Ger Area Research Articles

Land suitability analysis in monocentric post-socialist city: Case of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Urban expansion has been rapidly increasing and is projected to be tripled in 2030 in worldwide. The impact of urbanization has adverse effects on the environment and economic development. Residential lands consist of almost one-third of the urban area and heavily affect the city's inhabitants. The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, has been significantly expanded, particularly in the urban periphery where poor living conditions and a lack of essential urban services were identified. The paper aims to conduct a suitability analysis of residential areas in Ulaanbaatar city based on three main categories (livability, affordability, and accessibility) of fifteen criteria using the fuzzy logic. Through the study, we have identified some potential suitable residential areas for further development, such as apartment residential area located in the southern part of the city and four low-rise ger areas were distributed along major transport corridors. Moreover, the results indicated that the spatial structure of the whole town might be in transition to a polycentric pattern. However, a concentric ring pattern in the 'city's periphery displayed a concerning uncontrolled ger area expansion, which may increase low living conditions in the area. This study recommends better urban sprawl control policies and more property market investment in the ger area to ensure sustainable development goals in Ulaanbaatar.

Linear and Nonlinear Land Use Regression Approach for Modelling PM2.5 Concentration in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia during Peak Hours

In recent decades, air pollution in Ulaanbaatar has become a challenge regarding the health of the citizens of Ulaanbaatar, due to coal combustion in the ger area. Households burn fuel for cooking and to warm their houses in the morning and evening. This creates a difference between daytime and nighttime air pollution levels. The accurate mapping of air pollution and assessment of exposure to air pollution have thus become important study objects for researchers. The city center is where most air quality monitoring stations are located, but they are unable to monitor every residential region, particularly the ger area, which is where most particulate matter pollution originates. Due to this circumstance, it is difficult to construct an LUR model for the entire capital city’s residential region. This study aims to map peak PM2.5 dispersion during the day using the Linear and Nonlinear Land Use Regression (LUR) model (Multi-Linear Regression Model (MLRM) and Generalized Additive Model (GAM)) for Ulaanbaatar, with monitoring station measurements and mobile device (DUST TRUK II) measurements. LUR models are frequently used to map small-scale spatial variations in element levels for various types of air pollution, based on measurements and geographical predictors. PM2.5 measurement data were collected and analyzed in the R statistical software and ArcGIS. The results showed the dispersion map MLRM R2 = 0.84, adjusted R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 53.25 µg/m3 and GAM R2 = 0.89, and adjusted R2 = 0.87, RMSE = 44 µg/m3. In order to validate the models, the LOOCV technique was run on both the MLRM and GAM. Their performance was also high, with LOOCV R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 55.6 µg/m3, MAE = 38.7 µg/m3, and GAM LOOCV R2 = 0.77, RMSE = 65.5 µg/m3, MAE = 47.7 µg/m3. From these results, the LUR model’s performance is high, especially the GAM model, which works better than MRLM.

Developing and evaluating transit-based healthcare accessibility in a low- and middle-income country: A case study in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

This study examined transit-based accessibility to hospitals in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, which is one of the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Promoting transit-based accessibility to hospitals is an important public health policy goal because limited accessibility can lead to adverse health outcomes. Public transit is especially crucial for people living in LMICs because many of them lack private vehicles. However, transit-based hospital accessibility has not been widely studied in LMICs. With the recent development of open-source transit analysis tools and standardization of schedule-based transit network data protocols, we could build Ulaanbaatar's schedule-based transit network dataset in great detail. We computed transit-based accessibility to hospitals from 128,032 residential parcels in Ulaanbaatar. Overall, transit-based accessibility to hospitals was higher in the central area than in the peripheral areas of Ulaanbaatar. Specifically, transit-based accessibility to hospitals was significantly lower in the ger area (settlements without central infrastructure connection to heat, water, and sewage) than in the non-ger area (apartment area). The results revealed that about 10% of people living in the study area have inadequate transit-based accessibility to hospitals. Our research is one of the first studies attempting to create a detailed schedule-based transit network and measure transit-based accessibility to hospitals in a rapidly growing, under-examined city in LMICs.

