谈美国1790年到1840年的经济发展

美国无疑是当今世界级的政治、经济、军事的世界霸主。但美国经济的发展可以追溯到19世纪甚至更早。在19世纪,美国的经济就得到了长足的发展。首先,在19世纪,美国的中心化、也叫集中化或城市化发展很快。另一个是分散化或扩散化,也就是以城市为基础公共机构也包括公司的机构向外扩散。换一句话说,在城市人口集中的过程中,城市的范围在不断扩大,成为美国经济发展的引擎。极大地促进了美国资本社会的发展。第二个现象是许多有钱的美国人向远离城市的西部发展。开发边疆也是美国资本主义经济发展的重要方面。从地理讲造就了全国范围内更大的城市群。第三个需要我们研究的是美国人19世纪的文化。也就是美国人的社会、经济增长和市场是如何结合在一起的。美国人的价值观念是什么?还有美国人的慈善行为提高了社会的福利。这些都构成了资本主义"孕育"时期的主要特征。在美国19世纪的社会进步过程中,社会进步的既得利益者与没有得到利益的人群之间往往会产生这样那样的矛盾,美国人总是靠着文化的力量和政府的力量,使社会矛盾不断得到解决,没有使社会矛盾阻碍社会的发展,相反,在解决矛盾的过程中,不但推动了经济的进步,也促进了社会的和谐。这是我们研究社会管理的人应该学习和借鉴的。     

现代大伦敦的空气污染成因与治理——基于生态城市视野的历史考察

19世纪以来英国的工业化和城市化进程,既创造了巨大的物质财富,也给人类社会带来沉重的负面效应,其中空气污染就是代价之一,成为生态城市建设的重大障碍。伦敦首先对以烟雾型的空气污染成因进行分析与治理,接着对汽车尾气中的二氧化硫和铅污染进行治理。新世纪以来,则着重开展对二氧化氮和可吸入悬浮颗粒的监测与治理。从空气立法到大伦敦市长的空气质量策略,从拥堵费到低排放区,从以自行车为代表的绿色出行到对工地街道扬尘的治理,表明了伦敦市政府对空气污染的治理越来越深入全面,治理空气污染的手段也在推陈出新。     

愤怒:市场异化VS.社会反抗

愤怒感是转型的孪生物近年来,中国社会的愤怒感逐渐上升,这既表现为日常生活中的各种摩擦,也表现为规模不等的社会冲突事件。社会的愤怒感高涨,是转型社会共有的特点。英国在19世纪中叶狄更斯的时代,美国在19世纪下半叶的"镀金时代",社会整体上都很愤怒。大凡一个国家,快速进入市场化、工业化、城市化,社会结构必然     

美国强制同化时期的唯英语教育研究

唯英语教育是美国历史上对印第安人施行的最具代表性的同化运动之一。从19世纪80年代到20世纪20年代间,唯英语教育在北美大陆上轰轰烈烈地上演了。表面上,它是为了帮助印第安人消灭其故有的野蛮文化而实现全人类的真正文明;实质上,它是白人统治阶级巩固其统治的强有力工具。同时,唯英语教育也映射出美国种族主义的丑恶嘴脸。     

改革开放以来中国城市化研究概述

众所周知,当今世界经进入高度发展的城市化时代,城市发展成为推动社会经济发展的重要力量。列宁曾经指出,在现代,各个国家“城市的发展要比乡村迅速得多,城市是经济、政治和人民精神生活的中心,是前进的主要动力”,“人口城市化是生产力发展的要求和社会进步的标志”。国外许多学者认为,近代社会的特点是世界人口正在迅速地城市化。20世纪50年代以来,发展中国家城市化进程加快。     

