Scores Of Cities Research Articles

Analysis of the coupling coordination degree of the Society-Economy-Resource-Environment system in urban areas: Case study of the Jingjinji urban agglomeration, China

The fast growth of China's economy and society has brought severe consequences on the country’s environmental quality and natural resources. In order to overcome these obstacles, the Chinese government proposed the concept of high-quality development in 2017, aiming to promote the comprehensive, sustainable and balanced development of society, economy, resources and the environment. Exploring the interactions within the Social-Economic-Resource-Environment (SERE) system in urban agglomeration regions can help policy-makers achieve high-quality sustainable urban development. On account of the concept of high-quality development and the theory of complex systems, we constructed the SERE system. Taking the Jingjinji (JJJ) urban agglomeration from 2011 to 2019 as a research sample, we first evaluated the comprehensive quality of the SERE subsystems at two scale levels using the entropy method. Then, the level of coordinated development among the subsystems was studied by building a coupling coordination degree (CCD)model. Finally, the effect of the four subsystems on the CCD was analyzed by using a panel regression model. The results of the study found that first, the SERE system’s comprehensive development quality at the scale of the whole JJJ urban agglomeration showed an upward trend from 2011 to 2019. The resource subsystem always contributed the most, the economic and social subsystem contributed moderately, and the environmental subsystem contributed the least. Secondly, the comprehensive quality of all cities’ SERE subsystems showed different degrees of growth, with notable spatial differences. The comprehensive quality levels of social, economic and resource subsystems in Beijing and Tianjin were significantly higher than those in Hebei. Thirdly, the SERE system’s CCD in each city showed various growth tendencies. The proportion of severely unbalanced cities decreased from 84.62% to 61.54% during the study period, and regional development became more coordinated. However, there were still obvious spatial differences; Beijing and Tianjin consistently performed better, and the scores of cities in Hebei province were generally low. Fourthly, the degree of coupling coordination among the subsystems was positively correlated with their comprehensive quality. The elasticity of the environmental subsystem was the largest, which was essential to the coordinated development of the SERE system. These findings can offer governments valuable references for adopting appropriate policy measures which promote high-quality, sustainable and coordinated urban development.

Quantifying the Impact of Urban Sprawl on Green Total Factor Productivity in China: Based on Satellite Observation Data and Spatial Econometric Models

Worsening environmental effects caused by the rapid large-scale urban expansion in most Chinese cities is a worrying trend. In response, China is advocating an economic transition from rapid (raw growth) to a high-quality development model that incorporates negative environmental consequences. Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is regarded as one of the important approaches for measuring high-quality development. Hence, the aim of this research is to quantify the impact of urban sprawl on GTFP using remote sensing data and spatial econometric models. The primary findings of this study are as follows. (1) The urban sprawl index presents a decreasing trend from 2005 to 2016, indicating that urbanization has slowed; (2) The GTFP scores of Chinese cities are not randomly distributed and thus present significant spatial spillovers; and (3) The results of spatial lag models reveal that spatial spillover of GTFP is significant and positive. In other words, increases in GTFP in neighboring cities promotes GTFP improvements in nearby cities. We also find that the impact of urban sprawl on GTFP is significant and negative, indicating that rapid urban expansion is a contributor to decreased GTFP growth in China. Moreover, urban sprawl has a negative effect on technical change and efficiency change. The main findings can provide policy makers in Chinese cities with scientific foundations to design and implement effective measures to improve GTFP.

Characteristics and Spatial-Temporal Differences of Urban "Production, Living and Ecological" Environmental Quality in China.

The article analyses the spatial and temporal differences in the environmental quality of production, living and ecology of 285 cities in China from 2010 to 2020 by using the entropy method, the Theil index and correlation analysis. The study concludes the following: (1) in terms of overall differences, the overall differences in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality indices of 285 cities during the study period undergo a process of "narrowing-widening-narrowing". The differences within the four major zones of the country are higher than those between the four major zones, and the differences within the zones show an increasing trend year by year. (2) In terms of temporal differences, the combined scores of "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of the 285 cities in the study period show a decreasing trend, and the contribution of the PLE subsystem scores are, in descending order, production environmental quality > living environmental quality > ecological environmental quality. (3) In terms of overall ranking, the head effect of the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) scores of cities in the study period is significant, and the top 10 cities in terms of combined scores are all small and medium-sized cities with significant regionalization characteristics. (4) In terms of spatial pattern, there is a significant spatial gradient in the east, central and western regions, with the overall PLE scores of the four major regions in descending order: eastern region > central region > western region > northeastern region. The regions with high scores in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of cities can be divided into three types: multi-core, dual-core and single-core. (5) In terms of influencing factors, there is a logarithmic curve relationship between the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) score and the built-up area (BUA) of cities. The study proposes to optimize the layout of urban production, strengthen the industrial links of urban clusters, improve the level of public services, ensure the equalization of urban public services, strengthen the management of ecological environment and improve the quality of ecological environment in order to optimize the quality of urban "production, living and ecological" environment.