Assessing the Environmental-Health-Economic Co-Benefits from Solar Electricity and Thermal Heating in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

This article quantifies the environmental, health, and economic co-benefits from the use of solar electricity and heat generation in the Ger area (a sub-district of traditional residences and private houses) in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia. The quantification of the featured co-benefits is based on calculating emissions reductions from the installation of the solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heaters. A user-friendly spreadsheet tool is developed to shed much-needed light on the steps involved in estimating these co-benefits. The tool simulates the hourly electricity and thermal energy generation, taking into account local meteorological conditions, local geographical data, and technical specifications of the solar power and heat generation systems. The tool is then employed to evaluate two intervention scenarios: (1) Installing 100 MW solar electricity, including both rooftop PV and community grids, to reduce the peak-load burden on the grid; (2) Providing solar thermal heaters for 20,000 households to replace the heating load demand from the existing heat only boilers (HOBs) in UB. The modelling results reveal a significant reduction in GHG emissions and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (PM that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter) by 311,000 tons and 767 tons, respectively, as well as nearly 6500 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and an annual saving of USD 7.7 million for the local economy. The article concludes that the mainstreaming spreadsheet-based estimation tools like the one used in this article into decision-making processes can fill important research gaps (e.g., usability of assessment tools) and help translate co-benefits analyses into action in Mongolia and beyond.

Community Perceptions about Participating in Urban Park Establishment in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

Urban parks are essential for communities to maintain and improve health, culture, and quality of life. However, Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, faces a shortage of urban parks due to overpopulation and unplanned land use. A good community-based strategy can help urban park planners and decision-makers understand residents’ needs. It can also improve livability and the urban environmental conditions at large. This paper attempts to understand residents’ perceptions about participating in urban park establishment and maintenance. As the past studies showed a lack of community participation in urban planning in Ulaanbaatar, it attempts to determine the extent to which residents perceive urban park benefits, the importance of community participation, preferred types of contribution, and willingness to contribution land in establishing urban parks in their neighborhood. In doing so, it identifies socio-demographic factors that influence their willingness to participate and contribute. A total of 600 paper-based questionnaires were randomly distributed among ger and apartment residents, and only 535 were analyzed. The result shows that approximately 73% of the respondents considered community participation very important for establishing urban parks in their neighborhood. Most respondents perceived urban park benefits as playgrounds for children, and relaxation and recreation. Respondents’ education and housing type were found significant in overall willingness to participate in park establishment and maintenance, whereas marital status and land size were observed statistically significant in the willingness of sharing some portions of their lands for park establishment in the ger area.

토양 및 수질 오염의 실태 및 원인 분석: 몽골 울란바토르 게르지역의 위기관리를 중심으로

토양 및 수질 오염의 실태 및 원인 분석: 몽골 울란바토르 게르지역의 위기관리를 중심으로

Correlation between simulations and measurements of an eco-house design for Mongolia

Mongolia is experiencing unprecedented urbanization along with recent economic growth. Ulaanbaatar is known to be the coldest capital in the world and heating demand is very high during the long winter season. Due to the increase of coal burning to provide heat, there is an urgent need to improve housing and to reduce energy use and air pollution. Currently, there is a revitalization of the Ger area of Mongolia and this presents a good opportunity to redevelop the region into an ecologically designed district with sustainable housing. Such a redesign will result in energy saving and air pollution reduction. With this goal in mind, a pilot project called Create Accord Living Environment (CALE), was developed to demonstrate living conditions with a new house design that is cost effective for Mongolia. This paper presents the house performance using an energy simulation and the results are correlated with measurement data taken during the wintertime. The average energy use intensity (EUI) for 5 CALE houses was found to be 112 kWh/m2/yr. This is a 71% energy savings compared to a typical detached house with a modern and efficient house design. If it is possible to redevelop 1000 houses in the Ger area, an estimated 6.5 kton/yr in carbon emission can be saved. In addition, a parametric study was conducted to investigate the impact of different construction materials, craftsmanship quality, and occupants' behavior on the house's energy efficiency. The proposed housing structures, which provide a comfortable living space with significantly reduced energy utilization, serves as a potential model for development both within Mongolia as well as for other similar climates.

Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Soil of the Ger District in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate human health and potential ecological risk assessment in the ger district of Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia. To perform these risk assessments, soil samples were collected based on reference studies that investigated heavy element distribution in soil samples near the ger area in Ulaanbaatar city. In total, 42 soil samples were collected and 26 heavy metals were identified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) methods. The measurement results were compared with the reference data in order to validate the soil contamination level. Although there was a large difference between the measurement results of the present and reference data, the general tendency was similar. Soil contamination was assessed by pollution indexes such as geoaccumulation index and enrichment factor. Mo and As were the most enriched elements compared with the other elements. The carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks to children exceeded the permissible limits, and for adults, only 12 out of 42 sampling points exceeded the permissible limit of noncarcinogenic effects. According to the results of the ecological risk assessment, Zn and Pb showed from moderate to considerable contamination indexes and high toxicity values for ecological risk of a single element. The Cr and As ranged as very high ecological risk than that of the other measured heavy metals.