城市竞争时代的城市品牌塑造：城市竞争：品牌特色是生命

加入WTO后。全球化将更为深刻地影响中国城市。21世纪是城市世纪(确切地说是城市竞争世纪。也是城市管理者竞争的世纪)。知识经济时代是城市的时代。自从办奥运赢利并取得品牌效应以后。“奥运”争办台前幕后的惨烈是空前的。北京也经历过一次了。城市的发展是现代社会一切发展的中心与摇篮。但是。正像科学技术的发展是一把“双刃剑”一样。城市的发展也是把“双刃剑”。在她给人类带来多多福利的同时。也带来了种种棘手的甚至令人迷惘的问题。     

从19世纪90年代的纽约到20世纪30年代的上海公共租界——城市建设法规对摩天楼的高度控制

摩天楼的出现与人类历史发展的都市化进程有着深刻的内在联系,并且它在城市的选址与垂直生长都对城市空间发展与土地利用影响深远。随着19世纪美国都市化进程加快,大批摩天楼的快速建造引发了严重的都市环境问题。文章讨论了从19世纪90年代的纽约至20世纪30年代上海公共租界出台的高度控制法规对摩天楼设计的影响,包括控制法规的出台过程、具体细则以及对摩天楼设计的高度、体量及形态上的影响,在历史的比较中发现上海公共租界在城市建设法规制订过程中向西方的学习,以及在实践中的努力尝试。     

解读“财富帝国”演变史:美国的巨额财富与不幸

从18世纪90年代的美国独立战争,到19世纪30年代的房地产业、70年代的铁路行业、90年代的钢铁、铁路和石油产业,再到20世纪20年代的汽车和石油产业、80年代的石油、零售和房地产业、90年代末的技术行业。最后再到作者对21世纪财富如何影响美国前途和命运的思考。一部波澜壮阔的美国财富史将展现在你面前。     

上海养老服务事业的发展和展望

人口老龄化是社会文明进步的一个重要标志，同时也是当今人类社会所面临的一项重大机遇和挑战。作为世界人口发展的普遍趋势，2l世纪无疑是一个老龄化的时代，很多国家和地区都将在这个世纪进入老龄化的高峰时期。     

洛杉矶的地面公交

洛杉矶是美国最大的集合城市之一。低密度扩散的土地使用政策使居民的居住点分散在范围很大的土地上，居民的出行都要依赖私人交通。交通拥堵和空气污染的问题日益严重，发展公共交通必须摆到议事日程。自20世纪90年代初以来，洛杉矶陆续建造了4条轨道交通线，但是轨道交通的服务范围所能覆盖的还不到洛杉矶整个面积的10％。大部分地区的公共交通主要依靠公共汽车，而公共汽车的服务质量则在不断下降。受到交通拥堵的影响，从80年代开始，公共汽车的运行速度平均每年降低1％。     

Towards a theory of the American rural residential land market

Since the late 1960s there has been a notable acceleration in America in the demand for rural residential land within commuting range of urban and suburban employment and service opportunities. American rural residential households do not seem to purchase acreage tracts primarily for their ‘productive’, or resource value, however. Instead, they purchase rural land for its ‘consumptive’ or residential value, as its value is primarily derived from the bundle of residential attributes associated with it. Over time, rural land within commuting range of metropolitan areas becomes underproductive and idled — a situation which precedes urban sprawl. Rural residential development has thus become a focus of debate on the effects and inefficiencies associated with urban sprawl. Yet, not enough is known about the nature of the rural residential land market. It is argued that American rural residential households are different from their suburban and urban counterparts for at least three reasons. First, they are distinguishable for their pursuit of self-sufficiency, self-expression, and the cultural status that a rural residential lifestyle offers. Second, they seek low cost rural jurisdictions in order to afford more housing and land than they could afford in higher cost urban and suburban locations. Third, they value distance from the city center colinearly with externalities such as pollution, crime, overcrowding, and noise associated with central city areas. In the latter sense, American rural residential households value land more highly the farther away it is from the city center, but discount land value the farther away it is from the boundary of urban development. In light of these considerations, this paper (a) reviews the literature describing the motivations of American rural residential households, (b) poses a theory of the American rural residential land market, (c) applies the theory to a case study, and (d) offers implications of the theory to planning efforts aimed at preserving resource land and containing urban sprawl.     

