Non-industrial City Research Articles

Effects of meteorological variables and dry seasonal months on PM2.5 concentration in non-industrial cities: the case of Guanajuato city

Effects of meteorological variables and dry seasonal months on PM2.5 concentration in non-industrial cities: the case of Guanajuato city

Fostering inclusive green growth in China: Identifying the impact of the regional integration strategy of Yangtze River Economic Belt

Inclusive green growth has garnered significant attention from governments and international organizations worldwide. Utilizing data from 282 cities in China spanning from 2010 to 2020, this study employs the dual machine learning model and the chain mediated effect model to delve into the effects and internal mechanisms of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth. Our findings indicate that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt has a substantial influence on inclusive green growth, particularly in cities with a higher degree of marketization, non-industrial cities, and cities lacking natural resource advantages. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt exerts its influence on inclusive green growth through three parallel development paths including enhancing urban innovation levels, fostering mass entrepreneurship, and promoting the advancement of digital financial inclusion. Furthermore, the chain mediated effect is supported. Additionally, the spatial spillover effect of target policy is observed. These findings offer empirical evidence regarding the impact of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth, and provide valuable insights for optimizing and enhancing inclusive green growth strategies in China and other emerging economies.

Citizen environmental complaint reporting and air quality improvement: A panel regression analysis in China

Citizen environmental complaint reporting provides a vital mode of public participation in environmental protection, particularly in addressing atmospheric pollution and improving air quality. This study explores the impact of environmental complaint reporting on the improvement of atmospheric environmental quality by employing panel regression and simultaneous equation models. Analyzing panel data from 295 Chinese cities between 2018 and 2020, The results indicate that environmental complaint reporting significantly contributes to the enhancement of atmospheric environmental quality, even after considering endogenous effects. The heterogeneity analysis results suggest that the effectiveness of environmental complaint reporting in improving atmospheric environmental quality is more pronounced in cities with higher levels of air pollution and greater economic development. In addition, the results show a differential impact of environmental complaint reporting in industrial-dominated cities compared to non-industrial cities, emphasizing their effectiveness in improving air quality among areas with more pronounced emission sources. The results of this study provide valuable insights into air pollution control efforts in China and offer important lessons for other countries facing similar challenges.

PIG-A gene mutation as a mutagenicity biomarker among coke oven workers.

PIG-A gene mutations can be detected in humans, and PIG-A assays can potentially predict the risk of exposure to carcinogens. However, extensive, population-based studies to validate this are lacking. We studied a cohort of occupational coke oven workers with chronic high exposure to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are well-studied genotoxins classified by the IARC as carcinogenic to humans. Peripheral blood erythrocytes of workers were assessed for gene mutations using a PIG-A assay, and chromosome damage using the cytokinesis-block micronucleus test with lymphocytes. Two sample populations from a non-industrialized city and new employees in industrial plants were selected as controls. We observed a significantly elevated PIG-A mutation frequency (MF) and increased frequencies of micronuclei (MN) and nuclear buds (NBUDs) in coke oven workers, compared with levels in the control groups. We found that the coke oven workers with different lengths of service had a relatively high mutation frequency. Overall, the study findings showed that occupational exposure of coke oven workers increases the genetic damage and the PIG-A MF could be a potential biomarker for risk assessment of carcinogen exposure.

Exposure to air pollution - trigger for acute coronary syndromes. Longitude study in two cohorts of industrial and non-industrial cities

