Rapid urbanization in a transitional economy in China: The case of Hainan Island

The outcomes and forms of urbanization and modernization in China following the reform and opening of the late 1970s have attracted extensive attention and competing interpretations in scholarly documentation. This paper focuses on Hainan Island, established in 1988 as the biggest special economic zone in China. Since then, considerable inflows of human as well as speculative capital have led to rapid real estate, in particular tourism-related, development. While urban expansion and improvements have been encouraged, the ongoing over-building, unregulated conversion of land use and degradation of the urban environment present serious social and economic problems. This paper summarizes the trajectory, causal factors and outcomes of this urban growth and consequent planning problems that make the island an atypical case in China's urbanization experience. We argue that the establishment of a practical framework combining socioeconomic planning, land use planning, and the management of both, is crucial to achieve sustainable growth for this transitional economy.     

ISLAND MAGIC AND THE MAKING OF A TRANSNATIONAL REGION*

ABSTRACT. How can an artificial island and a bridge‐building project shape the dreams and plans for a transnational region? In this article I examine the making of the öresund region of Denmark and Sweden by analyzing the intertwining of bridge construction and region building, from the early dreams and plans, to the actual construction phase, to the ceremonial opening in 2000, and to the difficult transition into an everyday transportation system. The ways in which the construction was organized and staged came to mirror some important trends of the so‐called new economy and many of its buzzwords. Engineering and imagineering were combined in new ways.     

河南省义马县中侏罗统义马组兽脚类恐龙足印化石的发现及其意义

本文记述了河南省义马县中侏罗世地层中首次发现的大型兽脚类恐龙足印。该足印虽然与发现于下—中侏罗统的张北足印类似,但是又不完全相同,从而命名为该属的一新种:徐氏张北足印(新足迹种):Changpeipus xuianainchnosp. nov.。它具有以下特征:足印的长度与宽度的比率约为1.9,第Ⅱ趾长度稍短于第Ⅳ趾的长度;第Ⅱ和第Ⅲ趾之间的夹角约为25°;第Ⅲ和第Ⅳ趾之间的夹角约为32°,足印的后部具有蹠骨所留下的印痕。徐氏张北足印的发现,不仅为我国中侏罗世恐龙足印增加了新的成员,而且为将来在该地区中侏罗世的地层中发现大型兽脚类恐龙骨骼化石提供确凿的依据。     

地质灾害危险性评价研究——以四川省青川县为例

我国是一个地质灾害多发的国家。20世纪90年中期,每年造成1000多人死亡,经济损失高达200多亿元。地质灾害危险性评价是地质灾害调查的重要内容,也是风险管理及减灾管理的基础,它为管理部门制定出相应的减灾对策并为部署实施有效的减灾工程提供了科学依据。文章首先介绍了国内外地质灾害危险性评价方法的研究现状,通过对比,指出现阶段我国地质灾害危险性评价中的不足;结合实际工作经验,运用危险性评价指标对比法建立了简单有效的地质灾害危险性评价体系。以四川省青川县地质灾害调查为例,对该县地质灾害进行了危险性评价,为地质灾害易发区划分及防治分区提供了依据。     

四川丹巴县特大型滑坡形成原因及稳定性分析

西南地区许多滑坡,位于深切峡谷地区。这些地区又是人类活动密集区。滑坡具有坡形陡、变形快、危害性大的特点。丹巴特大型滑坡就是一个典型。它位于丹巴县城南街。2004年起,滑坡就处于加速运动阶段。滑坡一旦下滑,半个丹巴县城将遭到毁灭,数千人的生命、数亿元的国家和人民财产将毁于一旦。220×104m3滑体土石一旦堵塞河道,后果不堪设想。因受滑坡影响,目前县城处于危险区内的4620余人已撤出。这已影响到丹巴人民的生活、工作、交通等各个方面。国内外对这种加速运动滑坡的治理经验很少。通过现场实际勘查对其影响因素作出了分析,稳定性计算结果被设计部门采用,并成功地应用到治理中,保住了丹巴县城。     

重庆市石柱县西沱变形体稳定性研究

重庆市石柱县西沱变形体防治是国家地质灾害防治项目之一,通过对该变形体工程勘察评价,对变形体的地质特征与稳定性有了较为系统的认识。变形体主要由块石土及含块石粉质粘土组成。潜在滑移带由粉质粘土组成。文章阐述了变形体与滑移带的物理力学性质;对影响变形体发生滑动的因素进行了分析,重点阐述了地形地貌、地层岩性及物质结构3个内在因素;利用传递系数方法对变形体分多种工况条件进行了稳定性系数与推力的计算,分出基本荷载组合、特殊荷载组合及组合荷载3个方面,计算出其剩余下滑力。     

Rural diversification in the Baltic countryside: a local perspective

Today “rural diversification” is high on the agenda in rural development. This article analyses rural diversification under conditions of post-socialist economic transition using case areas in Latvia and Estonia. The study shows that transition from centrally planned economy to market economy has had an enormous impact in the rural areas. Agricultural production and employment has decreased dramatically and rural unemployment is high. The conditions for rural diversification the first years after independence depended a lot on the local presence of non-farm activities before the split up of collective farming, in both production facilities but also in the skills and relations people had. Since independence, markets for traditional rural services and products have decreased. The extent to which local businesses find markets outside the local area and people have been able to integrate into the new labour market of service and construction jobs often in urban areas are essential for the diversification of the rural economy. Most rural inhabitants only have skills in large-scale agriculture and limited contacts to outside the local area which makes exploiting new opportunities difficult. The local capacity for withholding, developing and inducing new activities is weak. The challenge for rural development policy is to extend the possibilities of the rural inhabitants to exploit new opportunities.     

辽宁省建平县地质灾害调查与防治

建平县日益突出的地质灾害问题已经成为制约当地社会经济和可持续发展的不利因素。该县地质灾害的有效治理已是摆在建平县政府和人民面前的首要任务。在对建平县地质灾害调查的基础上，提出了该县防治地质灾害的措施和恢复自然生态环境的建议。研究认为，防治地质灾害和恢复自然生态环境的根本途径在于，加大综合治理力度和大力提倡植树种草。     

河南县域经济实力评价及空间差异分析

采用因子分析和GIS技术,对河南县域经济体的经济实力进行综合评价和空间差异分析.结果表明:(1)河南县域经济空间差异由东西差异转变为由西北向东南的梯次差异,县域经济发展在空间上呈现出集中、差异扩大趋势.(2)山区县经济实力高于平原县,交通条件较好的郑州至三门峡陇海铁路沿线和郑州市所辖县域经济实力较高.(3)县域经济的发展在很大程度上还处于依赖区内初级生产要素的低级发展阶段,高等生产要素发育较少,对经济的推动作用还没有显现出来.     

Simulation of land use change using GIS-based stochastic model: the case study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shiqian</Emphasis> County,Southwestern China

This paper presents the GIS-based stochastic model and its application to simulate land use change in Shiqian County, Southwestern China. Transition probability of land use change with biophysical factors such as elevation, slope, distance to stream, distance to road and adjacent cells with the same land use are calculated and integrated into this model. Then the model simulated 2001 land use pattern based on 1988 land use pattern and the results are satisfactory. Finally, three different land use scenarios are simulated using this model. This study provides a new tool to predict land use pattern.