Urban Consumption Research Articles

THE MOST IMPORTANT ECONOMIC INDICATORS OF CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE OF VEGETABLES IN RURAL AND URBAN EGYPT

the research aims to prove the economic hypothesis that is provided by the economic theory by determining the positive relationship between the consumed quantities of vegetables and the average consumer income and the inverse relation between the quantity consumed and commodity prices. The most important results of the study: - The high level of demand for vegetables in rural area from urban according to the size of the family, Where the average annual individual expenditure on vegetables out of total expenditure on food and drink reached 7.4%, 6.8% in 2010/2011, 2015 in rural areas respectively, And about 6.5%, 5.4% in urban areas during the same two years. - The Lorenz curve of the distribution of consumer spending on vegetables for urban and urban rural areas in Egypt indicates that urban consumption is more equitable in rural consumption because it is closer to the equality line. When we explain which categories are more fair, 50% of the higher income groups in urban areas are characterized by a fair distribution of consumption of vegetables, while 30% of the rural population of the lowest income groups are characterized by a fair distribution of consumption of vegetables.ECOMMENDATIONS - Not to fully raise government support and channel support to the poorest. - Improving the standard of living of consumers as the government completes the process of economic reform to avoid the occurrence of crises that may arise as a result of increasing inflation. - Conducting more sluotion about family budget research to monitor and evaluate changes in consumption patterns and living standards of different social strata in different regions and at different time periods. - On the other side to provide annual data for consumer spending to conduct studies and research on consumption patterns to help the decision-maker better.

Chinese migration, consumption, and housing in twenty‐first century Australia

AbstractInternational migration has changed the demographics and dynamics of Australia's population since European settlement. It continues to be a principal driver in the growth of its cities, including a projected doubling of major city populations by mid‐century. The influence of migrants on metropolitan housing markets—and urban consumption more generally—has been significant, and the socio‐spatial influence of migration in Australia has been the focus of regular geographical research. Less researched is the impact that “importing” half of the nation's population growth each year has on consumption of urban resources and environmental impact, including via housing consumption practices. Evidence has also been lacking on changed consumption behaviours of migrants moving from developing to developed, high‐income societies—a barometer, perhaps, of a future trajectory of consumption within developing societies. The largest cohort of recent immigrants to Australian cities has been from China, and this trend can be expected to continue. This paper focuses on a comparison of urban consumption patterns (with particular focus on housing) among a group of 61 China‐born households prior to their migration to Melbourne post‐1995 and following their settlement in an established middle‐ring suburb of Melbourne (Box Hill). Using ecological footprint as the metric of consumption, results are striking. Not only do China‐born migrants “catch up” to Australian levels of urban consumption but they also surpass it in many cases. Findings are examined in relation to housing and urban context and a range of household sociocultural factors.

Value Chain of Charcoal Production and Implications for Forest Degradation: Case Study of Bié Province, Angola

Forest degradation and forest loss threaten the survival of many species and reduce the ability of forests to provide vital services. Clearing for agriculture in Angola is an important driver of forest degradation and deforestation. Charcoal production for urban consumption as a driver of forest degradation has had alarming impacts on natural forests, as well as on the social and economic livelihood of the rural population. The charcoal impact on forest cover change is in the same order of magnitude as deforestation caused by agricultural expansion. However, there is a need to monitor the linkage between charcoal production and forest degradation. The aim of this paper is to investigate the sequence of the charcoal value chain as a systematic key to identify policies to reduce forest degradation in the province of Bié. It is a detailed study of the charcoal value chain that does not stop on the production and the consumption side. The primary data of this study came from 330 respondents obtained through different methods (semi-structured questionnaire survey and market observation conducted in June to September 2013–2014). A logistic regression (logit) model in IBM SPSS Statistics 24 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) was used to analyze the factors influencing the decision of the households to use charcoal for domestic purposes. The finding indicates that 21 to 27 thousand hectares were degraded due to charcoal production. By describing the chain of charcoal, it was possible to access the driving factors for charcoal production and to obtain the first-time overview flow of charcoal from producers to consumers in Bié province. The demand for charcoal in this province is more likely to remain strong if government policies do not aim to employ alternative sources of domestic energy.