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Science Center in Poland. Background Poland is one of the most polluted countries in Europe [1]. The most polluted cities are located in the south of the country, with the main sources of pollution associated with the industrial branch, and in the eastern part where non-industrial regions with low emissions sources are related to the effect of Polish smog [2,3]. Objectives A comparison of the short-term impact of air pollution exposure on the incidence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in two cohorts with different sources of air pollution. Materials and methods The study covered two voivodship cities with different sources of air pollution. Analyze included 7,200,000 person-years of follow-up and four pollutants NO2, SO2, and particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 mm or less (PM2.5) and 10 mm or less (PM10) between 2008 and 2018. A time-stratified (simple indicator variables) Poisson regression analysis with 3-lag was used to assess the effects of air pollution on ACS. We adjusted our model for the day of the week and public holidays, as confounders, we used daily relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, and temperature. The analysis was done separately for each city in the NSTEMI and STEMI groups. To avoid the co-linearity effect, each pollutant was modeled separately. Results A total of 10,582 patients with ACS were included in the analysis, of whom 5,153 (48.9%) had STEMI. The age-standardized rate per 100,000 population per year for ACS was higher in industrial city (238.8 vs. 82.5, P<0.001). The WHO 2021 daily norms for PM2.5 (75.6% vs. 24.2%), PM10 (32.3% vs. 11.2%), NO2 (61.5% vs. 6%), and SO2 (3.4% vs. 0.1%) were more often exceed in the industrial area (P<0.001). In the non-industrial city, an increase of 10 µg/m3 in SO2 (ORLAG0=1.02, 95%CI 1.016–1097; P<0.001), PM2.5 (ORLAG0=1.016, 95%CI 1.001–1.031; P<0.001) and PM10 concentration (ORLAG1=1.006, 95%CI 1.004–1.027; P=0.01) were associated with an increase in the number of hospitalizations due to STEMI. The effect of SO2 was observed up to 2 days [(ORLAG1=1.019, 95%CI 1.053–1.134; P<0.001); (ORLAG2=1.113, 95%CI 1.037–1.193, P<0.001)] and up to 1 day in case of the PM2.5 (ORLAG1=1.007, 95%CI 1.012–1.041; P<0.001). The influence of NO2 was observed in NSTEMI patients in industrial city (ORLAG0=1.02, 95CI 1.05–1.136; P<0.001) as well as in the non-industrial city (ORLAG0=1.058, 95%CI 1.047–1.308; P=0.01). No effect on STEMI incidence was noted in the non-industrial city. Conclusion The effect of air pollution on the incidence of ACS was observed in both areas despite of source and level of air pollution. The risk of air pollution-related ACS was higher in the industrial over the non-industrial area. A clinical effect was more delayed in time in patients with STEMI, especially after exposure to SO2.

The legal concept of the formation of a humanitarian science city of a non-industrial city (on the example of the city of Khanty-Mansiysk)

The article deals with the development of a legal concept for the formation of a humanitarian science city of a modern non-industrial city based on the actual material of the city of Khanty-Mansiysk. The relevance of the chosen topic is determined by the most important task of effective and comprehensive legal regulation and organizational and legal support for the socio-economic development of Russian cities and regions, considering the specific features of their historical, geographical, political, legal, social and other characteristics. To solve this problem, the activity of science cities is still relevant, which in modern conditions can expand the scope of scientific research in the fields of not only technical and natural sciences, but also form humanitarian science cities based on non-industrial cities. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the municipal legal concept of creating humanitarian scientific clusters and transforming non-industrial cities (on the example of the city of Khanty-Mansiysk) into humanitarian science cities, the research topics of which will be scientific, practical and interdisciplinary in nature. The objects of study, considering the goal, include science cities and scientific clusters created in the non-traditional for them sphere of humanitarian scientific activity and the proposed method for their creation: at the initiative of regional and local scientific institutions, universities, public associations, organizations, scientific schools and creative teams. The novelty of the conceptual approach lies in the fact that for the first time in legal science the issues of legal regulation of the formation of humanitarian science cities are considered.

Assessment of the Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic Stay-at-Home Measures on Potable Water Consumption Patterns, Location, and Financial Impacts for Water Utilities in Colombian Cities

Several studies suggest that social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the water sector, specifically regarding its demand and supply. Given the importance of hygiene practices, this effect is heightened by the role that potable water availability has in tackling the spread of the virus. This study aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on the water consumption patterns and location in four Colombian cities known for their important commercial, industrial, academic, and touristic features. Results exhibit diverse diminishing water consumption trends alongside COVID-19 because of different attributes of the cities (e.g., size, environmental, socioeconomic, and sociocultural characteristics). For instance, the touristic case study has been the most affected because of travel restrictions, with an average commercial demand drop of 32%. In contrast, industrial case studies have had a rapid recovery in water demand, with average industrial drops of 11–14% compared to 20–25% in non-industrial cities. These water demand changes do not affect only the operation of water utilities, but also their finances. Economic losses were estimated at 3.7%, 2.4%, and 6.4% of the expected incomes for the first 14 months of the pandemic for the case studies in this paper. Under a changing environment, understanding these changes and challenges is fundamental for ensuring that water systems are resilient in any unexpected situation.

