World cities and international organizations: Political global-city status of Chinese cities

In this study, the authors use a political perspective to explore the relative global status of cities in China. Two questions are addressed. Firstly, by using international organizations as the subjects and quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution of their offices, the overall position of Chinese cities in the global distribution of international organizations is estimated. The results show that 22 Chi- nese cities are involved in international political affairs. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou dominate these activities and have high po- litical global-city status. Secondly, through qualitative analysis of Guangzhou City, the authors explore how its status as a center for intemational organizations has been shaped in recent years. The locational decision-making process is analyzed and the factors are demonstrated at both national and city scales. The definition of international organizations as used in this study refers not only to those supranational bodies that have the ability to manage relations across states （such as the European Union）, but also those in- ter-governmental organizations （IGOs）, international non-governmental organizations （INGOs） and diplomatic representatives and delegations that today also manage and regulate relations between and among states.     

江苏经济发展动态评价模型与实证分析

根据《江苏统计年鉴》(2002—2011)等统计资料,从经济、社会、科技、生态和环境5个方面建立综合评价的指标体系,利用"纵横向"拉开档次法对江苏省13个地级市从"十五"到"十一五"的发展状况进行动态综合评价与实证分析.研究结果表明：2001—2010年江苏经济社会平稳较快发展,充满活力,各评价指数稳步攀升;南京、无锡、苏州和宿迁的竞争力保持不变,常州、扬州等地竞争力缓慢加强,淮安、南通等地的竞争力缓慢衰退,镇江属于跳跃式衰退,而泰州则属于跳跃式前进.结果符合实际,模型实用可信.     

Effectiveness and synergies of policy instruments for land use governance in tropical regions

Land use is regulated through various mixes of command-and-control interventions that directly affect land use via land use restrictions, and other public interventions that indirectly affect land use via agricultural, forestry, trade or macro-economic policies. More recently, coalitions of public and private actors have designed market-based and/or demand-led policy instruments to influence land use—e.g., eco-certification, geographical indications, commodity roundtables, moratoria, and payments for environmental services. These innovative instruments fall along a continuum of state involvement and interact with traditional public forms of land use regulation, leading to “hybrid” interventions. This article reviews emerging evidence on the effectiveness of the main instruments used to promote sustainable land use, and explores interactions between the new demand-led interventions and formal regulatory public policies. Although there are still insufficient rigorous studies evaluating the effectiveness of hybrid instruments, available evidence suggests some positive direct and indirect benefits. Hybrid instruments combine elements from both private and public regulatory systems, in innovative and effective ways. We propose a typology to characterize potential interactions between instruments that regulate land use. It links various types of interactions—i.e., complementarity, substitution, and antagonism—to the various stages of regulatory processes—i.e., agenda setting, implementation, and monitoring and enforcement. We give examples of governments endorsing certifications or using certification to support their own policies; governments creating enabling conditions for hybrid instruments to mature, allowing for wider adoption; and private instruments reinforcing public regulations or substituting for missing or weak governance. In some cases, governments, NGOs and corporations compete and may hinder each other's actions. With favourable institutional and governance contexts, well-designed hybrid public-private instruments can be effective. More systematic evaluation could boost the effectiveness of instruments and enhance synergistic interaction with traditional public land-use policy instruments to achieve incremental benefits as well as longer-term transformative outcomes in land-use protection.     

Spatial differentiation of tourism impact based on the perception of residents in mountainous valley resorts

Valley economy is a type of economy that comprehensively utilizes the natural economic and social resources of the region based on environmental protection. This economy utilizes the basic role of the market in disposing resources and achieving regional development and social progress. In this paper we studied the town of Yanqi, a valley resort that has developed tourism-based valley economy for several years in the mountainous area of Beijing. This research identifies the spatial differentiation of tourism-related economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impact and level of support for tourism according to the perception and attitude of residents of Yanqi. The research area was divided into three zones （i.e., core, transition, and peripheral） according to the standard proposed by Jaakson. The residents in all three zones showed a positive attitude toward the tourism industry, and the residents in the core zone had a stronger perception toward the impact of tourism. However, several items indicated the converse. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance were used to explore the correlative factors associated with the attitudes of residents toward the tourism industry. Results indicated major differences among the three zones. Multiple factors, including natural conditions, policies, scenic spots, dependence on the tourism industry, and external investment in the three zones resulted in the spatial differentiationof the perception and attitude of residents toward the impact of tourism.     

