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[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Wanxin Li, Jieyan Liu, Duoduo Li Paru dans : Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 98, 15 May 2012, Pages 65-72 Abstract By comparing three cases of environmental activism in China, our paper answers the following three questions about public participation in environment protection in China: (1) what are the drivers for public participation, (2) who are the agents leading the participation, and (3) do existing laws facilitate public participation? We find heightened public awareness of environmental degradation and increasing anxieties over health and property values drive people to fight for more political space to influence decisions that have an impact on the environment. Despite the promises one finds in the letter of Chinese laws, Chinese society lacks a meaningful institutional framework to allow public participation, even in the area of environmental protection. The Chinese government mainly passively responds to public demands on an ad hoc basis, with no institutional commitment for engaging the public on environmental issues. This is unfortunate, because public policies without adequate public input are doomed to be clouded by illegitimacy. Highlights ► The public fights for more political space to influence environmental decisions. ► A concern for health and property values drives public environmental participation. ► Public participation has not yet been well institutionalized in China. ► The Chinese government passively responds to public demands on an ad hoc basis.

Two events have taken place that will change the way the Chinese state tackles organized crime and corruption. Law reforms re-defining organized crime while strengthening judicial oversight and the apparent demise of 'hit black' (dahei) 'strike-hard' (yanda) style police campaigns of the kind practised in the Chongqing 'experiment' are new developments in China's evolving response to organized crime. The law reforms focused on enhanced punishments and new offences with respect to food adulteration, bogus medicines and criminal gangs, which had been at the forefront of public scandals that had threatened political stability and the legitimacy of police and judicial organs. The revision of Article 294 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) specifically re-defined the elements of organised crime ('black societies'). It also addressed the role of public officials in the spread of such crime and was belated recognition that more needed to be done to reduce the penetration of business and the state by organised crime. The Chongqing approach to crime control was until recently touted as a model crime-fighting practice but is now criticized and in retreat, and its leaders are discredited. The widely publicized, Chongqing 'Red-Black' criminal 'gangland' trials involved high officials and high profile entrepreneurs mixed with vice and violence. The trials (2009-2011) became public spectacles that exemplified the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) determination to enhance public stability through clean government (Lam 2009, Liu 2011). In the vast municipality of Chongqing politburo member Bo Xilai and head of the municipal CCP had made "cleaning up the city" a key to his 'Five Chongqing' program that sought to restore party legitimacy in the face of massive inequality. Apart from a revival of Maoist values a major element was the relentless dahei anti-gang campaigns that exploited confessions to 'crack' cases. Many

DOI : http://dx.doi.org.gate3.inist.fr/10.1016/j.habitatint.2011.05.006 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Terry H.Y. Li, S. Thomas Ng, Martin Skitmore Paru dans : Habitat International, Volume 36, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 47-56 Abstract Many governments world-wide are increasingly encouraging the involvement of interested individuals, groups and organisations in their public infrastructure and construction (PIC) projects as a means of improving the openness, transparency and accountability of the decision-making process and help improve the projects' long-term viability and benefits to the community. In China, however, the current participatory mechanism at the project level exists only as part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. With an increasing demand for PIC projects and social equality in China, this suggests a need to bring the participatory process into line with international practice. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to identify the weaknesses of EIA-based public participation in China and the means by which it may be improved for the whole lifecycle of PIC schemes. To do this, the results of a series of interviews with a diverse group of experts is reported which analyse the nature and extent of existing problems of public participation in EIA and suggestions for improvement. These indicate that the current level of participation in PIC projects is quite limited, particularly in the crucial earlier stages, primarily due to traditional culture and values, uneven progress in the adoption of participatory mechanisms, the risk of not meeting targets and lack of confidence in public competence. Finally, a process flowchart is proposed to guide construction practitioners and the community in general. Highlights ► We examine China's environmental impact assessment (EIA) based public participation. ► The interview findings reveal that China's EIA-based participation is weak. ► We identify