A Theory of Information Compression: When Judgments Are Costly

A Theory of Information Compression: When Judgments Are CostlyHow useful to tourists are thousands of reviews of different five-star hotels in a city on a travel website when the mean rating is 4.5, and all the five-star hotels score around the mean? How insightful are reviews of physicians on a physician review website to potential patients when the ratings cluster tightly around an average for all physicians? Are there costs to the physicians, the patients, and to society as a whole? When all the students at a university score “A” grades on most courses, are there consequences for the university, the students, and potential employers? This paper calls the “clustering around a mean” phenomenon “information compression” and the systems in which it occurs (e.g., universities, students, employers) “judgment networks.” When there is extensive information compression in a system, measures such as ratings or grades have little value for decision makers. When all five-star hotels in a city score an average of 4.5 does it really matter which one a traveler chooses? The paper introduces a way of measuring information compression. It also suggests ways for organizations to overcome the negative consequences of information compression for themselves and their various stakeholders.

Bike share and user motivation: exploring trip substitution choices among bike share users in a North American city

Bicycle share schemes have been implemented in scores of cities throughout the world over the last decade. Policy makers have embraced the technology of bike sharing to address a number of public policy problems, including congestion mitigation, improving air quality, and encouraging active mobility. While many of these systems have seen large numbers of users, understanding the motivations and perceptions of those using bike share systems is still relatively nascent. This study contributes to the evolving literature of bike share user motivation by using an intercept survey of bike share riders in a neighborhood of Chicago, USA where high levels of bike share usage have been prevalent. In particular this research explores the relationship between respondents’ motivations to use bike share and modal shift. We find that the odds of shifting from walking to bike share are predicted by a desire for convenience; the odds of shifting from automobiles to bike share are predicted by the desire for exercise and the cost savings of bike share; and the odds of shifting from train use to bike share are predicted by bike share cost savings. The findings from this research can help policymakers anticipate the impacts on modal shift from the perspective of the motivations of users.

Benchmarking sustainability of pilgrimage cities: a case of three cities in Tamil Nadu, India

PurposeRapid urbanization and development of pilgrimage cities cause significant problems for the environment and society, leading to long-term challenges. Despite several discussions on city sustainability, the literature does not address some of the specific problems of pilgrimage cities. Hence, this study attempts at developing a method to examine the growth pattern and sustainability of pilgrimage cities in southern part of India.Design/methodology/approachThe benchmarking method and the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability are considered to construct the Pilgrimage City Sustainability Index (PCSI). Appropriate variables and categories are identified through a literature review and expert opinion survey. The benchmark values of the variables are derived by contemplating the pilgrimage cities of Tamil Nadu, one of the states with the largest tourist arrivals in India. Subsequently, three prominent pilgrimage cities from Tamil Nadu were chosen for the case study and the method was tested.FindingsThe result reveals that the cities investigated are performing above average in the sustainability index, with slight variations in their dimension scores. While the category scores of cities assist in identifying macro-level issues, the variable scores provide an insight into micro-level issues. Furthermore, the gap analysis between the benchmark and the present value of each variable discloses the immediate area of attention in each city. Thus, the cities could set more specific targets, frame strategies and/or collaborate with matching cities to bridge these gaps.Social implicationsThis index assessment provides a comparison of the pros and cons of these pilgrimage cities and helps identify their demand and supply. Policymakers can find appropriate tools and approaches that aid in sustainable urban development and tourism management.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in emphasizing the application of the benchmarking method to assess the sustainability of Indian pilgrimage sites. With appropriate modifications, this method can be used in varied contexts across the globe.