Modeling and scenario prediction of a natural gas demand system based on a system dynamics method

Based on the study of the relationship between structure and feedback of China’s natural gas demand system, this paper establishes a system dynamics model. In order to simulate the total demand and consumption structure of natural gas in China, we set up seven scenarios by changing some of the parameters of the model. The results showed that the total demand of natural gas would increase steadily year by year and reach in the range from 3600 to 4500 billion cubic meters in 2035. Furthermore, in terms of consumption structure, urban gas consumption would still be the largest term, followed by the gas consumption as industrial fuel, gas power generation and natural gas chemical industry. In addition, compared with the population growth, economic development still plays a dominant role in the natural gas demand growth, the impact of urbanization on urban gas consumption is significant, and the promotion of natural gas utilization technology can effectively reduce the total consumption of natural gas.

The coffee scene in Glasgow's West End: On the class practices of the new urban middle classes

Abstract The shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements as well as the proliferation of new urban cultural forms. These developments have coincided with gentrification and the arrival of the new middle classes in inner-city neighbourhoods resulting in the emergence of new consumption spaces and new urban cultures. Focusing on Glasgow's West End with a vibrant urban scene, this paper explores some characteristics of the new urban middle classes and their motivations for frequenting and patronising new urban consumption scenes. Drawn on a case study of specialty coffee bars, the study argues that specialty coffee consumers through their everyday consumption preferences and sharing a set of ethical dispositions and cultural practices, subjectively and objectively define and demarcate their sense of class.

Energy and environmental analysis of a natural gas pressure reduction station equipped with turboexpander, solar collector, and storage tank

The pressure of natural gas in the transmission pipelines is high, and it is not suitable for urban consumptions. Therefore, it should be decreased to a certain lower amount in the pressure reduction stations near the urban area by the pressure reducing valves. Recently, for recovering the energy losses in these valves and generating electricity, turboexpanders are utilized. However, the pressure decrease in the turboexpander results in a sudden decrease in temperature, which leads to the formation of hydrates. To prevent the hydrate formation, preheating is required, which is conventionally done by a line heater. In this study, the required energy for preheating the natural gas entering the station is supplied from the solar energy and an auxiliary line heater for a case study of Mashhad city (Iran). Parabolic trough thermal collectors are used for the absorption of the solar radiant energy. The collector was modeled through one-dimensional implicit finite-difference method and using discretization of energy balance equation between the working fluid, the absorbent pipe, and the glass envelope. The reduction in natural gas consumption and the produced CO2 emission are computed for the pressure reduction station with a thermal collector and a storage tank. The results reveal that the presence of the thermal collector and the storage tank reduces the consumption of fuel and consequently the generation of pollutant about 90%.

Food- and feed-based nutrient flows in two West African cities

Recent studies have examined the urban metabolism of cities using urban consumption as a proxy for food inflows but very few studies have aimed at quantifying the role of cities as trade hubs and nutrient sinks of their hinterlands. We therefore examined the linkages between food and animal feed supply, their places of production and nutrient flows through the urban system in the two West African cities of Tamale (Ghana) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). Using primary data on food and feed flows, and secondary data to assess the transformation of these flows into nutrient terms, we show that, besides urban consumption, the function of the two study sites as trade hubs significantly determines nutrient flows. In Tamale, > 50% of the nutrient inflows was neither consumed nor was lost in situ but left that city again for other destinations. At least 30% of the incoming cereals was stored in the city for later consumption or export. Ouagadougou relied more on imported goods with 40% of N imported from foreign countries compared to Tamale where only 10% of the N was imported, thus contributing to heavier nutrient extraction in remote production areas.

