An econometric analysis of private sector participation in China’s urban water supply

This paper explores the impact of private sector participation on industrial performance of urban water supply by using panel data for 35 major cities in China over the period 1998 to 2008. We find that the introduction of private sector participation is significantly correlated with improvement in integrated production capacity and water coverage rate, but not correlated with the investment in fixed assets. Private sector participation has a positive impact on the integrated production capacity in the developed eastern cities and contributes to narrowing the gap of water coverage rate between the less developed central and western cities and the more developed eastern cities. We also find that the participation of foreign companies, but not domestic private companies, significantly improves water industry performance. The research sheds some light on the importance of private participation in urban water markets. However, the performance of domestic private firms in urban water supply still needs be improved.     

The private sector and public space in Dutch city centres

Private sector involvement in the design and financing of urban redevelopment projects has been relatively rare in the Netherlands. The public sector has traditionally played a central role in spatial planning and development. Since the 1980s, however, local authorities have been sharing the responsibility for urban development with the private sector. This article explores the viability of claims drawn from the literature about the effects of private sector involvement in redeveloped public space. Confronting those claims with our empirical material, we expected to find that the participation of the private sector would increase the redevelopment budget but would also lead to restrictions on public access. These two expectations are evaluated in light of the experience in four redeveloped squares in four Dutch cities: Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Enschede and ’s-Hertogenbosch. We found that actors on the public and private sides have different interpretations of what constitutes a direct financial contribution. Those from the private sector believe they have made significant contributions, while those from the public sector see themselves as the sole funders. But they agree on the issue of free access: both public and private actors deny any negative effects of private sector involvement in this respect.     

Public–public partnerships in the Finnish water services sector

Public–public partnerships (PUPs) are emerging in the water and sewerage sector as an alternative to improve the performance of water and sewerage undertakings. While most of the research on PUPs has concentrated on development and international partnerships, examples can also be found in developed countries. This article presents two relatively recent cases of PUPs in Finland, one of which is already in operation and the other in transition from planning to implementation. The good experiences from the two cases add to the evidence that PUPs indeed offer a viable solution for cooperation in the water services sector.     

与私营部门共同为贫民窟改造融资的案例对比

把商业贷款和偿还机制引入“贫民窟改造”的尝试有着漫长的历史,但是取得成功的并不多。本文中,联合国人居署贫民窟改造基金（SUF）资深顾问Michael Mutter审视了该机构与加纳各级商业银行的合作,以便找出一些答案。     

The private rental sector: Problems,prospects and policy

Abstract

Despite the neglect in research and policy for rental housing, there is a developing awareness of the problems of the private rental sector and the need for policy intervention. The paper suggests that the development of policies must proceed with caution; there are many areas where our knowledge of the problems and processes of the private rental market are insufficient for policy development.     

Influence of anthropogenic sources on total gaseous mercury variability in Grenoble suburban air (France)

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) has been monitored at Champ sur Drac, a suburban site of Grenoble in southern east France. TGM measurements have been made over 4 periods of approximately 10 days throughout 1999-2000 using cold vapour atomic fluorescence absorption technique. The first monitoring campaign was initiated on November 4, 1999, followed by three other campaigns respectively on January 12, 2000, April 10, 2000 and July 17, 2000. Concurrent monitoring of O3, NO, NO2, SO2 and of meteorological parameters have also been performed. The mean TGM concentration was 3.4 ng m(-3) with maximum hourly mean concentration of 37.1 ng m(-3). Although mean TGM concentration was not greatly different from those previously measured in the troposphere, the greater TGM variability as well as the occurrence of high TGM concentration linked to particular wind conditions suggested the strong influence of anthropogenic sources. The chlor-alkali plant located nearby, the others chemical industries using fuel combustion and the municipal waste incinerator were thought to contribute to mercury pollution events.     