Characterization and ecotoxicological risk assessment of sewage sludge from industrial and non-industrial cities.

The present study highlights the occurrence and the temporal variations of physicochemical properties, and heavy metals in the sludge from sewage treatment plants (STPs) located in industrial (two sites) and non-industrial (one site) cities of Haryana, India. The sludge was acidic (5.59) to neutral (7.21) with a mean EC of 7.4 dS m-1. Prominent heavy metals present in the sewage sludge from industrial sites were Cd, Ni, and Cr with maximum values of 2.83, 1449.0, and 3918.5mgkg-1, respectively. The contamination and enrichment factor better explained the buildup of Ni, Cr, and Cu in the sewage sludge from industrial sites. The pH, total carbon, phosphorus, and other water-soluble anions, viz. SO42-, Cl-, HCO3-, and PO43-, were the most important attributes of sludge controlling the binding and removal of the metals with particulate matters during the phase separation in STPs. These attributes explained about 90% of the variation in Cd, Ni, Cr, Cu, Mn, and Zn content of the sludge from different STPs. Sludge from the non-industrial site had a low potential ecological risk index of 74.0 compared to a very high-risk index of 2186.5 associated with the industrial sites. This study concludes that besides the concentration of the heavy metals, the enrichment factor coupled with geo-accumulation or ecological risk index can effectively categorize the sludge. However, these indices need to be linked with bioaccumulation, bioaccessibility, and biomass quality under different agroecologies for guiding the safer use of sewage sludge in agriculture.

Distribution and the use of diagnostic ratios for source investigation in urban soils of the Yenagoa City, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Yenagoa is a non-industrialized city. This work aims to investigate the distribution, content and source of the sixteen United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban soils of the Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The PAH concentrations in the urban soil samples were performed using GC–MS method. The Swali market axis of the city had the highest concentration (∑PAHs). The burden of low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs follows a decreasing order: Phenanthrene > acenaphthene>cenaphthylene>naphthalene> anthracene>fluorine and while the burden of high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs follows the decreasing order: Pyrene> Dibenzo (a,h) anthracene > indeno [1,2,3-cd] pyrene (InP> Chrysene> Fluoranthene> Benzo(a)anthracene> Benzo(k)fluoranthene> Benzo(b)fluoranthene. PAH fingerprint ratios for determining both petrogenic and pyrogenic (pyrolytic) PAH accumulation was employed. The Ph/An ratio for the soil samples were 2.49, 3.47, 0.613, 1.59, 1.99 and 2.44 respectively. This may be indicative of pyrogenic (pyrolytic) origin. Ind(1,2,3-cd)P and DbahA were high in the soils, this may indicate a major concern for carcinogenic risk and demands an urgent attention from policy makers and the government.

Assessment of Health Impacts of PM2.5 by AirQ+ Software in the City of Sanandaj, Iran (2018-2019)

Background: Particulate or particle mattes in term of air pollution are particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5). PM2.5 is a natural source of air pollution and has harmful effects on citizens in Sanandaj City, located in the west of Iran. Methods: In this study, the hourly data of concentration of PM2.5 were taken from the Kurdistan Environmental Protection Agency. During the study period (2018-2019), the 24-hour concentration of PM2.5 exceeded 339 times the average level. By AirQ+ software, the relationship between data and Relative Risk (RR), Baseline Incidence (BI), and Attributable Proportion (AP) were estimated. Then chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, and brain stroke in the range of over 30 years were estimated. Results: The main target of this study was to survey the relationship between PM2.5 concentration and the death rate of citizens of this non-industrial city. The long-term health effect (more than 6 months) of PM2.5 caused 326 deaths on average (except for accidents and poisoning). Conclusion: Increase the concentration of PM2.5 is one factor that affects a high percentage of mortality rate.