Evolving Obligatory Passage Points to Sustain Service Systems: The Case of Traditional Market Revitalization in Hsinchu City, Taiwan

“City” could be viewed as an integration of various service systems with relocated social, economic, and environmental capitals under urbanization. It was evidential in Hsinchu City, Taiwan, where once the biggest market, Dongmen Market (DMM), declined because the replacement of urban consumption patterns along with the setup of high tech science park bringing new residences. This research took the perspectives of Service-Dominant Logic (S-DL) and Actor Network Theory (ANT) to study the development of new service systems and how they were sustained through the revitalization by a two-year ethnographic study. We explain how stakeholders propose and receive value within and among service systems. A unique actor called obligatory passage point (OPP) was formed in the translation phases of actor networks, delivering the co-created value by stakeholders with different interests. Four identified OPPs indicated that their “evolution process” drove the revitalization of DMM toward a sustainable service system. A framework of open innovation practice was formulated as iterative cycles with four phases: (1) actor interacting; (2) value co-creating; (3) relationship modeling; and (4) OPP transforming, which operationalized the OPP evolution from its destruction to construction. The application of the OPP evolution process to revitalizing urban service systems contributes to practitioners in social innovation to sustain urban service systems in addition to the theoretical formation of OPP evolution.

Environmental impact of urban consumption patterns: Drivers and focus points

The purpose of our study is to analyse how urban lifestyles impact on the environment to offer knowledge based inspiration for effective environmental policies relating to contemporary Danish consumption patterns. The application of a Personal Metabolism (PM) coupled Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach supported by cluster analysis facilitated the identification of consumption-related clusters based on central demographic and life style parameters such as income, diet, transport, and age. The environmental performance of the assessed consumption patterns were calculated in a full life cycle perspective and covering all relevant environmental impacts both on midpoint and endpoint levels by applying the ReCiPe 2008 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methodology. The results of the contribution analysis revealed that climate change, particulate matter, human toxicity, fossil depletion and ionizing radiation contribute most to the three endpoints covered by ReCiPe 2008. Results of cluster analysis indicated that demographic parameters such as income level and age of the respondents has a strong influence on the environmental impacts. The influence of lifestyle aspects such as choice of diet, use of private car and household size was also investigated. These three parameters were found to significantly influence the consumption related environmental impacts of urban Danish residents. Overall our study identify drivers and focus points of consumption and provides a contemporary picture of Danish urban consumption-related environmental impacts.

Adaptation Strategies of the Hydrosocial Cycles in the Mediterranean Region

The Spanish Mediterranean region has been affected by several factors over the years (climatic conditions of aridity, high water demands, rapid and intense urban and population growth, climate change), that have generated a negative water balance whereby water resources are unable to meet the demand. Diversifying supply sources by resorting to new resources has been a necessity that has stimulated the expansion and integration of non-conventional water sources (desalination and reuse of reclaimed water) and sustainable solutions. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the adaptation strategies that have been developed in Alicante, Benidorm and Torrevieja in order to adjust their hydrosocial cycles to development and future scenarios. The theoretical analysis developed in this paper is corroborated by the study of the hydrosocial cycle evolution of three cities in the southeast of Spain, and the adaptive measures that the different stakeholders involved in the cycle have developed in each of them. The input and output of the systems are accounted for with information provided by the management companies in each of the phases (urban consumption; treated, reused and desalinated volumes), which highlight how the diversification of resources and the incorporation of non-conventional resources have been essential for adaptation.

Manufacturing a Multifunctional Countryside

Rural France was instrumental to the experience of les trente glorieuses. Not only did rural France fuel economic growth and urbanization through increases in agricultural efficiency, but it also served as an imaginary counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of a new mass consumer society. In the first two decades of the postwar period, a productivist logic of agricultural output dominated rural land use policy. By the 1970s, however, after experiencing problems of surplus, the state turned toward a multifunctional approach. Rural lands were used to create regional parks, environmental preserves, and vacation properties. As both a site of agricultural production and urban consumption, rural France was operationalized to further the economic growth that defined les trente glorieuses.