浅谈历史街区保护中的公众参与

介绍了国外历史保护中关于公众参与的立法与实践,并以上海提篮桥历史街区为例,采用调查问卷和访问的形式,分析了我国历史街区保护中公众参与存在的问题,提出了完善历史保护中公众参与的对策。     

The evolution of prefabricated residential building systems in Hong Kong: A review of the public and the private sector

Prefabricated building components have been adopted in Hong Kong for over two decades for high-rise buildings. In the public sector, prefabrication together with standard modular design was introduced in the Housing Authority's public housing projects in the mid-1980s. Over the years, precasting techniques have significantly evolved in public housing projects. In contrast, prefabrication has only recently been adopted in the private sector. The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of precasting technology in high-rise residential developments in Hong Kong, and then explore the technological influences in both sectors. A database of 179 prefabricated residential buildings was developed and detailed case studies of five residential developments were conducted. The findings revealed that a greater extent of prefabrication use over the years, in terms of precasting percentage by volume and types of precast elements utilised. Major prefabrication innovations, in both sectors, influenced the technological advancement in prefabrication in Hong Kong.     

日本历史环境保护的理论与实践——法律、政策与公众参与

历史环境是指与一定范围的土地密切相关的历史文化遗产构成一体的实体环境状态,它与居民的精神生活息息相关,1966年日本制定了《古都保存法》来保护古都的“历史风上”,1975年修订了《文化财保护法》,创立了“传统建造物群保存地区”制度,对一般城镇内的历史街区以及以村落聚落景观为代表的历史环境进行切实保护与合理再利用。70年代又对全国综合开发规划中的国土政策进行了重大调整,在这人转变过程中,历史保护运动中的公众参与和地方自治体条例起了积极的推动作用。     

On place-making,participation and public art: the Gorbals,Glasgow

Public art has become part of the rhetoric of regeneration and within this participation has come to play an increasingly significant role. Public art, through its aesthetic and process, is perceived as integral to place-making within regeneration practice, affording cohesion to otherwise disaffected and disillusioned communities and distinctiveness to reformed places. Based on the example of a regenerated inner-city neighbourhood in Glasgow, the Gorbals, this paper questions the role of public participation in the installation of public art. How the regeneration of the neighbourhood unfolded was heavily influenced by new urbanist ideals in which place-making techniques were instrumental in repositioning the perception of the neighbourhood for its residents as well as externally. We argue that within a complex process of regeneration there are limits to how public participation can be built into the process of installing public art, reflecting in turn the different routes through which places become meaningful.     

上海地下工程建设中的经验和教训

近年来,随着上海经济的发展以及2010年上海世界博览会的迫切需求,上海市掀起了基础设施建设(特别是地下工程建设)的新高潮。本文着重介绍了上海近几年来地下工程建设的现状和所取得的成就,这其中包括轨道交通工程、越江隧道工程、地下道路工程、地下市政工程以及地下空间规划利用等多方面的进展情况。同时结合笔者多年来的地下工程建设经验,对上海地下工程建设过程中存在的规划、建设以及管理等方面的问题和所得到的教训进行了总结。在此基础上笔者对上海地下工程今后的发展趋势进行了展望,认为今后地下工程将向深层次化、信息化、以及节能化等方向发展,并对今后地下工程的建设提出一些建议,希望加强今后地下空间的立法管理以及地下工程建设过程中的风险管理。     

Housing, the state and the market in Thailand: Enabling and enriching the private sector

Housing has never been high on the political agenda in Thailand. Except in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the National Housing Authority built low-cost rental apartments, successive governments have not much interfered in the land and housing market, but allowed supply and demand to meet. When it played an active role, the government would facilitate private-sector housing development and keep interest rates low to support homebuyers. However, over the years, the number of slum dwellers in Bangkok has not decreased, while government policy may have benefited private developers more than it benefited low-income homebuyers.     

