Urban land use,mobility and theory of science: exploring the potential for critical realism in empirical research

Academic discussion where the adequacy of positions within theory of science is illustrated by means of examples from empirical research studies seems to be an area of neglect. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to such a debate, using examples from investigations into the relationship between urban structure and travel behaviour. The main research question of these investigations was whether, and to what extent, urban structural conditions are influencing residents' transportation activity. In other words, is there a causal relationship between urban structure and travel behaviour? Furthermore, we asked whether results from studies of the relationship between land use and transport can provide a basis for predictions about the likely consequences of alternative land-use strategies. The methodology and empirical findings of the studies are discussed in the light of the theory of science position labelled ‘critical realism’, in an attempt to relate theory of science to empirical research, but also in order to contribute to the discussion of the usefulness of this specific approach. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土地督察对土地违法的遏制效应评价

选择当年发生土地违法案件数和当年发生土地违法涉案面积作为主要表征指标,收集了2002-2009年的省级面板数据,分析土地督察对土地违法是否有影响以及影响的程度。论文分别采用了固定效应模型、随机效应和混合OLS模型加以估计,通过相关检验,最后选用了固定效应模型的估计结果。在模型估计结果的基础上,对土地督察的违法遏制效果进行了评价。分析表明:①土地督察的确对减少土地违法有显著影响,土地例行督察覆盖度每提高1%,可能减少土地违法案件92件,可能使土地违法涉案面积减少约2.18%;②若对某省份实施了专项督察,则可能减少土地违法案件7件,可能使土地违法涉案面积减少31.11%;③由于实行了土地例行督察和专项督察,可能使2007-2009年的土地违法案件分别少发生84件、3 473件和12 500件,土地违法涉案面积分别少发生2 314.13 hm2、1 919.75 hm2和3 046.57 hm2。     

城市规划与城镇土地定级相互作用机理研究

城市规划与城镇土地定级之间的相互影响是多方面的。一是城市规划纲要、城市总体规划以及控制性详细规划的编制,分别从宏观和微观两方面影响着城镇土地定级工作;而城市规划的不同实施方式和不同实施程度对具体地块土地级别以及城镇土地级别空间分布格局有着直接和较大的影响。二是城镇土地级别现状和城镇土地级别变化趋势分析,潜在影响着城市规划方案设计、城市规划方案决策、城市规划实施和管理过程,并为其提供依据和指导。在此基础上,如何量化城市规划对城镇土地定级的影响值得进一步具体研究;发挥城镇土地定级工作的作用,更好地为城市规划服务,解决人们的住房问题,更值得深入思考。     

土地政策参与宏观调控手段的完善

土地政策参与宏观调控是在特定经济背景下提出的.随着时间的推移和经济环境的变化,土地政策在h参与宏观调控的过程中也应做出相应的调整.列举了新经济背景下土地调控手段存在主次错位、刚性不强、缺乏有效配合等一系列问题,针对这些问题提出了在土地政策参与宏观调控的过程中要增加地土经济手段的运用、推动土地政策法律化和增强部门间协调配合等相关对策与建议.     

休宁县野生木质藤本植物种质资源及园林用途研究

野外考察和文献调查分析表明,安徽省休宁县野生木质藤本植物资源丰富、种类繁多,累计有25科48属132种(含种以下等级),其中主要有葡萄科、蔷薇科、猕猴桃科、毛茛科、卫矛科、豆科等6个科.对藤本植物的观赏特性及园林用途进行了较详细的阐述.     

水资源生态足迹分析——以安康市为例

根据生态足迹分析方法,建立了水资源生态足迹概念模型,确定了计算水资源帐户生态足迹所需的3个关键参数,即平均水资源产量、均衡因子和地区产量因子,计算了安康市1996—2007年水资源生态足迹和生态承载力。引入水资源生态足迹压力指数、万元GDP水资源生态足迹、累积水资源生态足迹等指标,利用水足迹模型评价水资源可持续发展程度的全面性和对比性。结果表明,计算结果可客观评价安康市水资源可持续发展与利用情况,为地区水资源的可持续利用与管理提供了科学的依据。     