Participatory Approach to Gap Analysis between Policy and Practice Regarding Air Pollution in Ger Areas of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, suffers from severe air pollution during the long winter months, and its air pollution levels are among the highest in the world. Residents in the ger areas of Ulaanbaatar are unable to take advantage of the laws and policy regulations to reduce air pollution despite years of efforts to address this issue by international and local organizations including the government of Mongolia (GoM). Important challenges and barriers that have limited the success of various governmental policies that tackle air pollution problems were identified through participatory approaches. In order to do this, personal interviews were conducted with various stakeholders such as officials from central and local governments, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, and academia. Moreover, a workshop was conducted to elucidate the views of ger area community members in Ulaanbaatar. Based on the results of these interviews and workshop, the gaps between the policy approaches of the government, the actual conditions, and the desired situations of the residents to improve air quality in Ulaanbaatar were analyzed. The large gaps that were identified between the national and local perspectives on air pollution issues demonstrated that the reduction of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar requires solving fundamental and complex problems based on a better understanding of the specific conditions and needs of the residents of the ger areas. Moreover, active participation and discussion of the residents at the workshop indicated that community-based approaches could be applied in the cultural context of Mongolia with promising results in finding solutions.

Household Willingness to Pay for Wastewater Treatment and Water Supply System Improvement in a Ger Area in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia

This study aimed to investigate the willingness of residents of ger (traditional nomadic house) areas to pay for improvements in the water supply and wastewater treatment system in terms of capital costs and operation and management (O&M) costs by contingent valuation (CV) method and payment card format. The problems in the ger area are a lack of a drainage system, the use of unimproved sanitation technology, and an unsafe water supply, in addition to the direct discharging of wastewater into pit latrines, soak pits, yards, and streets. The contribution of this study is the application of this method in a previously unstudied area to enhance the participation of ger communities that are absent in the development plan of Ulaanbaatar city. A field survey was conducted in one of the ger areas, the Damba planning unit, and 298 samples were collected from residents. Data were analyzed and compared using ordinary least squares (OLS) and Tobit regression models. Model results showed that the average total willingness to pay for the water supply and wastewater treatment facility installation was 1000 thousand Mongolian tugrik (MNT), and the average total willingness to pay for the operation and management costs was a maximum of 3000 MNT per month. The important factors affecting the residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for installation were the housing type, current monthly payment for water supply, income level, and education, in order of significance. People living in their own detached house and educated greater than high school were more willing to pay for the installation of water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. Those who were paying higher for their monthly water supply were more willing to pay for the installation cost. With respect to the WTP for O&M cost, the WTP was associated with the family size, income level, housing, time for water access, and education, in order of significance. Families a larger number of members were more willing to pay, and low-income people were less willing to pay for O&M. Education showed a positive influence on the WTP for O&M. Water access time also affected the WTP of those who could not access water within 30 min, as they indicated low WTP values.

Sources and Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ambient Total Suspended Particles in Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia.

The purpose of this study was to identify pollution sources by characterizing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from total suspended particles in Ulaanbaatar City. Fifteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in total suspended particle samples collected from different sites, such as the urban center, industrial district and ger (Mongolian traditional house) areas, and residential areas both in heating (January, March), and non-heating (September) periods in 2017. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration ranged between 131 and 773 ng·m−3 in winter, 22.2 and 530.6 ng·m−3 in spring, and between 1.4 and 54.6 ng·m−3 in autumn. Concentrations of specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as phenanthrene were higher in the ger area in winter and spring seasons, and the pyrene concentration was dominant in late summer in the residential area. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations in the ger area were particularly higher than the other sites, especially in winter. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon ratios indicated that vehicle emissions were likely the main source at the city center in the winter time. Mixed contributions from biomass, coal, and petroleum combustion were responsible for the particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pollution at other sampling sites during the whole observation period. The lifetime inhalation cancer risk values in the ger area due to winter pollution were estimated to be 1.2 × 10−5 and 2.1 × 10−5 for child and adult exposures, respectively, which significantly exceed Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

