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Sustainability
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Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development
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Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2022) | Viewed by 11669

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Szymon Szewrański

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Spatial Economy, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, ul. Grunwaldzka 55, 50 357 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: spatial analysis; land use planning; sustainable development; city planning; urban sustainability; environmental impact assessment; adaptation to climate change; environmental management; environmental analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jan K. Kazak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Spatial Management, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Grunwaldzka 55, 50-357 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: sustainable cities and regions; adaptation to climate change; environmental impact assessment; natural resource management; resilience; urban design and planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Malgorzata Swiader

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Spatial Management, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland
Interests: environmental analysis; sustainable development; environmental management; environmental monitoring; society and environment; sustainability; spatial analysis; environment protection; natural resource management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, the impact of human activities is exceeding the capacity of the planet and will lead to environmental problems, such as biodiversity loss, a reduction in natural resources, soil degradation, and pollution of land, water, and air. Moreover, the deterioration of the environment is expected to escalate in the future due to population growth and urbanization. Thus, guaranteeing the stability and sustainability of the socio-environmental system is one of the most important tasks for the modern generation.

In order to minimize the negative impact of human activities on the natural environment, it is necessary to effectively diagnose the current state of the built and natural environment. The implementation of decision support systems and tools for urban and regional development would enable us to explore, analyze, and determine the preconditions for the sustainable development of cities and regions.

This Special Issue aims to present cross-disciplinary approaches, methodologies, and applications that can be incorporated as decision support systems for more sustainable urban and regional development. We invite submissions from researchers in environmental protection and development, urban planning, geography, public policy, and other disciplines, including cross-disciplinary fields. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

  • environmental carrying capacity;
  • urban and regional development;
  • ecological footprint;
  • biocapacity and ecosystem services;
  • landscape capacity and assessment;
  • environmental impact assessment;
  • human impact assessment;
  • resilience assessment and mapping;
  • sustainability risk assessment; and geospatial analyses.

Prof. Szymon Szewrański
Mrs. Malgorzata Swiader
Dr. Jan K. Kazak
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental carrying capacity
  • human impact
  • environmental problems
  • urban and regional development
  • sustainable development