The present renewal of mankind's habitat: an overview of present trends of urbanization around the world

The growth of towns and cities is a dominant phenomenon of our time. This trend displaces large numbers of people, modifies ways of life, necessitates a constant renewal of the habitat of mankind. The problems of urban life have been increasingly in the forefront of political debate and academic endeavours. The approach to the city has often been too theoretical, always very technical. It has been made to appear that the urban basic problem is one of design, of patterns involving buildings, roads, motor cars, parking space, other equipment and, more particularly, money. It seemed that the physical framework would determine the behaviour of society.Now a dire crisis is upon us not only in transport and housing but also in the structure of society. Perhaps it is necessary to remind ourselves tht cities are made by and for people. An assemblage of buildings and roadways without people is a ghost town. Urbanization results from people moving to and multiplying in cities. They do so because they expect to find in cities, which they establish and develop, more security and a better life in the future. It is a dramatic and massive trend, powered by mankind's hope. To deceive it can only lead to tragedy. To help resolve the crisis we must first recognize the trends that confront the cities; then proposals may be elaborated for action and for goals to improve the cities and give to their inhabitants the feeling of progressing on the road to a better life.     

Characterizing air pollution patterns on multiple time scales in urban areas: a landscape ecological approach

Quantifying the spatiotemporal patterns of air pollution in urban areas is essential for studying ecological processes, environmental quality, and human health in cities. To adequately characterize or monitor air pollution patterns, one important issue is scale because the concentrations of air pollutants are temporally dynamic and spatially heterogeneous. Our research addresses the scale issue in air quality monitoring and analysis by considering the following research questions: (1) How does the spatial pattern of ozone change with the temporal scale of analysis? (2) How does the spatial pattern of PM₁₀ change with the temporal scale of analysis? (3) What implications do these scale effects have for designing and evaluating air pollution monitoring networks? We systematically examined these questions based on data from official air pollution monitoring networks in the Phoenix metropolitan region, Arizona, USA. Our results showed that spatial patterns of both ozone and PM₁₀ may change substantially with the temporal scale of analysis. Ozone patterns at broader (but not finer) temporal scales were more consistent across years, and exhibited a more uniform, regionalized pattern. PM₁₀ patterns were less consistent across years than ozone, and exhibited a more localized effect. Spatial patterns of PM₁₀ also varied seasonally. Our study demonstrates that it is critically important to consider the temporal and spatial scales in designing or evaluating air monitoring networks in particular and in conducting air pollution research in general.     

Microblogging-Based Civic Participation on Environment in China: A Case Study of the PM 2.5 Campaign

Poor air quality has been affecting the Chinese people for many years due to the country’s speedy industrialization and urbanization. However, very few initiatives had been taken by civil society until 2011. The air pollution campaign between October 2011 and March 2012 initiated on a Chinese microblogging website, mobilized millions of citizens and effected policy change. It is often seen as a milestone in the chronology of public participation in China. Using process tracing, participant observations, framing analysis and in-depth interviews, the article analyses this campaign by revealing its major actors and frames mobilizing issue entrepreneurs and environmental publics. Our analysis generates two findings: first, microblogging platforms can greatly expand the networks of Chinese environmental activists by involving public figures and governmental agencies; second, the frame which links air pollution to health and appreciates governmental efforts is critical to the success of civic participation in China’s environmental governance.     

