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Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2020) | Viewed by 40924

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jay Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA
Interests: sustainable regional development; GISciences
Dr. Pengyan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Henan 475001, China
Interests: ecosystem service value; land use chage; carbon sources/sinks analysis; resource use and environment policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Green development is a sustainable approach to developing both urban and rural areas. It seeks to balance socio-economic growth and the impacts that such growth has on the environment. Green development aims at maintaining a harmony between human activities and the environment via encouraging green technology and green industries in the processes of urbanization, industrialization, resource management, and restructuring regional economic development for sustainable growth. The nature of green development is, to a great extent, a correction to the directions of economic and industrial activities that have negatively impacted the environment. While the concept of green development can be traced back to protecting environment from the impacts of economic growth, it really encompasses many aspects and can be discussed in the contexts of economic, social, political, resource, and environmental concerns.

For this Special Issue, we are soliciting research papers that discuss or report works in green development, for both developing and developed countries. Manuscripts on the roles of green technology, green industries, and green agriculture and how they promote green development to achieve the balanced development of urban and rural areas are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Jay Lee
Dr. Peng-Yan Zhang
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

  • green development
  • green industries
  • green technology
  • green agricultural
  • environmental impacts
  • urban and rural development

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1971 KiB  
Article
The Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Financial Agglomeration on Green Development in China Cities Using GTWR Model
by Huaxi Yuan, Yidai Feng, Jay Lee and Haimeng Liu
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6660; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12166660 - 18 Aug 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3044
Abstract
By promoting financial agglomerations to support green development in a region is a keyway for China to resolve the sharp contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection. However, existing research only considered the promotion effect of financial agglomerations on green development, but the [...] Read more.
By promoting financial agglomerations to support green development in a region is a keyway for China to resolve the sharp contradiction between economic growth and environmental protection. However, existing research only considered the promotion effect of financial agglomerations on green development, but the spatio-temporal non-stationarity of that effect has been overlooked. Using a panel data of 285 prefecture-level cities in China and based on the evaluation of green development by a Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model, this paper analyzes the spatial correlation of financial agglomeration on green development. The paper also investigates the differences in the spatio-temporal influence of financial agglomeration on green development from both global and local perspectives by employing a Bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (BLISA) model and a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model. The results indicate that: (1) There exists significant spatial dependency between financial agglomeration and green development from 2003 to 2015, with Low-Low (L-L) and Low-High (L-H) spatial clusters as the main cluster types. (2) From the local perspective, the promoting effect of financial agglomerations on green development has showed significant spatial heterogeneity with a gradually decreasing trend from the southeast coast to the northwest inland of China. This work can help to develop policies for supporting green development by formulating differential strategies for financial agglomerations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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18 pages, 1322 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Convergence of Green Total Factor Productivity in Chinese Cities
by Yuanxin Peng, Zhuo Chen and Jay Lee
Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4883; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12124883 - 15 Jun 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2766
Abstract
China’s energy consumption in urban areas accounts for a large proportion of total energy consumption, and many pollutants are emitted with the energy consumption. Considering the requirement for green development of economy, it is necessary to study the green total factor productivity (GTFP) [...] Read more.
China’s energy consumption in urban areas accounts for a large proportion of total energy consumption, and many pollutants are emitted with the energy consumption. Considering the requirement for green development of economy, it is necessary to study the green total factor productivity (GTFP) in cities. In this study, the Malmquist index, spatial autocorrelation analysis and convergence analysis are used to analyze the GTFP for 263 prefectural or higher-level cities in China. The results show a growing trend of values measured by the GTFP in Chinese cities, indicating an increase in efficiency. In addition. the eastern region has the highest efficiency, followed by the central region while the lowest being the western region. The calculated values of GTFP show a relatively strong overall spatial clustering with some local high-high clusters of high index values. GTFP also shows relatively weak divergence and no sign of convergence. Thus, we propose that, to improve GTFP and narrow the gap between regions, it would be necessary to enhance technological progress and restructuring industrial productivity in cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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17 pages, 780 KiB  
Article
Green Development in the Construction of Family Houses in Urban and Rural Settlements in Slovakia
by Mária Moresová, Mariana Sedliačiková, Jarmila Schmidtová and Iveta Hajdúchová
Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4432; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12114432 - 29 May 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2749
Abstract
Measures that have been implemented to promote green development and environmental protection are increasingly affecting the construction of family houses and hence the economic and social growth. The representatives of the Europe Regional Network of World Green Building Council claim that the building [...] Read more.
