理性习惯偏好与居民消费行为

 经济体制改革以来，随着经济的持续快速增长中国城镇居民已经习惯于生活水平不断提高。在这样的环境中，如果一个家庭当年消费的数量和上一年相同，其幸福感就会打折扣；另一方面，消费还具有外部性，如果与他人相比自己的消费水平降低了，消费者的效用也会受到损失。因此，理性消费者的决策目标是保持消费长期稳定增长而不仅仅是消费在各个时期的均匀分配。利用1978-2008年中国26个省（直辖市）的城镇住户调查数据得到的实证分析结果显示：消费者的习惯偏好与制度环境有关。受传统计划体制影响，1990前中国城镇居民的习惯偏好具有明显的“短视”特征。1990-2008年的估计结果则支持了理性习惯形成假设。即内部习惯形成导致了边际消费倾向明显下降，并且消费攀比是理性的。     

Case study for evaluating campus sustainability: nitrogen balance for the University of Minnesota

American ecologists recently began to address the ecology of cities. Concurrently, higher education institutions have developed sustainability education programs and instituted sustainability policies and projects. This paper draws together these two disparate areas by examining the nitrogen (N) budget of the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota. We addressed the question: what were the annual inputs, outputs and internal cycles of N on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus? We found that 508 Mg N yr-1 were brought into the campus and 494 Mg N yr-1 were emitted from the University of Minnesota campus. The largest N inputs were abiotic fixation (conversion of N₂ to NO_x by combustion) and food for humans and animals. The largest N output was NO_x, followed by wastewater. Our results expand the understanding of the ecology of institutions within an urban area and provide an opportunity for improving urban ecology education and environmental policy at educational institutions.     

An Ethnographic Approach to Understanding Service Use Among Ethnically Diverse Low Income Families

Poverty is linked to disparity in families access to basic human services and an incapacity to fulfill basic needs. The study described in this paper uses a qualitative research design to address the ecology of service use in the family within the broader social and physical environment. While the focus of this paper relates to the methodology of the study, some substantive results are used for illustrative purposes. Through an in-depth study of families in the contexts of their neighborhoods, our task is to search for patterns and their meanings. This process may uncover the motives and beliefs underlying service use and access among the families in our study.     

西部资源枯竭型城市规划困境与对策分析

本文主要分析西部资源枯竭型城市在摆脱困境预期下制定城市规划时所面临的制度性困境，之后以中央与地方、计划经济与市场经济、自然资源与知识资源三方面关系作为展开论述的分析路径，并在最后通过分析提出了针对这种困境的对策性措施。     

基于“过程-互动-行动”的城市贫困问题分析

随着中国市场化、城市化进程的加快,城市贫困问题越发严重。基于社会学家胡格伟尔特(A.Hoogvelt)的"过程—互动—行动"分析框架,分析了现阶段我国城市贫困问题的新特点及成因,指出贫困问题的加重,一是源于对社会群体福利最大化这一社会目标的偏离,民众,特别是弱势民众没有充分享受到中国宏观经济增长的长处,"宏观上欣欣向荣、微观上民不聊生";二是民主制度的缺失致使弱势群体话语权缺失,没有一个可循的制度安排供城市贫民来表达权益;三是政策实施过程中的政府失灵。对此,文章提出破解城市贫困的制度选择。     

Analysis of breeding bird communities along an urban-rural gradient in Berlin,Germany, by Hasse Diagram Technique

Breeding bird communities in Berlin were investigated at five study sites, which represent an structural urban-rural gradient, from densely built-up areas with sealed ground to green areas such as large parks. In this paper, we tested the Hasse Diagram Technique (HDT), an approach belonging to partial order theory, for its appropriateness to extract information about changes in species composition from our data set. As expected, the overall number of bird species was positively correlated with the urban-rural gradient, increasing from 12 found in the city center to 28 in an urban park. By HDT analysis, four different sub-groups of birds could be identified, contributing differentially to the increase in species number: (1) ubiquists, i.e., species found at each study site, (2) a sub-group, the species’ number of which was positively correlated with the urban-rural gradient, increasing with increasingly green areas, (3) a sub-group, the species’ number of which was negatively correlated with the urban-rural gradient, decreasing with a declining density of buildings, and (4) species, the distribution of which did not show any correlation with the urban-rural gradient. The results show that HDT is a suitable tool for formalized analysis of the pattern of species’ communities along an environmental gradient.     

Fengshui theory in urban landscape planning

The spatial configuration of urban landscapes results from cumulative interactions between human activities and the physical environment. Traditional philosophies and cultural legacies have had important influences on urban development and planning in East Asia. In Seoul, traditional land use practices based on ‘Fengshui’ have significantly contributed to human-mediated patterns of landscape changes, in addition to the role of the socio-economic background (development) and other human activities. The concept of Fengshui was originally founded upon people’s empirical cognition of natural landscape patterns. Recently, however, advanced economic development, westernization and urbanization have been rapidly altering the old traditions of the holistic landscape systems through changing urban planning practices. Since the type, scale, frequency, distribution and spreading pattern of environmental and human disturbances have been changed, a new paradigm for urban landscape planning is necessary to maintain the ecological and cultural integrity of landscapes in Korea. In this paper, we discuss recent concepts and methods of landscape ecology and urban planning from the viewpoint of Fengshui, the traditional land use patterns in Seoul, whose application has so far been restricted only to traditional land evaluation. We conclude that, to maintain the sustainability of the urban landscape, it is necessary to develop a new urban planning framework for the region that is based on the integration between landscape ecology principles with the traditional concepts of Fengshui.     

城市地域结构理论与实践——以广州为例

科学、和谐、宜居城市的形成离不开科学的城市规划理论。在本文中作者首先介绍了几种有代表性的城市地域结构理论,包括同心圆理论、扇形理论、多核心学说等。然后对它们的一一进行了评述,指出了它们的科学性与局限性。进而结合广州城市规划的实践以及广州城市发展过程中所形成的具有一定规模的功能区分析,探讨了这几种主要理论在实践中的指导意义与不足之处,以期能对其他城市的发展提供借鉴,建设更加美满的人类城市生活空间。     

Sustainable urban development? Low-cost housing challenges in South Africa

Low-cost housing provision has been a major focus of government in post-apartheid urban South Africa. While successes can be noted, there is growing concern regarding the social and environmental sustainability of housing programs and the impacts upon both the surrounding environment and human health. Utilizing key informant interviews, survey research, Census data and documentary review, this essay identifies the major impediments to a sustainable low-cost housing provision in urban South Africa. The essay also points to hopeful signs in new policy directions, particularly attention to health issues and informal settlement upgrade programs. However, the major obstacles to a sustainable low-cost housing process, including macro-economic conditions, enduring historical legacies of race and class, the scale and rapidity of urban growth and institutional challenges show little indication of abating.     

Quantity and quality in evaluation research: A divergent view

Many researchers in evaluation and related fields are now attempting to synthesize quantitative and qualitative approaches. Certainly such efforts appear to carry great promise. However, there is reason to believe that the subtleties and genuine incompatibilities of these approaches are being overlooked. I illustrate some of these differences and subtleties and their implications for social inquiry.