Biochemical Signs of Children's Microsaturnism

For industrialized areas, the problem of the anthropogenic pollution of the environment is not only relevant, but it also exacerbates at a qualitatively new level due to a significant deterioration of almost all the indicators of the population health, especially children's health. Among the wide variety of the factors that affect the people, the leading place belongs to the chemical one, in the spectrum of which the special place is occupied by the heavy metals and such a global and potentially dangerous toxicant as lead is on the first place. The purpose of research was to assess the low-dose effect of lead on the microelement state and prenosological indicators of the health of preschool children living under conditions of constant exposure to it. Material and methods. The obtained data testify to the constant presence of lead in environmental objects city Dnepr in concentrations for the most part do not exceed permissible ones, however, in 1.5-1.6 times higher than in unpolluted areas. Hygienic monitoring of the content of lead, copper and zinc in the air, water and food products of two industrial regions of the city of Dnipro and a "conditionally clean" region of a non-industrial city were carried out. The degree of influence of lead load was estimated with using a dose-dependent approach using biomonitoring and specific biochemical parameters. To assess the prenosological state of health of the child population, 46 and 57 children from preschool institutions in the observation areas aged 5 to 6 years old and 20 children from the control area were simultaneously examined according to a similar scheme. Results and discussion. The average content of lead in the blood of 70-100% of children from the industrial areas is 1.6-5 times higher than the standard and 9.5-30 times higher than the control one. In the urine of 33-66% of the surveyed children from the industrial areas and 12% of children from the control one the lead concentration is 6.4-12.8 times higher than the standard. Hair of preschoolers contains lead in concentrations that correspond to the permissible level, but 2-3.5 times higher than that of children in the control area, found in 73-78% of those surveyed. The concentration of lead in the teeth of children from industrial regions is 4.6 times higher than the normative level recommended by the World Health Organization, and in nails it is 3.2 times higher than the background values. The content of copper in all biosubstrates of children is determined at the physiological level, and zinc is lower by 49-80%. The increased content of lead in biosubstrates is accompanied by an increase of the activity of δ-ALA in the urine of children from the industrial areas by 1.2 and 1.9 times compared with the recommended norm, it was observed in 51-89% of the examined. Conclusion. The revealed biochemical disorders in the organism of children indicate the beginning of the development of microsaturnism, which, on the background of violations of the microelement status, is the ground for the search for effective measures of reducing the "lead pressure" on the health of the child population

Pollution status and human health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban street dust of Tyumen city, Russia.

This study investigated levels and sources of pollution and potential health risks associated with potentially toxic elements (PTEs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban street dust collected from Tyumen city, a large transport centre with one of the highest motorization rates in Russia. Twenty street dust samples were collected from four grades of roads in five different land use areas. Research methods included measurements of physical and chemical properties of street dust, concentrations of 18 PTEs using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, 12 PAHs using high-performance liquid chromatography, and statistical analysis of the data. Concentrations of Ni, Cr, Sb, and Mo, as well as medium and high molecular weight PAHs in urban street dust, were notably higher than in soils within the city, which indicates that transport is the main source of these elements. Concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, and As in street dust of Tyumen were lower compared to many large cities, while Cr, Ni, and Co were higher. Concentrations of PAH were comparable to other large nonindustrial cities. Total contamination of street dust by both PTEs and PAHs showed more robust relationships with the number of roadway lanes rather than land use. The estimated carcinogenic risks were low in 70% of samples and medium in 30% of samples. Noncarcinogenic risks were attributed to exposure to Co, Ni, V, and As. The total noncarcinogenic risk for adults was found to be negligible, while the risk was found to be moderate for children.

Time and Work in Rural England, 1500–1700*

Abstract ‘Free of haste, careless of exactitude, unconcerned by productivity.’ This is how Jacques Le Goff characterized the temporality of pre-industrial rural working life. In E. P. Thompson’s famous argument, it was only with the arrival of the factory and the industrial age that the erratic rhythms of English working people were abruptly swept away by a new imperative for long and regular working hours controlled by the clock. It is a thesis that has been much debated in relation to pre- and non-industrial cities, and with regard to the impact of industrialization when it arrived. There has, however, been very little scrutiny of its account of the relationship between time and work in rural England before industrialization. This article therefore offers the first extensive empirical study of both time consciousness and work-related time-use in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century rural England. It does so by drawing on the testimony that ordinary women and men gave before the courts, testimony that often divulged both how those people told the time of day, and how they used it. What emerges is that English rural society in this period had a relatively high degree of clock-time awareness, and that everyday patterns of work followed more consistent and regular rhythms than Thompson’s thesis allows. As a consequence, the article argues that we need to question the assumption that the long hours and work discipline of ‘modernity’ had no roots in ‘traditional’ English rural life.

