and issue the corresponding level of alarm which is an effective early warning tool to prevent gas leakage. However, due to the uneven quality of combustible gas alarms sold on the market, there are certain difficulties for the government in market access, testing agencies in quality control, and users in later maintenance. In order to promote the industry of combustible gas alarm to further and improve product quality, this study selected 60 batches of combustible gas alarms from a first-tier city in China and tested them in accordance with the national compulsory standard GB 15322-2019 Combustible Gas Detectors, conducting price and quality analysis of combustible gas alarms from different procurement channels and different product types according to the test results and putting forward solutions and development suggestions for nonconforming projects.

Etiological, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of sexually transmitted infections and M. genitalium resistance in Shenzhen: a multicenter cross-sectional study in China.

This study aims to determine the etiological, sociodemographic, and clinical characteristics of STIs, and the level of resistance in M. genitalium in Shenzhen, a representative first-tier city of southern China. A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted and 7886 sexually active participants attending STI-related departments were involved from 22 hospitals. Nine STI-related organisms including N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, T. vaginalis, M. genitalium, HSV-1, HSV-2, M. hominis, U. parvum, and U. urealyticum were screened. Being single or divorced was associated with increased detection of N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, M. genitalium, HSV-1, HSV-2 and M. hominis. Lower education level was associated with increased detection of C. trachomatis, HSV-2 and M. hominis. No insurance coverage was an independent risk factor for T. vaginalis, M. hominis and U. parvum positivity. Three resistance-determining regions related to macrolide and fluoroquinolone were sequenced in 154 M. genitalium positive samples, among which 90.3% harbored mutations related to macrolide or fluroquinolone resistance and 67.5% were multidrug-resistant M. genitalium. A2072G in 23S rRNA and Ser83Ile in parC were the most common mutations. M. hominis was associated with manifestations of bacterial vaginosis in female and epididymitis in male. Single or divorced individuals, those with lower education level and individuals without insurance are higher-risk key populations for STIs. The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant M. genitalium in Shenzhen is high. Detection of M. hominis increased significantly with lower education level and no health insurance coverage, and it is associated with bacterial vaginosis or epididymitis, indicating that M. hominis deserves further attention.

A multi-attribute decision making method for TODIM based on mixed correlation coefficients for probabilistic linguistic term sets

In the face of multi-attribute decision problems in complex situations, most traditional multi-attribute group decision methods are based on the assumption that the decision maker is perfectly rational, while in the face of complex decision problems, the decision maker usually has the psychological characteristics of limited rationality and may use more than one linguistic term to describe the decision information when expressing the decision information To this end, this paper selects probabilistic language term sets to describe complex preference information. First, to address the problem that the current probabilistic linguistic term set correlation coefficient cannot appropriately measure the degree of correlation among probabilistic linguistic term sets, this paper proposes a new probabilistic linguistic term set correlation coefficient from three characteristic factors of probabilistic linguistic term sets: mean, variance, and length rate. To integrate the attribute index weights, probabilistic linguistic term set weighted mixed correlation coefficients are proposed. Second, this paper introduces the TODIM method, which can consider the psychological behavior of decision makers, and proposes a TODIM multi-attribute decision making method based on probabilistic linguistic term sets with mixed correlation coefficients. Finally, through an empirical analysis of four Internet listed companies in a new first-tier city in China, this study verifies the rationality and validity of the proposed method. The results show that the mixed correlation coefficient can comprehensively measure the correlation between probabilistic linguistic term sets, which provides an important method for future multi-attribute decision making problems.