Urban sustainable food consumption: the role of critical consumer

The present investigation examines sustainable food consumption practices in an urban setting, shifting the focus from the material object, namely the product, to the social object, namely the relationship. Starting from our knowledge of food purchasing habits, the meaning and value of food consumption are explored, and the tools that contribute to promote the development of urban food sustainability are defined, with a particular focus on new mediated forms of communication. The results of the investigation show that food consumers have become protagonists of novel forms of participation and social resistance, taking advantage of the information and communication opportunities offered by the new media.

Key issues in regional growth and integration in Southern Africa

ABSTRACTThe decade to 2015 saw rapid growth in trade between Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. Much of this growth reflected South African exports to its neighbours of diversified manufactured goods to meet growing urban consumption and to supply inputs to mining and infrastructure. While most SADC countries, aside from South Africa, grew quite rapidly over this period, their exports remained oriented to a narrow range of minerals and agricultural commodities destined to go outside the region. Drawing from a series of sectoral studies, we assess key regional issues including the investment and production decisions of firms whose operations stretch across borders, and consider the implications for a bottom-up integration agenda that could build productive capabilities across countries. Our evaluation highlights the importance of the spread of supermarkets, the need to address transport and logistics, and value chains whose competitive advantages are inherently regional, as in the cases of poultry and mining.

Social and Solidarity Economy. The Case of an Urban Consumption Co-operative in Greece

The apparent ubiquity of alternative – to the dominant economic model – economies, after the 2008 multidimensional crisis across the world, fuelled claims about a new style of mobilisation emerg-ing in Greece. It is the outcome of the evolution of the Greek anti-austerity movement and community-based experiences, consolidated to form new affiliations of collective initiatives and practices. Analysing original qualitative data derived from a case study of a Greek Urban Consumer Co-operative, this article engages with the debate of Social and Solidarity Economy. The research highlights the capacity of a Greek Urban Consumer Co-operative through sustainable consumption patterns to utilise local-traditional re-sources in order to empower local communities in times of crisis. Theoretically, this urban consumer co-operative generates new insights into the nature and meanings of a more sustainable and just economy, by changing the way it buys and sells food and other goods. From a policy and practice perspective, the paper raises the need for regional development strategies that capture the 'alternativeness' of these iso-lated initiatives, whose practices promote ethical, as well as environmental criteria and considerations in times of global economic crisis.

The stock and socio-economic uses of Borassus Aethiopum in Abrimasu Forest Reserve of Mampong Forest District

This present paper provides the stock level and socio-economic uses of Borassus aethiopum in Abrimasu forest reserveof Mampong forest District. Survey was conducted in Abrimasu Forest Reserve and five selected fringe communities ofthe forest Reserve. Information on stocking, source, usage, as well as sale of Borassus aethiopum were obtained throughsemi-structured interview, key informants interviews, personal communication and desk study were used together withfocal group discussion. The inventory of Borassus aethiopum was taken from both the on- and –off reserve areas. Threecompartments and farms were randomly selected and demarcated for the study. The mean stocking ofBorassus aethiopum(33-61 trees per hectare) in the Abrimasu Forest Reserve was significantly higher than stocking in the off-reserve (18 and 61trees per hectare). From the results, 29% of the respondents use Borassus aethiopum as food and 33% of the respondentsuse Borassus aethiopum as shelter. 15% and 23% of the respondents generate income for using Borassus aethiopum forAphrodisiac and medicinal purposes. It was concluded that more Borassus aethiopum trees are exploited from the off–reservethan the forest reserve. It is envisaged that as the population increases in the study area, there will be over-exploitation on thespecies in terms of urban development, consumption and agricultural practices. Authors strongly recommend that measuresare in place to save the species from extinction.