Urban forest structure,ecosystem services and change in Syracuse,NY

The tree population within the City of Syracuse was assessed using a random sampling of plots in 1999, 2001 and 2009 to determine how the population and the ecosystem services these trees provide have changed over time. Ecosystem services and values for carbon sequestration, air pollution removal and changes in building energy use were derived using the i-Tree Eco model. In addition, photo interpretation of aerial images was used to determine changes in tree cover between the mid-1990s and 2009. Between the mid-1990s and 2003, tree cover in Syracuse exhibited a decline from 27.5 to 25.9 %, but subsequently increased to 26.9 % by 2009. The total tree population exhibited a similar pattern, dropping from 881,000 trees in 1999 to 862,000 in 2001, and then increasing to 1,087,000 trees in 2009. Most of this increase in the urban tree population is due to invasive or pioneer trees species, particularly Rhamnus cathartica, which has more than tripled in population between 2001 and 2009. Insects such as gypsy moth and emerald ash borer pose a substantial risk to altering future urban forest composition. The annual ecosystem services provided by the urban forest in relation to carbon sequestration, air pollution removal and reduction in building energy use are estimated at about $2.4 million per year. An improved understanding of urban forests and how they are changing can facilitate better management plans to sustain ecosystem services and desired forest structure for future generations.     

Coming out and coming back: Rural gay migration and the city

This research focuses on the complex meaning and role of the city in American and French rural gay men’s imaginary and life experience. It explores how gay men who grew up in the country build their sense of self through back-and-forth movement from rural to urban spaces. Therefore, it questions traditional gay migration studies, which have often equated gay migration and rural–urban migration, positing a unidirectional pattern. After contextualizing rural male homosexuality, this paper presents four life itineraries which highlight the central role the city has for rural gay men when exploring their same-sex desires and attractions. Based on the analysis of their life narratives, we show that for most of them, their coming out, their first same-sex experience, and coming to terms with their sexuality happens “far from home” in a city or a college town. However, this research suggests that the city has a more ambivalent role for rural gay men. While the city exists as a space of social practices where alternative sexualities can be experienced and explored, at the same time for many rural gay men the city remains substantially unattractive. In their view, the perceived “effeminizing power” of the city questions and challenges their attraction for this space. Therefore, the experience of the city becomes both liberating and disciplinary – liberating because it allows the exploration of their same-sex desires and attractions, disciplinary because it (re)presents a gay identity in which they find no resonance. Thus this research indicates that rural gay migration to the urban spaces, which is key to identity formation, includes not only departure to the city but also a necessary return to the country to maintain rural gay men’s understanding of themselves.     

Life pattern of urban trees: A growth-modelling approach

Urban afforestation improves life quality in urban centers providing social and environmental benefits. Understanding growth of urban trees exposed to air pollution will support planning, managing and expanding urban areas. This approach intends to determine growth patterns of urban trees to support future urban planning. Non-destructive samples were collected from trees of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze in Araucaria city, Parana State, Brazil. Growth rings were related to pollutant concentrations and meteorological series. Growth reduction was observed except in the border areas of the city. Trees established during or after the period of industrialization incentives were most affected by air pollution, indicating that immature plants are more vulnerable. Sulphur dioxide and nitric oxide significantly affected growth of smaller trees. Those greater than 60 cm dbh did not demonstrate significant correlation with any identified pollutant. As the trees established before accentuated urbanization were less affected by air pollution, it is reinforced the importance of preserving remaining urban trees. We suggest that planning urban afforestation should precede industries placing. When urban planning is impossible, new planted trees should not be expected to grow as in free pollution areas, but they will still present satisfactory diameter increment, contributing to improve local urban environment.     

Characteristics of atmospheric PM2.5 in stands and non-forest cover sites across urban-rural areas in Beijing,China

Urban Ecosystems - Monitoring air pollution at a city scale is essential for controlling urban air pollution in cities, especially megacities, in China. In this paper, data for 1 city center site...     

Air pollution and stock returns in the US

Health related research documents that air pollution has negative mood effects. Experimental works in psychology relate bad mood to increased risk aversion. Studies in financial economics report an observed link between mood effects and stock market returns. This study therefore investigates whether the mood effects caused by air pollution can have economic implications. It examines the relationship between air pollution and stock returns using data from the Air Quality Index, and stock returns from four stock exchanges in the US. We find that air pollution is negatively related to stock returns, even when controlling for other variables. The relationship becomes weaker as the distance of the stock exchange from the polluted area increases. The results also indicate that air pollution may even affect local traders investing in securities exchanges located far from the polluted area. The findings imply that a profitable trading strategy can be constructed.