Distributional effects of Ger area redevelopment in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

ABSTRACTGer area in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia has unique characteristics as nomadic portable dwellings have been clustered in the urban area through massive migration with a transition to a market economy. Since it has given rise to serious urban problems, including low-density urban sprawl, lack of basic services and infrastructure, and city-wide environmental pollution, Ger area has been dealt with as squatter and informal settlement to be eventually redeveloped. This study concentrates more on the fact that Ger area has become a legitimate settlement through the privatization of land, recognizing that the privatized land is a real asset by which Ger residents take advantage of the redevelopment as an opportunity to overcome poverty. In this regard, it examines how the land asset distributed free of charge, has contributed to asset accumulation of Ger residents through redevelopment. Empirical simulation based on financial cost–benefit assessments reveals that all redevelopment profits belong to developers exclusively, while Ger residents do not share any profit. Therefore, it is recommended that the redevelopment profit be shared with Ger residents, including the joint venture model in which the profit is distributed in proportion of land and capital equity investment with land price reflected potentialities of high-density land use. It is also recommended that some of the redevelopment profit be converted into providing affordable housing and, particularly in the scheme of land value capture, providing off-site and connecting infrastructure which otherwise the government supplies with taxpayers’ money.

Development of thermal evaluation tool for detached houses in Mongolia

During winter-time in Mongolia, the air pollution is so severe that it threatens the citizens’ health. Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia, and its population represents about half of the total population of Mongolia. The majority of people in the Ger area, approximately 50% of population of Ulaanbaatar, rely on direct coal burning to generate the required heat to maintain a comfortable environment in the cold season. The heavy reliance on coal leads to catastrophic air pollutant emissions including carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which leads to global warming, climate change and human health. As it is identified that building insulation retrofit is one of the best ways to reduce the reliance on coal consumption due to the improved heat retention and air tightness, a tool, named “FIXIT” has been developed to quickly quantify the impact from insulation retrofit. This paper presents how “FIXIT” was developed and is applied to help house owners to understand their building performance. Not only can “FIXIT” be applied for individual houses, it can also be used to estimate the reduction of air pollution from coal burning due to insulation retrofit. With “FIXIT”, it is estimated that about 530 ktons of carbon emissions reduction can be targeted by applying building insulation retrofit, if around the 100,000 detached houses in Ulaanbaatar apply insulation retrofit. By highlighting the advantages on the building performance, “FIXIT” can encourage more house owners to improve their house insulation quality and thus contribute to the air quality, creating a cleaner and healthier environment and saving on fuel use.

The some results of study on outdoor and indoor ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub>

In this study, PM2.5 pollution of indoor and outdoor ambience has been measured on a household which is located between the Ger area and the residential district at simultaneous duration and point. In order to analyze, we used n = 3,119,500 data which was measured at each 10 second during 24 hours period. The instrument that was used to study, created by Nagoya University and Panasonic Corporation. In recent years, the capital of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is leading the air pollution during the winter in the world, and the majority of this pollution is comprised of PM2.5 . Fine particles are very harmful to human health, and people spend approximately 90% of their lives in the indoor ambient. Thus, it is important to measure continuously the amount of indoor and outdoor PM2.5, so we have selected two points and indicated some statistical analysis on indoor and outdoor ambient. The results of this study indicate the PM2.5 concentrations of air in Ulaanbaatar are higher than the air quality standard in October and peak in the December and January. Also, due to the feature of the sites being measured, pollution of indoor ambient was demonsrated strong or weak level, which is depended on outdoor ambient pollution. The measurements of the majority days were a high level of pollution from at 00:00 to 04:00 pm, however, it was decreased at 5:00 pm, but it started to increase around 07:00 to 09:00 in the morning, and it decreased from 10:00 am to low level of the pollution whole day. At 18 o’clock in the evening, the pollution was increasing and at the peak of the day, the fine particle pollution up to 02:00 on the next day.