不同种植方式对水生植物生长的影响

水生植物恢复是水体生态恢复与重建的一个关键,而人工快速大面积恢复沉水植物存在较大的难度。在淀山湖318国道近岸水域生态带内,运用水泥涵管覆土种植、箩筐覆土种植、纱布包裹覆土种植、编织袋覆土种植和竹签扦插法对水生植物进行种植。通过实验得出,运用水泥涵管覆土种植的芦苇存活率比用箩筐覆土种植的存活率高;运用水泥涵管覆土+竹签扦插法种植的狐尾藻存活率比其他几种种植方法的存活率高,几种种植方式下的生物量无显著差异。     

Metabolic diversity of the heterotrophic microorganisms and potential link to pollution of the Rouge River

The heterotrophic microbial communities of the Rouge River were tracked using Biolog Ecoplates to understand the metabolic diversity at different temporal and spatial scales, and potential link to river pollution. Site less impacted by anthrophogenic sources (site 1), showed markedly lower metabolic diversity. The only substrates that were utilized in the water samples were carbohydrates. Sites more impacted by anthrophogenic sources (sites 8 and 9) showed higher metabolic diversity. Higher functional diversity was linked to the physico-chemical and biological properties of the water samples (i.e. higher concentrations of DO, DOC, chlorophyll, and bacterial density). Biolog analysis was found to be useful in differentiating metabolic diversity between microbial communities; in determining factors that most influence the separation of communities; and in identifying which substrates were most utilized by the communities. It can also be used as an effective ecological indicator of changes in river function attributable to urbanization and pollution.     

Monitoring Regional Riparian Forest Cover Change Using Stratified Sampling and Multiresolution Imagery1

Claggett, Peter R., Judy A. Okay, and Stephen V. Stehman, 2010. Monitoring Regional Riparian Forest Cover Change Using Stratified Sampling and Multiresolution Imagery. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):334-343. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00424.x Abstract: The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 165,760 km² of land area with 464,098 km of rivers and streams. As part of the Chesapeake Bay restoration effort, state and federal partners have committed to restoring 26,000 miles (41,843 km) of riparian forest buffers. Monitoring trends in riparian forest buffers over large areas is necessary to evaluate the efficacy of these restoration efforts. A sampling approach for estimating change in riparian forest cover from 1993/1994 to 2005 was developed and implemented in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to exemplify a method that could be applied throughout the Bay watershed. All stream reaches in the county were stratified using forest cover change derived from Landsat imagery. A stratified random sample of 219 reaches was selected and forest cover change within the riparian buffer of each sampled reach was interpreted from high-resolution aerial photography. The estimated footprint of gross change in riparian forest cover (i.e., the sum of gross gain and gross loss) for the county was 1.83% (SE = 0.22%). Stratified sampling taking advantage of a priori knowledge of locations of change proved to be a practical and efficient protocol for estimating riparian forest buffer change at the county scale and the protocol would readily extend to much broader scale monitoring.     

Evaluation of the National Land Cover Database for Hydrologic Applications in Urban and Suburban Baltimore,Maryland1

Smith, Monica Lipscomb, Weiqi Zhou, Mary Cadenasso, Morgan Grove, and Lawrence E. Band, 2010. Evaluation of the National Land Cover Database for Hydrologic Applications in Urban and Suburban Baltimore, Maryland. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):429-442. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00412.x Abstract: We compared the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 land cover, impervious, and canopy data products to land cover data derived from 0.6-m resolution three-band digital imagery and ancillary data. We conducted this comparison at the 1 km², 9 km², and gauged watershed scales within the Baltimore Ecosystem Study to determine the usefulness and limitations of the NLCD in heterogeneous urban to exurban environments for the determination of land-cover information for hydrological applications. Although the NLCD canopy and impervious data are significantly correlated with the high-resolution land-cover dataset, both layers exhibit bias at <10 and >70% cover. The ratio of total impervious area and connected impervious area differs along the range of percent imperviousness – at low percent imperviousness, the NLCD is a better predictor of pavement alone, whereas at higher percent imperviousness, buildings and pavement together more resemble NLCD impervious estimates. The land-cover composition and range for each NLCD urban land category (developed open space, low-intensity, medium-intensity, and high-intensity developed) is more variable in areas of low-intensity development. Fine-vegetation land-cover/lawn area is incorporated in a large number of land use categories with no ability to extract this land cover from the NLCD. These findings reveal that the NLCD may yield important biases in urban, suburban, and exurban hydrologic analyses where land cover is characterized by fine-scale spatial heterogeneity.