The spread of the coronavirus has led to containment policies in many places, with concomitant shifts in routine activities. Major declines in crime have been reported as a result. However, those declines depend on crime type and may differ by parts of a city and land uses. This paper examines burglary in Detroit, Michigan during the month of March, 2020, a period of considerable change in routine activities. We examine 879 block groups, separating those dominated by residential land use from those with more mixed land use. We divide the month into three periods: pre-containment, transition period, and post-containment. Burglaries increase in block groups with mixed land use, but not blocks dominated by residential land use. The impact of containment policies on burglary clarifies after taking land use into account.

Research shows that urban green spaces (UGSs) provide a number of positive effects, including enhancing human thermal comfort levels by decreasing air temperature (AT) and increasing relative humidity (RH). However, research on how the shape of an UGS influences these effects is yet to be explored. This paper explores the principles and features behind this. The AT and RH surrounding an UGS within a horizontal scale of 20 m was explored. Microclimate field measurements around 35 UGSs in Shanghai, China were carried out. The samples covered the most applied types of UGSs—punctiform, linear, and planar. Comparison spots were selected away from the sampled UGSs. The effects were studied by data collection and statistical analysis. The results indicate that the shape of the UGS had significant impact on the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). In the summer, the amplitude of THI variation decreases with the distance to UGS. For punctiform UGS, a larger total area and existence of water body results in a lower THI. A wider, linear UGS with the same orientation as the direction of the prevailing wind contributes more to decrease the surrounding THI. The total area of planar UGS is not critical. A higher landscape shape index of a planar UGS is the critical point to achieve a lower THI. The results can serve as a reference when planning and designing future UGSs.

The present study aims to explore the spatial and temporal changes and drivers of carbon emission patterns in China, with the aim of encouraging county-level carbon reduction policies in pursuit of sustainable development. To this end, we have studied the spatial disparities, spatio-temporal patterns, and evolution characteristics of carbon emissions using county-level carbon emissions data from China between 2002 and 2017. Additionally, we have comprehensively considered the dynamic impacts of both county-level and city-level environmental factors on carbon emissions based on an optimized hierarchical random forest model. The results show that the carbon emissions of China’s counties have generally followed an upward trend before stabilizing. Notable characteristics include elevated carbon emissions in the northern regions and reduced carbon emissions in the southern areas. Additionally, there are higher carbon emissions in the eastern regions compared to lower emissions in the western and inland areas, with discernible local clustering patterns. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring the government’s emission reduction strategy to address the phased variations in carbon emissions across different districts and counties. It is essential to emphasize the key role of major urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas in carbon emission reduction, while also addressing potential emission sources in the resource-rich, yet technologically disadvantaged, northwest region. Furthermore, improving energy efficiency through technological innovation should be the primary means of carbon emission reduction at the county level.