How feminist is the ‘feminist capital’?

San Jose, in California's Silicon Valley, is the self-proclaimed ‘feminist capital of the United States’ and, along with Santa Clara County, has a female majority on its council. This article describes the rise of San Jose's women to positions of power and their impact on public policy.     

Utility regulation in Africa: How relevant is the British model?

This article considers whether African utility regulators can draw useful lessons from the British experience over the past thirty years. We focus on three features that are considered key properties of the British regulatory model: price-cap incentive regulation, independent regulatory agencies and an emphasis on introducing competition where possible. For each property, we ask how relevant the model is for most African countries. Overall, we argue that although the British model probably has some lessons which can help improve utility performance in Africa, the problems that they help to solve are generally second-order. Ultimately, institutional weaknesses are the main root of regulatory failure in many African countries, and these weaknesses call for a model of regulation designed specifically to address them.     

How polluted is the Yangtze river? Water quality downstream from the Three Gorges Dam

The concentrations of major anions and cations, nitrogen and phosphorus, dissolved and particulate trace elements, and organic pollutants were determined for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Changjiang) from below the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) to the mouth at Shanghai in November 2006. The concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) was constant at a low level of 6-8 microgP/L, but the concentration of nitrate (NO(3)(-)) approximately doubled downstream and was closely correlated with K(+). This translated to a daily load of well over 1000 t of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) at Datong. The average concentrations of dissolved Pb (0.078+/-0.023 microg/L), Cd (0.024+/-0.009 microg/L), Cr (0.57+/-0.09 microg/L), Cu (1.9+/-0.7 microg/L), and Ni (0.50+/-0.49 microg/L) were comparable with those in other major world rivers, while As (3.3+/-1.3 microg/L) and Zn (1.5+/-0.6 microg/L) were higher by factors of 5.5 and 2.5, respectively. The trace element contents of suspended particles of As (31+/-28 microg/g), Pb (83+/-34 microg/g), and Ni (52+/-16 microg/g) were close to maximum concentrations recommended for rivers by the European Community (EC). The average concentrations of Cd (2.6+/-1.6 microg/g), Cr (185+/-102 microg/g), Cu (115+/-106 microg/g), and Zn (500+/-300 microg/g) exceeded the EC standards by a factor of two, and Hg (4.4+/-4.7 microg/g) by a factor of 4 to 5. Locally occurring peak concentrations exceed these values up to fourfold, among them the notorious elements As, Hg, and Tl. All dissolved and particulate trace element concentrations were higher than estimates made twenty years ago [Zhang, J., Geochemistry of trace metals from Chinese river/estuary systems: an overview. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 1995; 41: 631-658.]. The enormous loads of anthropogenic pollutants disposed to the river were diluted by the large water discharge of the Yangtze even during the lowest flow resulting in the relatively low concentration levels of trace elements and organic pollutants observed. We estimated loads of e.g. As, Pb and Ni to the East China Sea to be about 4600 kg As d(-1), 3000 kg Pb d(-1), and 2000 kg Ni d(-1). About 6000 t d(-1) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was delivered into the sea at the time of our cruise. We tested for 236 organic pollutants, and only the most infamous were found to be barely above detection limits. We estimated that the load of chlorinated compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, and PAHs were between 500 and 3500 kg d(-1). We also detected eight herbicides entering the estuary with loads of 5-350 kg d(-1). The pollutant load, even when at low concentrations, are considerable and pose an increasing threat to the health of the East China Sea ecosystem.     

Who is the Expert? Integrated Urban Modeling and the Reconfiguration of Expertise

Much has been spoken and written about the rationalization and optimization of services and amenities in urban territories. In this context, there is increasing use of numerical modeling techniques addressing the design, selection and/or calibration of policy instruments. The question of the relations between appraisal tools and policymaking has been widely studied. However, few studies have specifically focused on the role of modeling in policymaking processes. Drawing on two case studies, this paper suggests a change in the nature of multi-expertise: neither conflicting nor cross-sectoral, we observed in both cases an interwoven configuration with a network of experts making use of integrated models. We call this configuration distributed expertise, arguing that it is a novel configuration and that its emergence is closely linked to the development of integrated modeling techniques. Other authors have discussed the idea that the growing need for new appraisal tools is linked with the proliferation of wicked policy problems. From our case studies we would conclude that the emergence of integrated modeling is not a response to complex problems but to complex systems of actors who need to reach a consensus on actions.     