Regional Social Relationships Evaluation Using the AHP and Entropy Weight Method: A Case Study of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China

The quality of social relationships is recognized as an important aspect of human well-being. Improving social relationships can help to promote other aspects of human well-being, such as health and income. The development of individual social relationships relies on regional social relationships. However, few studies have focused on social relationships evaluation at the regional level. Therefore, the study aims to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system and to evaluate regional social relationships by calculating the regional social relationships index (RSRI). The weights of the indicators were calculated by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy weight method. The social relationships of prefecture-level cities in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau were evaluated based on statistical data. The results showed that (1) the top three indicators of comprehensive weight were number of community service agencies, number of vehicles operated on highway, and telephone penetration; (2) the regional social relationships on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau showed an upward trend from 2010 to 2019; (3) the average RSRI scores of prefecture-level cities in Qinghai and Gansu were higher than other provinces; and (4) the number of community service agencies was the main obstacle factor for the development of regional social relationships in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The finding of this study can provide further insights about social relationships research from a regional analysis perspective and cover the gap in the literature on regional social relationships.

Examining the complex relationships between socioeconomic development and the improvement of ecological environment in post-disaster reconstruction: The case of Wenchuan earthquake disaster area in Western China

The ecological environment damage caused by human activities will aggravate the damage of natural disasters and seriously restrict the socioeconomic sustainable development. Therefore, it is a key issue to coordinate the coupling relationship between socioeconomic development (SE) and ecological environment (EE) to reduce the damage of natural disasters to human activities and guarantee the socioeconomic sustainable development after natural disasters. It is an important issue to explore the relationship between economy and environment in post-disaster reconstruction areas and how to coordinate the areas with slower economic development and higher risk of ecological destruction. Based on this, an index system of ecological environment and socioeconomic development was constructed by using the data in the statistical yearbook from 2005 to 2018. The dynamic deviation maximization (DM) method and coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) were used to study the coordination relationship between socioeconomic and ecological environment in Wenchuan earthquake disaster area. The results showed that the coupling coordination degree (CCD) presented an upward trend in the period of post-disaster reconstruction in Wenchuan earthquake disaster area, and the CCD is highly related to the regional topography, city location, urban comprehensive economic level, and urban ecological endowment. The results indicated that the CCD shows a downward trend from provincial capitals to surrounding cities on the basis of the perspective of urban spatial distribution characteristics. On the basis of the research, this paper analyzes the reasons for the differences in CCD scores of different cities and puts forward corresponding policy suggestions, which including speeding up industrial transformation, increasing government investment, and strengthening transportation infrastructure construction. By analyzing the CCD between SE and EE in Wenchuan earthquake disaster area, this paper aims to provide reference for achieving regional sustainable development goals (SDGs) in post-disaster reconstruction, as well as hope to provide an experience reference for post-disaster reconstruction in other disaster areas.

Analysis of sustainability of Chinese cities based on network big data of city rankings

BackgroundAchieving urban sustainability is the ultimate destination of urban development. City rankings as one of the sustainability assessment tools have received increasing attention from the scientific community. However, few study assesses Chinese cities’ sustainability performance using the big data of existing city rankings. AimThis study aims to assess Chinese cities’ sustainability performances based on the outcomes of the existing internet big data of city rankings. MethodsThe outcomes of city rankings were used as the raw dataset. The “sustainability” of city rankings, city’s appearance frequency, and its ranking place were comprehensively considered during evaluation processes. By considering the above factors, the scores of different cities were calculated in terms of overall sustainability and domain sustainability. Furthermore, the GeoDetector was applied to explore the association between social-economic and overall ranking scores as well as the interrelation among TBL dimensions. ResultsChinese cities’ sustainability performance was extremely uneven in spatial distribution. In terms of overall and domain sustainability, well-performing cities were aggregated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta metropolitan regions. The top ten sustainable cities were Hangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Xiamen. Most cities did not reach good coordination among the TBL dimensions, instead of developing well in one or two aspects. The results also revealed that current city rankings eyeing more economic and social development, while considering less environmental dimension. Moreover, TBL dimensions mutually reinforce each other in sustainable city construction. The environmental pillar played a critical role and interacting with other dimensions significantly enhanced urban sustainability. ConclusionThe outcomes of existing city rankings can be used as a new resource to evaluate cities’ sustainability performance. Current city rankings in China are not systematically considered in terms of TBL dimensions. Cities should enhance the coordination among TBL pillars, and increase the attention on environmental dimension. More empirical studies involving big data of city rankings will contribute to a new perspective to promote the practice of sustainable urbanization in China.