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Guiwen Liu, Zezhou Wu, Mingming Hu Paru dans : Energy Procedia, Volume 14, 2012, Pages 1925-1930 Abstract Around 30% of the national energy consumption in China can be attributed to buildings, of which one-fifth is consumed within public buildings. In recent time, public buildings have been reckoned as the dominant objects for conducting energy efficient management. In order to obtain valuable information for the assessment of energy consumption status, an investigation was conducted in Chongqing - the youngest, largest and most dynamic municipal in China. A number of public buildings, including 28 governmental office buildings, 15 emporiums and 5 hotels, were selected for the investigation from the aspect of energy cost. Based on the collected data of electricity, water and gas, the characteristics of the energy consumption in each type of the public buildings are discussed, and the energy management in each type of public buildings is compared. 2011 2nd International Conference on Advances in Energy Engineering (ICAEE)

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Xi-Zhang Shan, School of Geographical Sciences, South China Normal University, No. 55 Zhongshan Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510631, PR China Paru dans : Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 211-217 Abstract Urban green spaces serve a variety of residents with various perceptions, preferences and demands. Their effective governance and precision provision increasingly require public input. Due to the unique political regime, public decision-making in China has long been controlled by governments with the public neglected. With increasing civic consciousness in recent years in urban China, this research investigated attitudes and willingness toward participation in planning, management and design of urban green spaces in Guangzhou. Face-to-face questionnaire surveys were conducted at the 24 green sites across the city with 595 respondents successfully interviewed. The results demonstrated the positive attitudes and strong willingness toward participation despite socioeconomic variations, fitting into a global trend of increasing civic consciousness and strengthening the theoretical base of public participation. Practically, the positive findings lay a sound social foundation for the participatory decision-making in urban China, and help to drive local governments more open and inclusive and develop effective governance strategies and mechanisms to promote public participation in decision-making of urban green spaces.

Author(s): Xu Yuhui)1; Lv Yanke; HuangYing Source: ADVANCES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING, PTS 1-6 Book Series: Advanced Materials Research Volume: 255-260 Pages: 1607-1611 DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.255-260.1607 Part: Part 1-6 Published: 2011 Conference: International Conference on Civil Engineering and Building Materials (CEBM) Location: Kunming, PEOPLES R CHINA Date: JUL 29-31, 2011 Sponsor(s): Kunming Univ Sci & Technol; Int Assoc Sci & High Technol Abstract: Along with the Reform and opening-up and the establishment of Market Economy, the economy and living standards of our citizen are improving, nonetheless the gap between rich and poor is widening in the society, so the social groups is gradually getting differentiation. Especially the perspective of residential segregation with live position and live quality for represent. At the same time, the construction of the public rental housing which become the current social hot point usually neglect the social influence resulted by residential segregation. Taking the public rental housing in metropolitan area of Chongqing as an example, the paper tallies up the successful strategy of the construction of public rental housing from address and construct mode, land and funds cost, guarantee object and facilities kit in order to guide the construction of the public rental housing from residential segregation to residential introjection.

[ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Ying Tanga, Robert J. Masonb, Ping Sun Paru dans : Habitat International, Volume 36, Issue 3, July 2012, Pages 388-395 Abstract Since the onset of rapid economic development and urbanization, China's land resources-rather than capital, technology and human resources-have become the lead limiting factor in constraining economic growth. Coordination of urban and rural construction land (CURCL) can be a very effective means for reducing conflicts between economic development and land protection. This research examines the roles of stakeholders involved in the CURCL process. The reasons why the interests of legitimated stakeholders were encroached upon are analyzed and countermeasures to protect the interests of legitimated stakeholders are proposed. Ambiguously defined property rights for owners of rural construction land, unclear conceptions of the public interest, and overlap of power and interest among multiple levels of authority are the reasons why legitimated stakeholders' interests were encroached upon. Legitimizing construction land ownership clearly, better defining the multiple conceptions of public interest, opening up express channels for expression of the public interest, and clarifying governments' functions in land interest adjustment are the countermeasures to protect the interests of legitimated stakeholders. Highlights ► We examine roles of key stakeholders involved with urban and rural construction land in China. ► Agricultural protection measures notwithstanding, farmers' interests frequently are neglected. ► Local governments seek to maximize profits at the expense of public interests. ► Profit maximization is inherent to private enterprises. ► Government roles and express channel for farmers are important for fair interest distribution.