Biochemical changes in the organism of children as predictors of microsaturnism

Purpose – to evaluate the low-dose effect of on the microelement state and the pre-nosological indicators of the health in preschool children living in conditions of its permanent impact. Materials and methods. Hygienic monitoring of lead, copper, and zinc in air, water, and foodstuffs was carried out in two industrial districts of Dniprо city and a “conditionally clean” district of a non-industrial city. To assess the prenosological state of health in the child contingent, 46 and 57 children from pre-school institutions in the observation areas city, aged 5 to 6 years and 20 children from the control area were examined in a similar way. Results. The average blood content in 70–100 % of children in industrial areas is 1.6–5 times higher than the normative and 9.5–30 times the control. In 33–66 % of the children examined in the industrial areas and 12 % of the controls, the urine concentration is 6.4–12.8 times higher than the standard. Hair concentration in preschoolers corresponds to the permissible level, but is 2–3.5 times higher than in the children from the control region, which was found in 73–78 % of the examined. Tooth concentration in the children from industrial areas is 4.6 times higher than the standard level recommended by WHO, and in the nail is 3.2 times the background values. The copper content in all biosubstrates of children is determined at the physiological level, and zinc – lower by 49–80 %. The elevated content in biosubstrates is accompanied by 1.2 and 1.9 times increase in urinary δ-ALA activity in the children from industrial areas as compared with the recommended norm, which was observed in 51–89 % of the children examined. Conclusions. The biochemical abnormalities identified in the body of children indicate the beginning of microsaturnism development, which in case of microelemental status violations, is the rationale for finding effective means of reducing the lead pressure on the child population health.

Features of atmospheric air pollution in a non-industrial city: risk for the population.

Purpose – to study the territorial features of atmospheric air pollution of the regional administrative center without specific industrial sources of pollution, to determine carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks for the population. The study was carried out in Rivne. The results of our own observations, the materials of the State Institution “Rivne Regional Laboratory Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”, the materials of the Central Geophysical Observatory of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Ukraine were analyzed. It was found that in the atmospheric air of Rivne, a regional center with a number of industrial facilities of communal property and a developed road network, the presence of chemical compounds of different classes is stably recorded, the concentrations of which in 20-40% of the samples exceed the MPC and reference concentrations. Territorial indicators of the content of harmful substances are in the following relationship: motorway ≥ industrial zone > park zone. Hygienic assessment of air quality by MPC criteria allows it to be classified as slightly hazardous. According to the criteria of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks, air pollution in the city is not safe for the population and requires the adoption of preventive measures. It was shown that with exposure of detected air pollution there is a rather high probability of damage to the respiratory system of the body and the appearance of congenital malformations, as well as the development of cancer pathology. Hazard assessment of air pollution by carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks indicators is more informative and critically significant for determining its effect on public health.

Selected metal content and antioxidant capacity of Sambucus nigra flowers from the urban areas versus soil parameters and traffic intensity.

The metal accumulation and antioxidant contents in flowers of wild specimens of European elder (Sambucus nigra L.), a famous medicinal plant and valuable component in the urban landscape, were determined. The total reflection X-ray fluorescence revealed the presence of K, Rb, Ca, Sr, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn associated with flowers. A typical, large, non-industrial city with considerable traffic and atmospheric pollution resulting from smog was chosen as a place of sampling. Obtained results were correlated with selected parameters of soil and the intensity of surrounding traffic. The flowers were relatively rich in elements K, Ca, Cu, Rb, and antioxidants, while it did not accumulate heavy metals potentially bioavailable in the soil. The correlation between street traffic and the content of Fe, Cr, and Zn in elderflowers was revealed; the metal quantities were below levels harmful to humans. Flowers from the city center exhibited higher antioxidant and radical scavenging capacities comparing to plants from the areas of little traffic. The antioxidant parameters were negatively correlated with the silty fraction content and positively with the potentially bioavailable levels of Ti and Mn in soils and increased with the amount of Rb in the flowers. It was proven for the first time that the urban specimens of wild S. nigra can perform as a local source of beneficial flowers providing cost-effective support in disease prevention and treatment.