Traditional dwelling in ger area, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Traditional dwelling in ger area, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Cost Benefit Analysis of Air Pollution Abatement Options in the Ger Area, Ulaanbaatar, and Health Benefits Using Contingent Valuation

Cost Benefit Analysis of Air Pollution Abatement Options in the Ger Area, Ulaanbaatar, and Health Benefits Using Contingent Valuation

Method of compensations evaluation in Ulaanbaatar

It is significant to make evaluation of ger area, determine market price of compensation, process evaluation procedure of compensation evaluation, transfer land for need of capital city and determine compensation using methods in international evaluation standards of land and cadastre evaluations methods. Land of Ulaanbaatar city is divided in 65 regions for evaluation, market price per a square meters of land is 156063 Tugrugs. In making adjustment on regional market price using factors to impact on land in accordance with certain methods, price of land per square meter reached 220049 Tugrugs. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjas.v11i2.233 Mongolian Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol.11(2) 2013 pp.129-132

Land use patterns and SO2 and NO2 pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

We proposed to study spatial distribution and source contribution of SO2 and NO2 pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We collected 2-week ambient SO2 and NO2 concentration samples at 38 sites, which were classified by major sources of air pollution such as ger areas and/or major roads, in three seasons as warm (September, 2011), cold (November–December, 2011), and moderate (March, 2012) in Ulaanbaatar. The SO2 and NO2 concentrations were collected by Ogawa ambient air passive samplers and analyzed by ion chromatography and spectrophotometry methods, respectively. Stepwise regression models were used to estimate the contribution of emission proxies, such as the distance to major roads, ger areas, power plants, and city center, to the ambient concentrations of SO2 and NO2. We found that the SO2 and NO2 concentrations were significantly higher in the cold season than in the warm and moderate seasons at all 38 ambient sampling sites. The SO2 concentrations in 20 ger sites (46.60ppb in the cold season and 17.82ppb in the moderate season) were significantly higher than in 18 non-ger sites (23.35ppb in the cold season and 12.53ppb in the moderate season). The NO2 concentrations at 19 traffic/road sites (12.85ppb in the warm season and 20.48ppb in the moderate season) were significantly higher than those at 19 urban sites (7.60ppb and 14.39ppb in the moderate season). Multiple regression models show that SO2 concentrations decreased by 23% in the cold and 17% in the moderate seasons at 0.70km from the ger areas, an average of all sampling sites, and by 29% in the moderate season at 4.83km from the city center, an average of all sampling sites. Multiple regression models show that the NO2 concentrations at 4.83km from the city center decreased by 38% in the warm and 29% in the moderate seasons. Our models also report that NO2 concentrations at 0.16km from the main roads decreased by 15% and 9% in the warm and the moderate seasons, respectively, and by 16% in the cold season decreased at the location 0.70km from the ger area. The NO2 concentration at the location 4.83km from the city center was decreased by 18% and at the location 4.79km from the power plants by 21%. Our study concludes that SO2 and NO2 concentrations are very high in Ulaanbaatar, especially in the winter, and can be explained by several land use variables, including the distance to the ger areas, the city center, the main roads, and the power plants.

Inexorable Rise of Ger in Mongolia: Demolition for Redevelopment or Conservation for Improvement?

This paper addresses the urbanization of Ulaanbaatar (UB) city in Mongolia by examining ger areas that have experienced unprecedented expansion during the past two decades due to rural-to-urban migration. Regardless of drastic urbanization in UB, ger continue to sprawl out into the suburbs. This article attempts to discover some unique characteristics of urbanization in Ulaanbaatar city while focusing on ger area issues. The urbanization in UB is approached by focusing on three main issues of ger areas: socio-economic situation, infrastructure provision, and environmental pollution. Together, these issues construct a research framework for this paper. The results of this study imply that ger area need to be considered as historically unique assets embedded in Mongolia as well as urban squats in need of redevelopment.

Household needs and demand for improved water supply and sanitation in peri-urban ger areas: the case of Darkhan, Mongolia

The lack of adequate water supply and sanitation services is a major issue related to sustainable development in many parts of the developing world. New strategic planning approaches which directly address users’ needs and demand—often referred to as demand-responsive, community-based or household-centred approaches—are regarded as a crucial step towards improving the situation. This paper investigates household needs and demand for improved water supply and sanitation services in peri-urban, low-income settlements, known as “ger areas”, in the city of Darkhan, Mongolia. The paper is based largely on a household survey conducted in a selected ger area subdistrict in Darkhan. The results reveal a complex picture. Even if the existing situation can be regarded as largely “improved” in terms of the definitions stipulated by the Joint Monitoring Programme for water supply and sanitation, it is shown that there is a need for action nonetheless. The paper also argues that the household survey is a useful method for assessing users’ needs and demand and for meeting the requirements of demand-responsive sanitation planning approaches.