Impact of accessibility on housing expenditure and affordability in Hong Kong's private rental sector

The expenditure on rental housing as aproportion of income is usually measured by therent-to-income ratio, which is the mostcommonly used affordability indicator, whilethe residual income approach is often taken asan alternative. This paper attempts toidentify the determinants of the rent-to-incomeratio, and to examine the impact ofaccessibility on affordability in the privaterental sector. Empirical results indicate notonly determinants of the rent-to-income ratiowould vary, but even the same variable wouldhave different impacts on the rent-to-incomeratio and hence on affordability for locationswith different accessibility. Although therent-to-income ratio in Hong Kong isconsiderably higher than in most other cities,results from the residual income approachindicate that the affordability problem is notsignificant, and that it has a strong link withaccessibility.     

城市规划公众参与模式探讨

介绍了当前规划中公众参与存在的问题，并对其存在的问题提出了解决途径，最后从法制建设、提高公众参与意识、城建会建设几方面对保障机制进行了阐述，以期在现今社会环境中，为公众参与寻找出问题的解决途径。     

谈规划许可阶段公众参与的问题与对策

从分析城市规划许可阶段公众参与的必要性入手,探讨了我国城市规划许可阶段加强公众参与的主客观原因,并从政府与公众两方面分析当前我国规划许可公众参与的现实不足,在借鉴国外先进经验的基础上,提出一系列具有操作性的改进方案。     

The quality of drinking water from private water supplies in Aberdeenshire,UK

The quality of private water supplies within Aberdeenshire sampled between 1992 and 1998 was analysed with respect to the presence of total coliforms (TC), faecal coliforms (FC), and nitrate. Of the approximately 1750 samples analysed, which included multiple samples from larger supply categories, the individual failure rate was 41%, 30% and 15% for TC, FC and nitrate, respectively. A combined failure rate for these samples was 48%. Failure rates on microbiological grounds displayed a seasonal trend being greater during the latter half of the year. Although this observation is likely to be due to a combination of local and regional scale factors, part of the variability in failure rate was explained by a significant positive relationship with rainfall amount. Concentrations of nitrate tended to display an opposite trend with a greater number of failures occurring during the spring period and no relationship with rainfall was immediately apparent. A relatively small number of samples (< 50) failed simultaneously for both coliforms and nitrate suggesting that the mechanism responsible for the contamination differed. A similar failure rate for samples collected directly from the source (i.e. well) compared with those taken from the potable tap (usually kitchen cold water tap) suggests that it is the groundwater source itself that contributes much of the microbiological and nitrate contamination rather than a storage or supply line contamination mechanism. A more frequent and random sampling of category one F supplies suggested a greater overall failure rate, which has its own implications for deciding an appropriate sampling frequency.     

Landscape planning and community participation: Local lessons from Mullaghmore, the Burren NationalPark, Ireland

Issues relating to community participation in landscape management, as well as the manipulation of the community for political ends, are addressed. It is argued that the current fashionable participatory model of development and policy formulation requires closer scrutiny and may be unrealistic in certain contexts. A case-study approach is adopted, whereby the role of the community in attempts to construct a visitor interpretative centre at the foot of Mullaghmore Mountain, within the Burren National Park, Ireland, is analysed. The complexity of the term community is exposed, and important questions about who speaks for the community are raised. It is concluded that local development, including ecosystem and landscape management, is best approached neither from a 'top-down' nor a 'bottom-up' developmental model. It is suggested that insights from adaptive co-management models, which promote a multi-level management approach, whereby local knowledge and experience are incorporated within enabling local and extra-local institutional structures, may provide a viable alternative. Finally, it is argued that human-environmental interaction in a specific place, including the management of common pool resources, needs to be situated within the historical, ecological and cultural narrative of its human ecology.     

论城乡规划编制过程中的公众参与

比较了国外公众参与与我国的公众参与,分析了我国公众参与的原则、内容和形式,介绍了几种可供选择的操作模式,以拓宽我国公众参与的广度和深度,使我国城乡规划编制工作达到一个新高度。