How price responsive is industrial demand for natural gas in the United States?

Our panel data analysis of the price responsiveness of industrial demand for natural gas in the United States utilizes five parametric specifications and 10,944 monthly observations for the lower 48 states in 2001–2019 to document statistically significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) static own-price elasticity estimates of −0.027 to −0.062, short-run −0.029 to −0.125, and long-run −0.060 to −0.179. These estimates with relatively small absolute values support the continuation of energy efficiency standards and demand-side-management programs for deep decarbonization. Further, diverse price responsiveness among heterogeneous industrial customers suggests using demand-response programs to efficiently allocate the limited supply available during a natural gas shortage.     

How Do People with Disabilities Consider Fire Safety and Evacuation Possibilities in Historical Buildings?—A Swedish Case Study

An exploratory focus group study of people with different types of disabilities, e.g. mobility, visual and auditory, was carried out to explore how evacuation safety in historical buildings can be improved for people with various disabilities. Accounts of real life experiences on how well evacuation routes in historical buildings are adapted to people with different types of disabilities, as well as suggestions for safety enhancing measures, were collected. Some examples of reported problems were level differences on the way to and in evacuation routes for people with mobility impairments. Other examples were problems with orientation for people with visual disabilities and problems with detecting the evacuation alarm signal for people with auditory disabilities. In general the participants expressed different problems and needs depending on their type of disability. A common view amongst all the participants were that organizational parameters concerning evacuation of people with disabilities have to be improved. One conclusion from the study was that there are shortcomings in the physical environment as well as in the organization of evacuation in historical buildings today. This means that emergency evacuation safety must be properly focused on when improving accessibility in historical buildings. Measures must be taken to address the different needs of people with various types of disabilities as well as to make improvements for all user groups.     

What is the worth of values in guiding residential preferences and choices?

The demographic, socio-economic and socio-cultural shifts that have taken place in Western economies in recent decades have generated a broader variety in housing behavior. For this reason, some researchers argue that socio-demographic characteristics alone no longer suffice to predict the housing demand. They should be supplemented with ??lifestyle?? variables. However, the worth of lifestyle for the prediction of the housing demand is a highly debated topic. The purpose of the current study, therefore, is to explore the worth of lifestyle (operationalized as values) in the prediction of residential preferences and choices. Data were collected through telephone interviews in January and February 2010. Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of 29 values as a guiding principle in housing. Furthermore, respondents who had indicated that they were willing to move (n?=?930) were asked about their preferences for a number of dwelling characteristics, such as tenure and dwelling type. Respondents who had indicated that they were not willing to move (n?=?667) provided their residential choices. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses were used to explore the relationship between values and residential preferences and choices, after correction for socio-demographic characteristics. The results showed that values might have some additional worth for predicting residential preferences and choices, but the relationship seems to be rather limited.     

Human capital and state-level economic growth: what is the contribution of schooling?

In this paper, we set out to quantify the magnitude of the positive empirical relationship between schooling and regional growth. We apply the growth empirics method of Mankiw et al. (Q J Econ 107:407–438, 1992) to a panel of US states. We improve upon the existing regional growth literature by (i) removing transfer payments from personal income, (ii) deflating non-transfer income by individual state price indices, and (iii) using a system GMM estimator. We estimate an education share of income of 20–25%, which corresponds to estimates from the growth accounting literature.     

Landscape and the philosophy of aesthetics: is landscape quality inherent in the landscape or in the eye of the beholder?