Tiered electricity price (TEP) reform is a planning policy for household electricity conservation in China. Based on TEP, several price hierarchies are provided, and additional payment will be charged if the electricity consumptions exceed the upper bound of each hierarchy. Yet, the optimal level of each price tier and the institutions for implementing TEP need further research, which are set on the basis of considering residents' affordability and willingness to pay. Therefore, this paper aims at exploring determinants of public willingness to accept TEP and finding out the acceptable range of premium. A questionnaire survey in four urban cities of China is conducted to collect data, and an ordinary regression model is adopted in our analysis to identify the drivers and barriers to general public's acceptance of TEP. The results show that middle income earners are the groups that are mostly opposed to TEP. Rather than just focusing on economic factors, public environmental awareness should be highlighted during the implementation of TEP, because cost is not a statistically significant determinant in this study. Moreover, the public acceptable rate of premium of TEP in the urban cities, according to our research results, may be below .05 RMB/kW h. Highlights

Thématiques 1 et 2 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Chunyan Shan, Tetsuo Yai Paru dans : Habitat International, Volume 35, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages 158-166 Abstract The aim of this study is to provide an understanding of the legal requirements and implementation environment of public involvement (PI) in infrastructure planning processes at the national and local levels in China. China's transportation planning is examined to understand the infrastructure planning framework stipulated in the laws and regulations on city planning. The city planning ordinances of 27 provincial capitals and 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government are investigated and their requirements for PI are classified. Factors affecting PI requirements are considered including: geographic location, population and level of economic development among others. The authors discuss the effect of the social environment, geography, economic development level and legal requirements on PI implementation. Legislative and regulatory improvements concerning planning procedures and PI are suggested, with the advanced cities to be used as models. Research highlights ► The paper examines public involvement in Chinese infrastructure planning. ► Public involvement regulations are not uniform across the country but vary among cities. ► Larger, more economically advanced Eastern coastal cities have more detailed requirements than other cities.

UCI delegation participated in first annual NCF summit in Paris 25/05/2012 The Chinese delegation takes a group photo with Lady Barbara, Judge, Chairman of the UK Pension Protection Fund. The first annual New Cities Foundation (NCF) Summit was held in Paris on May 14-16. The summit brought together more than 500 urban policy makers and thought leaders to a three-day conference on global urbanization, with China as one of the core focuses. The mayor of Paris delivered a welcome speech. Other speakers including Gregor Robertson, Mayor of Vancouver; Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv; Khalifa Sall, Mayor of Dakar; Greg Clark, UK Minister of State for Decentralisation and Cities; as well as the CEOs of General Motors, Ericsson, Cisco, and Suez gas. The Urban China Initiative (UCI), a partner of the NCF, assisted in organizing the summit by inviting and organizing 16 government delegates, enterprise leaders, and academics from China, as well as designing the plenary session "A Closer Look at Urban China: Towards the Urban Billion." Chinese delegates shared their insights as speakers at plenary and breakout sessions, including: "Securing Investments for the Urban Century: How do we Pay for the Urban Boom," which featured Li Dongming, General Manager of the Urban Fund at China Development Bank Capital, as a speaker. "Hard and Software City," which featured Jonathan Woetzel, Co-Chair of the Urban China Initiative, Senior Director at McKinsey & Co., as a speaker. "A Closer Look at Urban China: Towards the Urban Billion," which featured five speakers from the UCI delegation, including Yuan Yue, CEO and Chairman of Horizon Research Consultancy Group; James Lee, AIA LEED-AP, President of iContinuum Group; Jonathan Woetzel; Xiao Jincheng, Deputy Director of the Land Economy and Regional Research Bureau at the National Development and Reform Commission; and Xie Chengxiang, Deputy Mayor of Huangshi in Hubei Province. "Modern Urban