Regional Credit Environment Evaluation Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE)

Taking the data of the sixteen prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province as an example, this paper attempts to construct regional credit environment indicators and quantify these indicators. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) have been used to empower the indicators. Meanwhile, this paper has obtained the AHP score through calculation. The corresponding credit ranking has been given using the factor analysis. The research result shows that the credit environment evaluation scores of Shandong eastern coastal cities centered on Qingdao and neighboring cities centered on provincial capital Jinan are often higher than those of inland cities such as southwestern Shandong and northwestern Shandong. The construction of regional credit environment should be based on economy, culture and government. Three aspects go hand in hand. On this basis, this paper puts forward the feasible countermeasures and suggestions for constructing regional credit environment from the perspective of policy.

Fight for the City: Policing, Sanctuary, and Resistance in Chicago

abstract In the months following Trump’s 2016 election as U.S. president, scores of cities across the United States instituted or reaffirmed “sanctuary” measures that impede federal immigration enforcement actions in their midst. Yet in the heart of these “sanctuary” cities, many immigrants remain vulnerable to deportation. This article describes one community campaign to identify, track, and stop a mechanism through which urban immigrants are detained and deported: data sharing between local police agencies and federal immigration officials. We draw on Kyle Walker’s (2015) framework of place, scale, and networks of local immigration politics to show how overlapping scales of immigrant policing ultimately jeopardized Chicago’s promise to be a place of immigrant sanctuary. We then describe how community organizers exploited this tension as they exposed the effects of Chicago police data sharing practices on black and Latinx Chicagoans and campaigned for a stronger city sanctuary policy.

基于数据包络分析方法的城市水资源利用效率研究

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 基于数据包络分析方法的城市水资源利用效率研究 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201903020385 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 中国科学院前沿项目（QYZDY-SSW-DQC004）；北京市科技计划项目（Z171100004417025）；广东省省级科技计划项目（2016B02024007） Efficiency assessment of water resource utilization cities based on data envelopment analysis Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: Frontier Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-DQC004); Beijing Science and Technology Plan Project (Z171100004417025); Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project (2016B02024007) 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:为了对我国城市水资源利用效率问题进行分析和评价，本文基于数据包络分析方法，从农业、工业、生活、社会等几个方面共选取了5个输入指标及6个输出指标，利用AIC信息准则（Akaike information criterion）进行了变量选择，构建了较为科学合理的用水效率评价指标体系.在此基础上，采用香农熵指数提升了传统CCR（由Charnes A，Cooper W W，Rhodes E提出）模型的识别能力，选取我国31个省会城市为研究对象，给出了省会城市水资源效率的完整排名。结果表明：①绝大部分城市综合效率得分（CES，Comprehensive efficiency score）普遍不高，投入产出比仍有较大的进步空间；②拉萨、北京、天津、银川、海口、上海等城市CES得分相对较高，这说明一个城市水资源利用效率的高低与经济发展水平可能没有必然的联系，其他城市应结合自身情况向CES得分靠前的城市进行学习；③重庆、南宁、南昌、长沙等水资源较丰富的城市CES得分反而较低，表明这些城市可能存在大量水资源被浪费，应建立起节水机制，同时优化产业结构。 Abstract:Improving efficiency of water resources utilization is the key to alleviate the contradiction between water supply and demand while achieving sustainable economic and social development. In order to analyze and evaluate the water consumption efficiency of the provincial capital cities in China, this paper selected five input indicators and six output indicators from agriculture, industry, life and society based on data envelopment analysis method. Then we used Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) for variable selection and constructed a scientific and rational water-use efficiency indicator system. On this basis, the Shannon Entropy Index is used to enhance the recognition ability of the traditional CCR model, and the complete ranking of water resources efficiency in the provincial capitals is given. The results show that (1) the comprehensive efficiency scores (CES) of most cities are not high. Their input-output ratio still has a lot of room for improvement. (2) The scores of CES in Lasa, Beijing, Tianjin, Yinchuan, Haikou, Shanghai etc. are relatively high, which indicate that there may be no necessary connection between the level of water use efficiency of a city and the level of economic development. At the same time, other cities should combine their own conditions to learn from cities with higher scores in CES. (3) Cities such as Chongqing, Nanning, Nanchang, and Changsha are rich in water resources, but the CES is not ideal. This shows that a large amount of water resources may be wasted and these cities should optimize their industrial structures while establishing a water-saving mechanism. In addition, due to the lack of variable selection system in most literatures and the inadequacy of traditional models in the ability of efficiency identification, this paper innovatively combined the AIC variable selection method, data envelopment analysis method, and Shannon Entropy Index method. The combination of the three methods can achieve the advantages and disadvantages of complementarity, not only fully consider a large number of input and output variables, make the analysis closer to reality, the variable indicator system obtained by the AIC criterion also perfectly conforms to the meaning of actual water resource utilization efficiency. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Hiding Homelessness: The Transcarceration of Homelessness