Measures that have been implemented to promote green development and environmental protection are increasingly affecting the construction of family houses and hence the economic and social growth. The representatives of the Europe Regional Network of World Green Building Council claim that the building emissions in Europe create up to 36% of the total carbon dioxide production. Therefore, the application of ecological building materials can be one of the possible ways to reach equilibrium between the social-economic growth and green development. The main objective of this paper was to find out the approach of people in urban and rural settlements in Slovakia towards the question of green development in terms of selection of building material for the construction of a family house and their economic-social situation. The issue was mapped in Slovakia using the empirical survey in the form of a questionnaire. The research was evaluated using statistical hypothesis testing methods, descriptive statistics methods, and data visualization. The main economic and social coordinates were identified that influence the choice of building materials for the construction of houses. The results led to conclusions that extend the current knowledge in the field of green development and sustainability in connection with the construction of family houses and the economic–social question in Slovakia. Results indicated that ecological materials are underestimated at nearly 71%. The identified reason for the research is, besides the economic and social issue, mainly the low level of information and promotion of ecological materials that can be used for the construction of family houses, as well as the low level of support by the state of those who are interested in the construction of ecological houses. The following research perspectives in this area should focus even more deeply on the synchronization of ecological, economic, and social aspects of sustainability, not only in the construction of family houses from ecological materials in Slovakia, but also in the construction of public and other buildings in urban and rural settlements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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17 pages, 2076 KiB  
Article
Relationship between Rural Settlements’ Plant Communities and Environmental Factors in Hilly Area of Southeast China
by Ziyan Wang, Cheng Wang, Zehui Jiang, Tao Hu, Wenjing Han, Chang Zhang, Jiali Jin, Kaiyue Wei, Jiao Zhao and Xinyu Wang
Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2771; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12072771 - 01 Apr 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2402
Abstract
The construction of the ecological environment in rural settlements is a very important part of the development of human settlements. Key to this construction is the coordinated and sustainable development of plant environment, geographical environment, and human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to [...] Read more.
The construction of the ecological environment in rural settlements is a very important part of the development of human settlements. Key to this construction is the coordinated and sustainable development of plant environment, geographical environment, and human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to study the characteristics of plant diversity and their driving mechanisms. The study area, ‘Shanchuan Town’, is located in the hilly area of Southeast China, Anji County, Zhejiang Province. As bamboo forests cover 62% of the total forests, it has the reputation of being the “China town of bamboo”. To interpret rural plant community features, we extracted topography data by the field survey, satellite image, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) based on ArcGIS platform, then used Spearman’s correlation and a redundancy analysis to examine the relationships between explanatory variables (e.g., plot elevation, slope aspect and architectural height, etc.) and the distribution of plant community diversity. In this study, 227 plots were selected from 14 settlements to investigate totally 105, 88, 206, and 17 species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and vines, respectively, belonging to 147 families, 324 genera, and 416 species. Among them, there were 19 bamboo species, and 47 species of alien plants, which accounted for 11.3% of the total. The dominant trees and shrubs were mainly native species with high edible or ornamental value. The dominant bamboo species were common species for bamboo shoots in Zhejiang Province, while most of the dominant herbaceous species were alien species. Among the explanatory variables, the impact of plot elevation (PE) on plant community was significantly higher than those of other explanatory factors. The correlation analysis showed that the richness and diversity indices of different plant life layers were significantly related to PE. Among the architectural factors, the architectural orientation (AO) and layout type (AT) effect on shrubs and other herbaceous species was stronger than those on trees and bamboo. There was a high plant community richness in the study area, and both topography and architectural factors had a significant effect on plant community. Therefore, construction of the plant landscape should conform to the topography and regulate the residential construction activities properly, so as to get rid of urban planning thinking and the excessive pursuit of plant diversity, realizing the sustainable development of ecological environment in settlements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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21 pages, 2682 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of the Spatio-Temporal Trends and Driving Factors of Industrial Development and Industrial SO2 Emissions Based on Niche Theory: Taking Henan Province as an Example
by Pengyan Zhang, Yu Zhang, Jay Lee, Yanyan Li, Jiaxin Yang, Wenliang Geng, Ying Liu, Tianqi Rong, Jingwen Shao and Bin Li
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1389; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12041389 - 13 Feb 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2347
Abstract
Industrial development is critical in improving a nation’s economy and in how it consumes energy resources. However, such development often causes environmental problems. Among others, the haze caused by industrial SO2 emissions is particularly prominent. Based on Niche theory and combined with [...] Read more.