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3160 KiB  
Article
Rural–Urban Metabolism: A Methodological Approach for Carbon-Positive and Circular Territories
by Angelica Pianegonda, Sara Favargiotti and Marco Ciolli
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13964; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su142113964 - 27 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1666
Abstract
Cities are responsible for about 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Various materials and energy sources, which are mostly produced by the rural areas rather than the cities, are consumed by the cities, and their waste is released back into the rural [...] Read more.
Cities are responsible for about 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Various materials and energy sources, which are mostly produced by the rural areas rather than the cities, are consumed by the cities, and their waste is released back into the rural areas, thereby causing evident environmental damages. The Rural–Urban Metabolism approach can offer a comprehensive tool to understand the flux of resources that cross the urban environments and plan for more sustainable cities. Considering the strength of the relationship between the urban and rural areas, this paper offers a new perspective regarding the Rural–Urban Metabolism and its application in the Autonomous Province of Trento is discussed. The methodological approach consists of four main steps: data collection and management to support strategic territorial/urban plans; data assessment to critically evaluate the existing context; data mapping to visualize the data and territorial dynamics; and finally, the definition of the strategic and integrated development plan and actions. The Rural–Urban Metabolism proved to be a strategic approach for urban planning and design to monitor the flow of it, assess the impacts of it and promote more sustainable and circular urban policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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11 pages, 2815 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Anti-Tank Obstacle System Applying Civil–Military Cooperation in Highly Urbanized Areas
by Kukjoo Kim, Youngjoon Jeon, Young-Jun Park and Sangwoo Park
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12715; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141912715 - 06 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1319
Abstract
Decreasing the use of concrete in construction projects is an important factor in sustainability awareness and green planning. In the past, the military installed and managed concrete block-shaped obstacles called “rock drops” on major roads in order to hinder enemy movement. As the [...] Read more.
Decreasing the use of concrete in construction projects is an important factor in sustainability awareness and green planning. In the past, the military installed and managed concrete block-shaped obstacles called “rock drops” on major roads in order to hinder enemy movement. As the cities surrounding Seoul are developing, traffic volumes are increasing, and traffic networks are expanding, such types of obstacles are becoming obsolete and need to be replaced by a new eco-friendly, urban-friendly alternative. This study proposes a new sustainable anti-tank obstacle and demonstrates its performance through a finite element analysis. In addition, this study analyzes the effect of the proposed obstacle as a civil–military cooperation policy with respect to sustainability by comparing the CO2 emissions between the original and the proposed ones. Once one rock drop obstacle made of massive concrete blocks is replaced, CO2 emissions can be reduced by as much as 99.2%. If 100 rock drop obstacles distributed in the surrounding areas of Seoul are replaced, then 347,581 tons of CO2 emissions would be reduced. This corresponds to total cost savings of USD 17,379,050 based on the Korean carbon transaction price of USD 50/ton-CO2. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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15 pages, 4064 KiB  
Article
Identification and Characterization of PM2.5 Emission Sources in Shanghai during COVID-19 Pandemic in the Winter of 2020
by Xiaoyan Dai, Chao Wei, Liguo Zhou and Ping Li
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 11034; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su141711034 - 04 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1317
Abstract
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019 and spread around the whole of China in 2020. In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, transportation and industrial activities in different regions were limited to varying degrees. [...] Read more.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic broke out in Wuhan at the end of 2019 and spread around the whole of China in 2020. In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, transportation and industrial activities in different regions were limited to varying degrees. This study uses bivariate concentration polar plots, integrated with k-means clustering and temporal variation analyses for PM2.5 time series data, to understand the PM2.5 source characteristics in Shanghai during the COVID-19 pandemic in the winter of 2020. Our findings show that 34.33% of the PM2.5 particles arise from external sources while 65.67% are from local sources. The results of source apportionment combined with land use, wind speed, and direction data are further used to locate the most likely directions of different source categories and geographic origins of PM2.5. During the lockdown period in 2020, traffic and industrial activity were still primary local sources of PM2.5 emissions in Shanghai. The growth of motor vehicle ownership, limited public transport, and a large volume of freight transport in Shanghai result in a higher level of PM2.5 concentrations on weekends than in midweeks. On the other hand, the regional-scale transport of air pollutants from the Yangtze River Delta, the Central Plains, the inland area of northern China, and coastal cities in the north and south of Shanghai aggravates PM2.5 pollution in Shanghai under unfavorable meteorological conditions. The methods and results presented here lay a basis for further study on the complicated effects of meteorological and anthropogenic factors on PM2.5 pollution and on the development of detailed and urgent strategies for the improvement of air quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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20 pages, 3288 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Regional Carrying Capacity under Economic-Social-Resource-Environment Complex System: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt
by Zhimin Zhang, Guoli Ou, Ayman Elshkaki and Ruilin Liu
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7117; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14127117 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1996
Abstract
As a rigid constraint of the scale and speed of regional economic-social development, carrying capacity is an endogenous variable of regional sustainable development potential. Concepts such as ecological footprint and virtual water have been introduced into the research field of carrying capacity, but [...] Read more.
As a rigid constraint of the scale and speed of regional economic-social development, carrying capacity is an endogenous variable of regional sustainable development potential. Concepts such as ecological footprint and virtual water have been introduced into the research field of carrying capacity, but dynamic and comprehensive problems in carrying capacity have not been effectively solved. This paper attempts to overcome these limitations by taking the regional factor aggregation degree as the weight and the regional green GDP as the carrying object. Based on the economic-social supplying force, resource supporting force, and environmental constraint force, from the perspective of comprehensive factors assessment, we have constructed an evaluation system of regional carrying capacity index, including mineral, water, and bioecological resources, as well as labor and other factors, and evaluated the regional carrying capacity of 11 provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The results indicate that (1) the supporting force of the resource subsystem becomes the most critical factor affecting the carrying capacity of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the cross-regional flow potential of resource factors increases the regional carrying capacity threshold. (2) The regional carrying capacity, economic-social, resource and environmental subsystems of the Yangtze River Economic Belt are steadily improving, and the overall trend is positive. The quantified dynamic evaluation of regional economic-social, resource and environmental carrying capacity provides a theoretical support for the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt eco-priority green development demonstration area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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Graphical abstract