Cities throughout the country respond to homelessness with laws that persecute people for surviving in public space, even when unsheltered people lack a reasonable alternative. This widespread practice—the criminalization of homelessness—processes vulnerable people through the criminal justice system with damaging results. But recently, from the epicenter of the homelessness crisis along the West Coast, the Ninth Circuit extended the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment to cities prosecuting unsheltered people for sleeping or camping in public space in Martin v. Boise. Boise, supported by amici from scores of other Western cities and counties, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, which the Court denied without comment. A landmark ruling, Martin might push cities to stop criminalizing homelessness and instead address its underlying causes. But rather than decarcerating homelessness or facilitating solutions, Martin instead may be forging new paths to hide unsheltered people: a sort of transcarceration movement from openly punitive campaigns that incarcerate unsheltered people to alluring campaigns that confine unsheltered people through alternative means, such as involuntary commitment into psychiatric facilities and segregated zones or compulsory camps. These developments do not alleviate homelessness; they repackage its criminalization. Indeed, post-Martin efforts reframe displacement, forced confinement, and control over unsheltered people not as criminalization, but as compassion. While these efforts might technically comply with Martin, they threaten to undermine the very fundamental constitutional rights it sought to protect and do nothing to improve homelessness. Instead, cities should move to decarcerate homelessness by pursuing more humane and effective alternatives that not only comply with Martin but also promise to stem the crisis.

Analisis Big Data untuk Kota Aman

Abstract—Smart solutions are needed by the city government to overcome various city problems. One solution is smart city. To realize smart city, one of the main challenges is the solution to overcome the city's security problems. Currently cities in Indonesia do not yet know the level of security of their cities. The level of city security can be obtained by surveying various cities. But surveys require personnel, time and cost that is not small. In this study the authors propose a method by designing a model to determine the level of security of cities in Indonesia by utilizing big data through the prediction of sentiment analysis of people's perceptions of city security on Twitter. This research was conducted in 25 cities in Indonesia which are divided into 8 big cities, 9 medium cities and 8 small cities. The results of the prediction models designed in this study are generally not much different from the results of the 2019 RKCI (Indonesia Smart Cities Rating) survey in the field of security and disaster. The results of this study found that 4 cities with a maturity level of security are at the Integrative level (score 60 to 79 in GSCM Maturity Level), namely Tangerang, Kediri, Parepare and Probolinggo, while the other 21 cities are at the Scattered level (score 40 to 59). The average score for the big city category is 55.41, while the middle city score is 55.48 and the small city is 53.70. The results of performance measurement of this prediction model are for an accuracy value of 80.10% while a precision value of 81.10% and a recall value of 82.62%.

Identification of significant metrics and indicators for smart mobility

Building a better life for citizens became a motto for many cities around the world. In this context, smart city concept was defined. The aim of this concept is to make use of intelligent technologies to improve the citizens quality of life. Smart mobility is considered one out of six characteristics which compose the smart city model. The purpose of this paper is to show the significant metrics and indicators which describe the smart mobility concept. These metrics and indicators have an important role in gained performance analysis for a smart city, facilitating the comparison to other smart cities. In current paper, an analysis will be made based on these metrics and indicators to see which is their impact in smart city score setting and implicitly, in establishing the influence on the inhabitants’ quality of life.