The paper proposes that landscape quality assessment may be approached on the basis of two contrasting paradigms, one which regards quality as inherent in the physical landscape, and the other which regards quality as a product of the mind – eye of the beholder. These are termed, respectively, the objectivist and subjectivist paradigms. These paradigms underlie the surveys of the physical landscape and studies of observer preferences.Examination of these paradigms through the approaches taken by philosophers from Plato to modern times demonstrates the ubiquity of the paradigms in underlying human perception of landscape. Until recent centuries, the objectivist paradigm provided philosophers with the basis for understanding beauty, including landscape beauty. However, the philosophers Locke, Hume, Burke and particularly Immanuel Kant identified beauty as lying in the eyes of the beholder rather than in the object. The parallels between Kant's aesthetic philosophy and contemporary theories of landscape quality based on an evolutionary perspective are examined. Most philosophers over recent centuries have adopted the subjectivist view of aesthetics.The paper concludes by proposing that only the subjectivist model should be used in research of landscape quality.     

Housing Policies and the Little Tigers: How Do They Compare with Other Industrialised Countries?

This paper locates the housing policies of the little tiger countries-Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan-in the policy regimes approach found in the literature dealing with other industrialised countries. It begins by establishing three regime types-liberal, communist and corporatist-describing different balances of market and state in the development, construction and consumption phases of housing provision. Building on a discussion of the general approach in the little tiger countries to economic and social policy, and particularly of the nature and extent of state intervention in their housing policies, it proposes that together they represent a fourth regime type, one that can be characterised as corporatist in production and liberal in consumption.     

How are public utilities responding to electricity market restructuring and the energy transition? Lessons from Israel

Public utilities in the electricity sector globally face increasing competition in the power generation segment, specifically considering government liberalization reforms that facilitate the clean energy transition process. Although the utilities may significantly impact this process, the literature has thus far neglected the perceptible strategies they employ to cope with the emerging competition, particularly with regard to renewable energy resources. This study addresses the lacuna by focusing on the case of Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), demonstrating how the coping strategies employed by this public utility evolved over time and thus shaped the local electricity sector.     

City dweller aspirations for cities of the future: How do environmental and personal wellbeing feature?

This paper explores city dweller aspirations for cities of the future in the context of global commitments to radically reduce carbon emissions by 2050; cities contribute the vast majority of these emissions and a growing bulk of the world's population lives in cities. The particular challenge of creating a carbon reduced future in democratic countries is that the measures proposed must be acceptable to the electorate. Such acceptability is fostered if carbon reduced ways of living are also felt to be wellbeing maximising. Thus the objective of the paper is to explore what kinds of cities people aspire to live in, to ascertain whether these aspirations align with or undermine carbon reduced ways of living, as well as personal wellbeing. Using a novel free associative technique, city aspirations are found to cluster around seven themes, encompassing physical and social aspects. Physically, people aspire to a city with a range of services and facilities, green and blue spaces, efficient transport, beauty and good design. Socially, people aspire to a sense of community and a safe environment. An exploration of these themes reveals that only a minority of the participants' aspirations for cities relate to lowering carbon or environmental wellbeing. Far more consensual is emphasis on, and a particular vision of, aspirations that will bring personal wellbeing. Furthermore, city dweller aspirations align with evidence concerning factors that maximise personal wellbeing but, far less, with those that produce low carbon ways of living. In order to shape a lower carbon future that city dwellers accept the potential convergence between environmental and personal wellbeing will need to be capitalised on: primarily aversion to pollution and enjoyment of communal green space.     

What is the "neighbourhood" in neighbourhood satisfaction? Comparing the effects of structural characteristics measured at the micro-neighbourhood and tract levels

Using the neighbourhood sub-sample from the American Housing Survey for 1985, 1989 and 1993, this study tests whether the social context of the local micro-neighbourhood or of the broader census tract more strongly affects neighbourhood satisfaction. It is found that the local context of the micro-neighbourhood generally has a stronger effect on residents' reported satisfaction. In contrast to studies aggregating to larger units, it is found that greater residential stability in the micro-neighbourhood increases reported neighbourhood satisfaction. A low socioeconomic status of the local micro-neighbourhood decreases neighbourhood satisfaction more than does the socioeconomic status of the surrounding tract and this effect is amplified in low-income tracts. Whereas prior evidence is mixed when aggregating perceptions of crime to larger units, a robust negative effect on satisfaction is found when aggregated to the micro-neighbourhood.