Urban Resilience of Important Node Cities in Population Migration under the Influence of COVID-19 Based on Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System

COVID-19 has resulted in a great inconvenience and has had a severe impact on the economy and residents’ daily life in China and even the world. Urban resilience, as the key representation of social and economic stability, can directly reflect the development and stability of cities. In addition, the Mamdani fuzzy inference system (MFIS), as one of the commonly used fuzzy inference systems, has been successfully applied in various application problems involving imprecise or vague information since it was proposed. In this paper, we mainly consider the urban resilience of 50 important node cities for population migration (50INCPM) in China in 2020 under the influence of COVID-19. We apply MFIS for approximating the urban resilience index (URI) based on multiple inputs, which includes the population density resilience index (PRI), gross domestic product per capita resilience index (GRI), in-degree centrality resilience index (IRI), out-degree centrality resilience index (ORI), confirmed cases number (CCN), recovery rate (RR) and mortality rate (MR). Meanwhile, based on the big data of population migration and COVID-19 data in China from 15 January to 15 March in 2020, we calculate the URI of 50INCPM in China in 2020 under the influence of COVID-19. Moreover, we show the spatial difference of URI and its changes in different stages. The results show that (1) the URI of 50INCPM decreases from the eastern coastal area to the western inland, and the cities with URI more than 0.5 are gathered in the eastern coastal area of China. As COVID-19 is controlled, the URI is gradually rising, and the growth rate of URI in southeast coastal cities exceeds that of inland cities. (2) The second-tier and third-tier cities have stronger resilience in the case of large-scale emergencies. (3) There exists a positive correlation in URI and RR. The expectation of the research finding gives a basis for judging the economic and social situation under the impact of COVID-19, which can help local governments accurately judge city resilience, and provide a reference for the decision on resuming production and work, so it is of positive significance for national economic resilience and social stability. Finally, on the basis of universal vaccine coverage, we hold that the GOC should promote the cities’ resilience in China, especially in the first-tier city in inland China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen). On the other hand, on the premise of implementing epidemic prevention and control measures, local governments should stimulate the resilience of each city in terms of population and economy.

Aspects of New and Old Urban Parks Most Valued by Residents on Social Media: A Case Study in Hefei

The rapid development of new first-tier cities in China has led to potentially significant differences in residents’ environmental perceptions toward parks in new and old urban areas. However, there is currently a lack of relevant comparative research. Therefore, this study used the new first-tier city of Hefei as an example and selected the two most popular urban parks in the new and old downtown areas—Swan Lake Park and Xiaoyaojin Park. This study aimed to find out which aspects of the new and old city parks were the most valued by the residents by analysing their online comments on social media platforms. Based on the social media comments, quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to study residents’ perceptions and preferences and analyse residents’ activities and satisfaction. The research found the following: (1) There was consistency in the type of content in the downtown parks as perceived by the residents of the new and old urban areas. (2) For the old downtown Xiaoyaojin Park, the residents were more interested in the experience in terms of the recreation facilities and services but were less satisfied with the visitor capacity of the playground and the ticket price. For the new downtown Swan Lake Park, the residents were more interested in the experience in terms of the exercise facilities and venues and were worried about the safety of the venues. (3) The perceived environmental preferences of the residents in the old urban areas were mainly related to childhood activity venues, and the perceived environmental preferences of the residents in the new urban areas were mainly related to novelty activities. Based on the results, targeted suggestions were proposed for the development of characteristic resources, facility management and maintenance, and the renewal and renovation of recreational activities. Since social media analysis plays an important role in the construction of urban parks, the findings can help us to better understand residents’ lives, ensure that parks are designed for the happiness of the people, and develop more sustainable pathways for the design and management of urban areas.

Acculturation of international students in a non–first-tier city in China

Although there have been abundant studies on the acculturation of immigrants in developed countries, such as Russia and the United States, research on acculturation in China has been relatively rare and mainly focuses on migrant workers in metropolitan cities. This study conducted a six-month investigation of the acculturation of 133 international students in Wuhan, a non–first-tier city and the largest city in central China, using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Moreover, this study explored six major factors in the acculturation process, including ethnic identity, perceived attitude, social support, social interaction, daily communication, and future plans. It was found that most of the international students in Wuhan could acculturate well, tended to adopt an integration strategy in their acculturation process, and all the factors under investigation, except social interaction, exerted significant influence in the process. Different measures have been proposed to facilitate the acculturation process of international students in China. This study aimed to provide a reference for future research on international students’ acculturation strategies and results and to formulate relevant policies in facilitating the acculturation process in some universities.