Dreamland: A critical assessment of Egypt’s plan for a brand new capital

Worried about overcrowding in Cairo, the government of Egypt is building a capital city in the desert. Depicted as a gleaming home for government and a new business and cultural hub spread over 700 square kilometres, the city will be home to seven million people, officials claim. Construction is underway and, under the original schedule, ministries were due to start relocating in the middle of 2019. Over the past 40 years, however, successive regimes in Egypt have built scores of new cities and towns in the desert, at vast expense, in an effort to decant the fast-growing population from the Delta and the long, narrow strip of the Nile Valley. None have yet met their ambitious economic or population targets. This article reviews that history, and asks whether the current plan can break Egypt’s stubborn cycle of failure.

A New Study on Air Quality Standards: Air Quality Measurement and Evaluation for Jiangsu Province Based on Six Major Air Pollutants

China’s current Air Quality Index (AQI) system only considers one air pollutant which has the highest concentration value. In order to comprehensively evaluate the urban air quality of Jiangsu Province, this paper has studied the air quality of 13 cities in that province from April 2015 to March 2018 based on an expanded AQI system that includes six major air pollutants. After expanding the existing air quality evaluation standards of China, this paper has calculated the air quality evaluation scores of cities in Jiangsu Province based on the six major air pollutants by using the improved Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Model. This paper has further analyzed the effectiveness of air pollution control policies in Jiangsu Province and its different cities during the study period. The findings are as follows: there are distinct differences in air quality for different cities in Jiangsu Province; except for coastal cities such as Nantong, Yancheng and Lianyungang, the southern cities of Jiangsu generally have better air quality than the northern cities. The causes of these differences include not only natural factors such as geographical location and wind direction, but also economic factors and energy structure. In addition, air pollution control policies have achieved significant results in Nantong, Changzhou, Wuxi, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Yancheng, Zhenjiang, Tai’an and Lianyungang. Among them, Nantong has seen the biggest improvement, 20.28%; Changzhou and Wuxi have improved their air quality by more than 10%, while Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Yancheng have improved their air quality by more than 5%. However, the air quality of Nanjing, Huai’an, Xuzhou, and Suqian has worsened by different degrees compared that of the last period within the beginning period, during which Suqian’s air quality has declined by 20.07% and Xuzhou’s by 16.32%.

Livability and Subjective Well-Being Across European Cities

This study documents for the first time the correlation between livability and subjective well-being (SWB) across European cities. Livability is measured with the popular Mercer Quality of Living Survey and correlates considerably with SWB, measured as place and life satisfactions. There are outliers, for instance: the “unlivable” but “happy” Belfast (fool’s paradise) and the “livable,” but “unhappy” Paris (fool’s hell). In addition, we find geographic patterns: while the Mercer index ranks higher Western cities, subjective well-being is higher in Northern cities. Smaller cities score higher on both livability and SWB, confirming thus the urban sociological theory of urban malaise while contradicting urban economic theory of city triumph.

Spatial distribution of comprehensive urbanization level in Anhui Province

Using the method of entropy and TOPSIS method, the paper analyzes the comprehensive urbanization level from 2000 to 2015 of Anhui Province in four aspects: urban population, economy, society and space. With the help of the ESDA and trend space analysis technology, we studies the spatial evolution and characteristics of urbanization in Anhui province. The results show that the cities score higher mainly concentrated in southern area, the cities score lower concentrated in northern area of Anhui Province, which show weak spatial autocorrelation. There are an enlarging trend between the higher and the lower cities. The number of cities and the polarization effects are increasing for both higher area and the lower area of the comprehensive urbanization level. The central gravity of the higher area has shifted from the north to the south gradually. The spatial trend is becoming higher from west to east which is stable from 2000 to 2015. However, the trend that takes on a handstand “U” shape becoming the same. The construction of the development zone, industrial development, traffic location, policy measures are the main drive factors which increasing the comprehensive urbanization level in Anhui province.

Swachh Bharat Mission: an integrative approach to attain public health in India

The present study assesses the outreach of Swachh Bharat Mission(SBM)1 plan, an integrative health plan, in the light of divergence across the states of India in terms of ranking of cities in the first survey conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) titled 'SwachhSarvekshan'. To assess the impact of socio-economic factors and geographical disparity on the implementation of the initiative, the study employed regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Cleanliness scores of cities were regressed on the set of independent variables namely population below poverty line, net state domestic product (NSDP), state allocation of fund for the health initiative and literacy rates as indicators of socio-economic status along with geographical region and political party ruling as intervening variables. Empirical results exhibit that the outreach of SBM plan was affected not only by the economic status of sub-national but also by the geographical location, and the literacy rate.