Industrial development is critical in improving a nation’s economy and in how it consumes energy resources. However, such development often causes environmental problems. Among others, the haze caused by industrial SO2 emissions is particularly prominent. Based on Niche theory and combined with Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA, a decoupling index model, and a Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) factor decomposition model, this paper reports a study on the spatio-temporal distribution and the driving factors of industrial development and industrial SO2 emissions of cities in Henan, China between 2005 and 2014. The results showed that over the studied period in Henan: (1) SO2 emissions reduced by 4.56 × 105 tons and showed a slowly decreasing trend, which gradually transitioned to a “green health” industrial structure in Henan cities; (2) studied cities with high and low industrial niche values (0.038–0.139) showed an absolute decoupling relationship between industrial development and industrial SO2 emissions; (3) except for Zhengzhou city and Hebi city, other studied cities showed a trend of gradually increasing industrial output; (4) along with increases in the values of industrial output, studied cities showed increased levels of SO2 emissions but with energy intensity and energy structure showing a fluctuating trend of increases and decreases in their contributions to SO2 emissions; and (5) the energy consumption intensity and environmental technology were critical factors that were conducive to industrial SO2 emissions and the evolving industrial structure. These findings are important for the control of industrial SO2 emissions, though the levels of their influences are different in different cities. The scale of industrial production and the composition of energy structure in a region could lead to further deterioration of industrial SO2 emissions in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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19 pages, 1365 KiB  
Article
Challenges and Potential Solutions for Sustainable Urban-Rural Linkages in a Ghanaian Context
by Albert Novas Somanje, Geetha Mohan, Julia Lopes, Adelina Mensah, Christopher Gordon, Xin Zhou, Mustafa Moinuddin, Osamu Saito and Kazuhiko Takeuchi
Sustainability 2020, 12(2), 507; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12020507 - 09 Jan 2020
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 26833
Abstract
Urban-rural linkages are an integral part of fostering development in both urban and rural communities. However, the focus on development tends to have an urban bias toward Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an increase in urbanization. Ghana is one of the fastest urbanizing countries [...] Read more.
Urban-rural linkages are an integral part of fostering development in both urban and rural communities. However, the focus on development tends to have an urban bias toward Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an increase in urbanization. Ghana is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in SSA. This paper sought to identify the challenges of urban-rural linkages, their corresponding solutions, and contributions to Agenda 2030 that are context-specific to Ghana through a stepwise solution scanning technique. In step 1, the study applied a scoping process to identify the urban-rural challenges. In step 2, a solution for the identified urban-rural challenges in step 1 was co-designed. In step 3, each identified solution was assessed based on its potential to contribute to all three pillars of sustainability by ranking and prioritization. In step 4, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) interlinkages of the top five prioritized potential solutions were analyzed. The identified challenges were (1) inequality and gender gaps, (2) poor and lack of basic and economic infrastructures, (3) the limited effectiveness of decentralization, and (4) food and nutrition security dynamics. The prioritized potential solutions were gender inclusiveness, investment in infrastructures, sustainable agricultural systems, effective decentralization, and financial inclusion. This study recommends maximizing the synergies and minimizing the trade-offs between the SDGs of the potential solutions identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Development and Sustainability of Urbanization and Growth in Rural Areas)
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