Estimation and Development-Potential Analysis of Regional Housing in Ningbo City Based on High-Resolution Stereo Remote Sensing

With the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s real-estate market has been facing new bottlenecks. The solution lies in an in-depth understanding of regional real-estate conditions. In the study of housing, remote sensing technology can help to extract building height as well as to calculate the number of floors and estimate the total amount of housing. It is more efficient and accurate compared to conventional statistical and sampling methods. Remote sensing is widely used in real-estate research and building height estimation, whereas it is less frequently used for the total estimation of urban housing. In this context, we used Chinese satellite GF-7 stereopair images, point of interest (POI) data, and other data combined with the digital surface model (DSM) and shadow methods to calculate the height of residential buildings. An efficient and accurate method system was then established for estimating the total housing and per capita living area (PCLA). According to the calculation of the PCLA of each district in Ningbo City (China), it was found that different regions were suitable for different development paths. Based on this, the driving factor model was derived and the real-estate development potential of Ningbo city was quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that Ningbo City, a first-tier city with a large population inflow, still has potential for real-estate development.

Shenzhen – A typical benchmark of Chinese rapid urbanization miracle

Shenzhen is one of the world's cities with the fastest urbanization and the most astonishing changes, and it is also a typical benchmark of Chinese rapid urbanization miracle. Under the tide of neoliberalism and globalization, the central government gave Shenzhen the priority of reform and experimentation first, then it has been rapidly pushed to the front stage as a test field for China's reform and opening up. Shenzhen has become the world's first-tier city in a short time with its location advantage and high-quality talent attraction, as well as active private economy and scientific and technological innovation. Through the multi-dimensional data analysis of the great changes during Shenzhen's urbanization, and a summary of the advantages of the Shenzhen model, this paper systematically answers the question that why Shenzhen can achieve urbanization so quickly. Furthermore, it concludes challenges of Shenzhen's future development and discusses the inspirations of the Shenzhen model for other cities. Based on the above analysis, this paper constructs an organic framework comprehensively covering achievements, characteristics, challenges, and inspirations of Shenzhen's rapid urbanization model. In the future, Shenzhen needs to transform from “Shenzhen Speed” to “Shenzhen Quality” to realize sustainable high-quality urbanization.

Dispositional Hope Level of Left-behind Children in Specific Primary Schools of Rural Ethnic Groups Bai and Shui

The aim of the study was to explore the perception of goals achieved by left-behind children (LBC) in two specific rural elementary schools, namely Zhenxing Central Complete Primary School in Yunnan and Sandong Primary School in Guizhou, comparing with the corresponding data in the sample of the general population of non-left-behind children (NLBC) in Chinas first-tier city Guangzhou. The research employed the quantitive study method of self-report. Quantitive data were collected from 13 August to 20 September 2022, by using self-reporting questionnaire as the Childrens Hope Scale (CHS). The study result shows relatively lower overall scores average in LBC groups than that of the NLBC group. However, all three average scores are in the scope of 17-24, which indicates a majority of highly hopeful mental status. The negative correlation between childrens ages and overall points gained also shows the influence of parent-separation length and sensitivity of childrens perceptions at different ages.

Effects on birds due to urbanization and potential solutions-a case study in Shenzhen, China

Urbanization has been bringing severe impacts on birds as industrial civilization develops. As urban areas rapidly expand, in addition to traditional problems such as industrial pollution and habitat loss, some seemly minor effects attract researchers attention. Common problems among these are noise pollution, light pollution, and bird-building collision. Past studies focus on the effects exerted on birds, but there is a lack of assessments of the real-life application of these findings. Therefore, Shenzhen, a first-tier city in China, is taken as a case to discuss how some of these indirect problems arise, how they affect endemic birds, and solutions that are either potential or have already brought good effects. By making a rough assessment of the citys situation, it is concluded that Shenzhens government and the public have taken many actions to make the city more environmental-friendly, i.e., installing acoustic barriers along highways and planting trees to limit the impact of noise pollution. However, for some newly emerged issues like mitigating bird-building collisions, academic studies have just begun and many improvements can be made. By analyzing these problems and solutions in a specific city, a rough reference for the level of environmental protection in one of the advanced cities in China is made. But more future studies about these problems should be made both regionally and domestically, and ecological effects should be further considered by the local government while making decisions.