Imagen impresa y ciudad, Buenos Aires (1890-1910)

Los últimos años del siglo XIX en Buenos Aires fueron testigos de importantes cambios en el campo de la gráfica, con la introducción de nuevas técnicas, circulación de objetos e imágenes impresas, así como en la percepción y experiencia de la ciudad misma. Las transformaciones del espacio, tanto público como privado, así como sus representaciones, dan cuenta de nuevas prácticas de sociabilidad, nuevos significados y la conformación de una nueva cultura visual en torno a la “metrópolis” y el “progreso”. El ferrocarril, como medio de transporte y tecnología, pero también como marca visible en el espacio, jugará también un rol en esos cambios, y su representación irá estrechamente vinculada con ellos. La imagen impresa, más allá de sus múltiples relaciones con el campo artístico, posee características propias en cuanto a sus modos de producción (más o menos artesanal, más o menos industriales), su materialidad (inserta en diversos soportes, múltiple, con mayor o menor vinculación a un discurso textual), así como las redes de circulación que implica. En este sentido, se propone pensar de cuáles modos particulares las imágenes impresas aparecidas en este contexto se relacionaron con la percepción y la experiencia del espacio, las nuevas tecnologías y el consumo urbano.

权力、资本与空间：历史街区改造背景下的城市消费空间生产——以成都远洋太古里为例

权力、资本与空间：历史街区改造背景下的城市消费空间生产——以成都远洋太古里为例

Design and assessment of an efficient and equitable dynamic urban water tariff. Application to the city of Valencia, Spain

Water pricing policies have a large and still relatively untapped potential to foster more efficient management of water resources in scarcity situations. This work contributes a framework for designing equitable, financially stable and economically efficient urban water tariffs. A hydroeconomic simulation model links the marginal value of water, which reflects water scarcity given its competing uses, to water supply reservoir levels. Varying reservoir levels trigger variations in the second block of the proposed two-block increasing-rate tariff; these variations then reflect water's value at that time. The work contrasts the two-block scarcity tariff with a constant volumetric rate for the city of Valencia, Spain, and the drought-prone Jucar basin, where most of 430,000 households are equipped with smart meters. Results show urban consumption is reduced by 18% in the driest years, lowering basin-wide scarcity costs by 34%.

Combined forecasting model of urban water consumption based on adaptive filtering and BP neural network

In order to solve the problem of improving the precision of urban short-term water consumption forecasting, the idea of combination forecasting is put forward. According to the water use data of a city, the time series prediction method and the explanatory prediction method are used to forecast the water use in the short-term. In order to combine the advantages of the two forecasting methods, this paper proposes a combination forecasting method based on weight coefficient optimisation theory. Compared with the single prediction model, the combined forecasting model has higher accuracy and stability.

Non‐CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China 2012: Inventory and Supply Chain Analysis

AbstractReliable inventory information is critical in informing emission mitigation efforts. Using the latest officially released emission data, which is production based, we take a consumption perspective to estimate the non‐CO2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for China in 2012. The non‐CO2 GHG emissions, which cover CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF6, amounted to 2003.0 Mt. CO2‐eq (including 1871.9 Mt. CO2‐eq from economic activities), much larger than the total CO2 emissions in some developed countries. Urban consumption (30.1%), capital formation (28.2%), and exports (20.6%) derived approximately four fifths of the total embodied emissions in final demand. Furthermore, the results from structural path analysis help identify critical embodied emission paths and key economic sectors in supply chains for mitigating non‐CO2 GHG emissions in Chinese economic systems. The top 20 paths were responsible for half of the national total embodied emissions. Several industrial sectors such as Construction, Production and Supply of Electricity and Steam, Manufacture of Food and Tobacco and Manufacture of Chemicals, and Chemical Products played as the important transmission channels. Examining both production‐ and consumption‐based non‐CO2 GHG emissions will enrich our understanding of the influences of industrial positions, final consumption demands, and trades on national non‐CO2 GHG emissions by considering the comprehensive abatement potentials in the supply chains.