Traffic congestion is a contemporary urban issue plaguing transportation planners, land developers, policy-makers, and citizens. While many studies have investigated the impact of built environments on traffic behavior in large metropolises on a regional scale, little attention has been paid to smaller urban areas, in China’s context, especially on a neighborhood level. This study investigates the spatial–temporal pattern of traffic congestion in a small-scale city, Xining, in China. By applying multivariate least-square regression analysis to social-sensing hyperlocal travel data, the results indicate that Xining is experiencing morning and evening traffic peaks on the weekdays and pre-weekends and only the evening peak during the weekends or holidays. The pre-weekend congestion is significantly worse than on a normal weekday, implying that stronger measures to consolidate traffic management should be implemented during this time. Educational land use and residential areas were found to contribute significantly to traffic congestion in Xining, and their combined effects tend to exacerbate the situation. The study furthers the understanding of traffic congestion in small urban areas, providing urban planners and policy-makers with new insights to formulate evidence-based strategies for mitigating traffic congestion.

Introduction: Health deterioration among frail older adults is a public health concern. Among the multi-dimensional factors, the neighborhood built environment is crucial for one's health. Although the relationship between the built environment and health in the general population has been thoroughly investigated, it has been ignored in the case of frail older adults, who may have difficulties in their daily basic living skills. A path analysis is constructed to model the proposed theoretical framework involving the neighborhood built environment and health among frail older adults. This study thus aims to investigate the environmental influences on health, and to validate the theoretical framework proposed for health and social services. Methods: This study used secondary data collected in Hong Kong. A sample of 969 older community dwellers aged 60 or above were frail with at least one activity of daily living. Demographic information, neighborhood built environment data, service utilization, and health conditions were collected from these participants and their caregivers. A path analysis was performed to examine the proposed theoretical framework. Results: The health condition was of general concern, including frailty and incapacities in daily activities in frail older adults. Besides psychosocial factors, service use, and caregivers' care quality, the built environment had a significant impact on the health of older adults as well. Specifically, more facilities offering services and groceries, a shorter distance to the nearest metro station, and more greenery exposure are associated with a better-expected health condition among frail older adults. Discussion: The proposed theoretical framework successfully supplements past negligence on the relationship between the built environment and the health of frail older adults. The findings further imply that policymakers should promote the usability of transit and greenery in neighborhoods and communities. In addition, service utilization should be improved to meet the basic needs of frail older adults in the communities.

As cities densify, areas available for agriculture within the city become increasingly small and infeasible for mass production. In parallel, many cities have seen a rapid rise in establishing community-based micro-farming, operating within marginal spaces of uncertain ownership or regulations. Prominently in Hong Kong, more than 60 urban rooftop farms have spontaneously appeared in the last 10 years on buildings. High application rates for renting plots in these informal farms suggest a strong demand in the population. Motivations cited by participants of rooftop farms are typically social, although social values have yet to be specifically defined or objectively measured. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s new agricultural policy conceives urban agriculture as a commercially productive practice. In consequence, urban rooftop farming lies awkwardly between formal city planning and informal community practices. A study of five rooftop farms in Hong Kong found, through participant opinion surveys and cost-benefit analysis, that the social benefits to participants were multifaceted with a preference on personal socialization and that they were willing to pay for the experience. The results suggest that if the products of rooftop farming could be conceived as being social, rather than food production, individual motivations and state interests could be aligned and the available roof space activated to achieve a more sustainable city.

This paper examines the contested agendas generated by Tai Lake Basin’s (TLB) recent wetland constructions and how these dynamics have stimulated the particular aspirations concerning nature among various local actors. Through interviews with local ecologists, landscape architects, and environmental engineers, this paper details how they convergently subscribe to the ethical claims of humans and nature during the decision making in constructing wetlands. I termed these dynamic considerations as ‘Ecological Governmentality.’ Under the influence of environmental conservation as a global consensus, the idea of ‘wetland’ has regained prevalence among Chinese cities’ plans and policies in recent decades. In the TLB, one of the most developed regions in China’s southeast coastal areas, over 800 ‘wetland parks’ have been established. Situated in the basin context, this paper further problematizes three modalities of wetland construction in the case of Suzhou city, namely: National Certificated Wetland Parks propelled by international environmental conservation agendas, Urban Wetland Landscape Parks associated with urban redevelopment, and Engineering Constructed Wetlands generated by the opening niche market for municipal waterworks. The construction of these parks has made prominent attempts to rewild urban environment through re-territorialization, design, and technology innovations intersected with moral claims that go beyond pure scientific concerns of ecology. Building on the concept of ‘worlding practices’ and ‘governmentality,’ three cases in this paper illustrate how the mainstreaming of wetlands in Suzhou has been materialized along with the shared notion of city branding from global neoliberal urbanization. More specifically, this paper explores the diverse materialization through the lens of contested ethical aspirations and transferred roles taken by different actors in the local wetland governance. The emerging ‘Ecological Governmentality’ in wetland construction helps to consolidate the unique ecological imaginary in China and diversify the Chinese cities’ globalization in the making.