The “Valley Economy” Model of Regional Development: A Case Study of Mountain Areas in Beijing,Northern China

A case study is presented of a regional development model for valley economies in the mountain areas of Beijing, China. The nature and framework of the valley economy model are described and the development of the model, which is specific to the mountain areas of Beijing, is analyzed. Five different valley economy models applied in the Beijing mountain areas are compared. The major purpose of the valley economy model is to develop the regional economy, including the selection of appropriate industries, the allocation of industrial space, the establishment of supply chains and the integration of various industries. Pilot experiments using the valley economy model have been conducted in seven counties（districts） in Beijing： Pinggu, Huairou, Changping, Mentougou, and Fangshan districts, and Yanqing and Miyun counties. Five models for developing the Beijing mountain areas have been explored, including： creative cultural industries, characteristic industry clusters, the promotion of large tourist areas, natural scenic tourism and folk cultural tourism. Each model has its own unique features and potential to help in the regional development of mountain areas.     

《新疆维吾尔自治区资源经济地图集》编辑特点

介绍了《新疆维吾尔自治区资源经济地图集》编制意义,较为详细地阐述了地图集中内容结构、地理底图、编图资料、编辑设计等方面的编辑特点,以及地图集编制工作中的一些体会。     

Mapping areas of potential slope failures in cohesive soils using a shadow-casting algorithm – A case study from SW Sweden

When performing landslide susceptibility mapping of rotational slides in fine grained soils, slope algorithms found in common GIS software have two major shortcomings. Firstly, these types of terrain algorithms only consider the slope angle at the surface. Secondly, the algorithm is local by its design i.e. it only considers neighbouring pixels. Due to the behaviour of a retrogressive rotational landslide, it would be more preferable to consider slope information as a predetermined cross-section angle from the base of the slope. This paper presents a new method using shadow casting algorithms for preliminary landslide susceptibility mapping in cohesive soils. A case study from western Sweden is also presented.     

Livelihoods and the transformative potential of cities: Challenges of inclusive development in Rustenburg,North West Province,South Africa

Urban geographers increasingly incorporate the potential of so‐called informal livelihood activities to provide resources that can be creatively managed in the transformation of urban space, particularly to the benefit of less well off and marginalized residents. This paper reports a case study in Rustenburg, North West Province, South Africa, where city managers began to promote inclusive development in the early 1990s, just prior to the formal dismantling of the apartheid system. The findings reveal that Rustenburg's urban transformation process, over a decade later, continued to reproduce repressive practices that limit the informal livelihood activities of the urban majority. Apparently efforts of well‐meaning city managers to implement a sustainable and inclusive development process are often rendered futile at the point of actually defining the constituents of urban socioeconomic transformation.     

Ecological niche modeling and principal component analysis of Krameria Loefl. (Krameriaceae)

Krameria plants are found in arid regions of the Americas and present a floral system that attracts oil-collecting bees. Niche modeling and multivariate tools were applied to examine ecological and geographical aspects of the 18 species of this genus, using occurrence data obtained from herbaria and literature. Niche modeling showed the potential areas of occurrence for each species and the analysis of climatic variables suggested that North American species occur mostly in deserted or xeric ecoregions with monthly precipitation below 140 mm and large temperature ranges. South American species are mainly found in deserted ecoregions and subtropical savannas where monthly precipitation often exceeds 150 mm and temperature ranges are smaller. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) performed with values of temperature and precipitation showed that the distribution limits of Krameria species are primarily associated with maximum and minimum temperatures. Modeling of Krameria species proved to be a useful tool for analyzing the influence of the ecological niche variables in the geographical distribution of species, providing new information to guide future investigations.     

1990年代以来长株潭城市群区域差异的演化过程

长株潭城市群作为国家两型示范基地,对其区域差异的研究对于长株潭建设具有重要意义.通过研究区域自1990年以来的人口、GDP、工业、农业、第三产业及消费重心的动态演化过程,得出该地区人口、经济发展、生活水平县际差异的动态变化及其关系,并且就其各要素动态演化的机制因子进行了分析.结果表明:区域人口重心缓慢向西北方向移动;G...