22 pages, 2973 KiB  
Article
An Improved Approach of Integrated Carrying Capacity Prediction Based on TOPSIS-SPA
by Chao Wei, Xiaoyan Dai, Yiyou Guo, Xiaohua Tong and Jianping Wu
Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4051; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14074051 - 29 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1518
Abstract
Regional coordinated development is an important policy to promote socio-economic development, especially in the Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area and others, which is one of the guidelines of the 14th Five-Year Plan for economic development. The relative stability of the carrying capacity [...] Read more.
Regional coordinated development is an important policy to promote socio-economic development, especially in the Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area and others, which is one of the guidelines of the 14th Five-Year Plan for economic development. The relative stability of the carrying capacity (CC) is the precondition for long-term rapid development, whereas the comprehensive capacity of natural resources, ecological environment, social economy, population and others, defined as integrated carrying capacity (ICC). Due to the complexity of the CC quantitative assessment, constructing an accurate ICC predication model is the core challenge of dynamic adjustments of socio-economic development planning. In this study, four critical issues, which focused on indicator value estimation, optimal ICC value screening, ICC tendency prediction and study area application in order to formulate a novel prediction framework, are investigated as follows: (1) The proposal formulated an estimation model of indicator value in the future based on the grey model. The grade ratio and the relative residuals of all third-class indicators are less than 0.1, which is highly accurate for indicator value estimation. (2) The optimal ICC value screening model was proposed based on the multi-objective decision-making theory. The optimal ICC values of Suzhou, Ningbo and Zhoushan were 0.7002, 0.6797 and 0.5982, which were also the maximum values from 1996 to 2019. However, the values of Nantong, Jiaxing and Shaoxing were recorded in 2018, 2001 and 1999, which were not the maximum ICC values, and the difference ratio was more than 10%. The optimal ICC value of these three cities were improved. (3) The ICC prediction model was constructed based on the theory of set pair analysis and Euclidean distance. The ICC prediction result of eight cities maintained a relative fluctuation during 2020–2030. Compared with the polynomial fitting curve predication, there were some differences in Nantong, Shaoxing and Zhoushan over the next 5 years. This study provided an improved approach of ICC prediction model, focusing on indicator weight, indicator data estimation and optimal ICC value screening. The model and conclusion aim to validate the rationality of economic planning target for government policymakers and stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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26 pages, 20533 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Landscape Character and Absorptivity Based on Digital Terrain Model Analysis—Case Study of Jelenia Góra City in Poland
by Grzegorz Budzik and Piotr Krajewski
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7969; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147969 - 16 Jul 2021
Viewed by 2200
Abstract
In an era of significant growth in the availability of spatial data and continued advances in computing technologies, opportunities for new interpretations and solutions to the landscape research problems posed worldwide are emerging. This paper presents different possibilities of applying digital terrain model [...] Read more.
In an era of significant growth in the availability of spatial data and continued advances in computing technologies, opportunities for new interpretations and solutions to the landscape research problems posed worldwide are emerging. This paper presents different possibilities of applying digital terrain model (DTM) data in research of various aspects of landscape. For this purpose, two different methods were proposed. The first was to identify a set of components of the Jelenia Góra city landscape character on the basis of the topographic position index and spatial distribution of land cover, while the second was to assess the landscape of Jelenia Góra city in terms of the possibility of adopting new elements, using the author’s scenic absorptivity method. The results indicate the structure of the components of the landscape character of Jelenia Góra city together with its spatial distribution, which also allowed for the delineation of landscape units. The scenic absorptivity analysis showed that there are isolated areas within Jelenia Góra city that are capable of accommodating significant size elements that would not adversely affect the city landscape. In conclusion, DTM data are able to significantly improve research methods in landscape studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Carrying Capacity in Urban and Regional Development)
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