Levels, sources, and toxicity assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban topsoils of an intensively developing Western Siberian city.

This study investigates the levels, sources, spatial distribution, and toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban soils of Tyumen, Russia. Observations of PAHs in cities of Western Siberia accomplished by a representative set of samples are very rare, even though it is one of the most urbanized parts of Russia. Therefore, it is important to estimate the status of PAHs in soils of urban environments representing vast Siberian regions. Tyumen, as one of the most intensively developing cities of Western Siberia, is a good object for such studies. Topsoil samples (0-10cm) were collected from 241 sampling sites on a regular grid within Tyumen city limits. It was found that total concentration of 12 priority PAHs ranged from 33.4 to 2147.9μgkg-1, with a median value of 280.3μgkg-1. High-molecular-weight (HMW) PAHs were dominant, accounting for the majority (62%) of the total PAHs. Among the PAHs in soils, 4-ring compounds were predominant in all studied samples, followed by 5- and 6-ring PAHs. Phenanthrene, pyrene, fluoranthene, and benzo(ghi)perylene had values of 28%, 19%, 15%, and 10% of total PAHs, respectively. Results showed that large high-contrast anomalies of HMW PAHs were related to low-residential and transport areas. The diagnostic ratios, as well as hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), confirmed that sources associated with the transport were the most significant, while biomass combustion played an important role as a source of PAHs in agricultural, low-residential, and recreational areas. Levels of individual PAHs, as well as total PAHs in urban soils of Tyumen, were comparable with those in non-industrial cities with similar populations but were significantly lower than those in large industrial centers. Assessment of soil toxicity using toxic equivalent quantity (TEQBaP) showed that the TEQBaP values varied from 2.0 to 388.2μgkg-1, with a mean value of 34.9μgkg-1 and median of 19.8μgkg-1, and were lower than those in heavy industrialized cities, but higher than those in soils of cities specializing in consumer and service industries.

Risks to health of the population of the nonindustrial city from quality of atmospheric air

Risk assessment to public health living in the environmental problems is of great importance for humans today. However, the main attention is paid to major industrial centers, while for cities not having developed industries such studies are rare. The study of the intensity and structure of chemical air pollution was conducted to determine the risk levels for human health from effects of the chemical air pollution in residential areas of Aktau city (West Kazakhstan). Method of retrospective analysis of emissions into the atmosphere was used, and damage to health was determined in accordance with the risk assessment procedure. We take into account the major pollutants, the city being in the air basin - sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia and total hydrocarbons. The main threat to children's health is caused by common hydrocarbons (88%), nitrogen oxides (5%), and ammonia (3%). The estimated cancer risk is defined at the level of 10-3 - 10-4, it corresponds to the limits and requires regular monitoring.

BTX in urban areas of eastern Spain: a focus on time variations and sources.

Seasonal and daily cycles of BTX were studied in a non-industrialized city (Alicante) and an urban area near an oil refinery plant (Castellón) in order to evaluate the influence of different sources on time variations. Lower levels were observed in summer than in winter at both locations due to higher dispersion conditions and photochemical removal of BTX during the summer season. Daily patterns showed seasonal differences and were controlled by traffic emissions and the evolution of the mixing layer height, with no influence of the petroleum refinery plant in the city of Castellón. The results of the conditional bivariate probability function suggest that the influence of this source on BTX concentrations was limited to point impacts. At both sites, benzene exhibited a different behavior from toluene and xylenes, most likely due to its significantly lower chemical reactivity.

Inspiring Capital? Deconstructing myths and reconstructing urban environments, Edinburgh, 1860–2010

ABSTRACT:‘Inspiring Capital’ is the sign that confronts visitors and residents alike at the boundaries of the Edinburgh administrative area. It is a consciously ambiguous message of self-promotion: the logo proclaims the dual standing of the city of Edinburgh as a European capital city and a city of international capital. The article uses a long-run approach to explore how, by inventing and nurturing a myth about Edinburgh as a non-industrial city, councillors and planners privileged the ancient and historical character of the city and so conditioned policies associated with urban renewal and land use.