Maintaining social stability is at the core of China's authoritarianism. An elaborated system of 'social management' aims at anticipating and preventing social disorder. The Chinese Communist Party has been able to extend its reach by embracing new technologies and embarking on cautious reforms. The latest edition of China Analysis ('Control at the grassroots: China's new toolbox'), published by ECFR and Asia Centre, examines China's system of social management, political control and public security. The paper explains how the different parts of the system are being transformed - and it explores the public debates surrounding China's security apparatus: China's complex 'stability maintenance machine' is made up of different ministries and administrative bodies - but the system seems incapable of dealing with China's underlying social problems. 'Social stability' has become a costly activity for local governments as it is their responsibility to deal with incidents that threaten stability. The logic of 'zero incidents' led not only to superficial solutions but also to a privatisation of stability maintenance. The central government increasingly controls the public without relying on biased local authorities. The mission of the People's Armed Police (PAP) is changing. The PAP is transforming itself from a paramilitary force into a modern integrated and multi-tasking force with a broad mandate to 'defend national security and maintain social stability'. The reform of China's criminal procedure law sparked a lively debate about the role of the state and how liberties of the individual can be upheld. However, covert investigations, secret detentions and the death penalty remain a feature of the legal system in China.

Summary China has seen the largest human migration in history, and the country's rapid urbanisation has important consequences for public health. A provincial analysis of its urbanisation trends shows shifting and accelerating rural-to-urban migration across the country and accompanying rapid increases in city size and population. The growing disease burden in urban areas attributable to nutrition and lifestyle choices is a major public health challenge, as are troubling disparities in health-care access, vaccination coverage, and accidents and injuries in China's rural-to-urban migrant population. Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorised. To address the health challenges and maximise the benefits that accompany this rapid urbanisation, innovative health policies focused on the needs of migrants and research that could close knowledge gaps on urban population exposures are needed.

Sur le site "The Urban China Initiaitve" 4/05/2012 By Li Jing ( China Daily) Urban leaders do more to safeguard environment, conserve resources Small and medium-sized cities are more livable than big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai gauged by their air quality, waste treatment capacity and built environment, according to newly published research by Urban China Initiative. A woman rides a bicycle on a windy day in Beijing. According to recently published research by Urban China Initiative, Beijing and Shanghai were absent from a ranking of the top 10 Chinese cities gauged by their environmental sustainability. [Photo/China Daily] UCI, a think tank launched by Tsinghua University, McKinsey & Co and Columbia University, gauged the sustainability of 112 major Chinese cities using 17 indicators in four categories - society, economy, environment and resources. Beijing ranked first in sustainability thanks to its heavy investment in social welfare - including social security, education and healthcare - and its economic achievements. The top 10 cities in overall score - including Xiamen, Fujian province, Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, Dalian in Liaoning province, and Shanghai - are all medium and large-sized cities. However, small and medium-sized cities are taking the lead in environmental sustainability. Both Beijing and Shanghai were absent from the top 10 in this category. According to the research, Haikou has the best air quality, while Hefei, capital of Anhui province, took the lead in waste treatment facilities. And Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, boasts the best built environment - man-made surroundings that serve as the setting for human activity. "Such a result shows that small cities have a better quality of life, though people living in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai have better access to medical and educational resources," said Jonathan Woetzel, co-chair of UCI, as well as a senior global dir

Ngeow, Chow Bing, "Democratic development in China's urban communities" (2010). Public and International Affairs Dissertations. Paper 7. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000145 ABSTRACT Since mid-1990s, the Chinese government has been promoting a policy of community construction (shequ) in urban areas. One of the main focuses of this policy is to build up the democratic infrastructure and institutions at the grassroots level in the cities. As a result, political and institutional reforms to make grassroots governance more democratic have been experimented and implemented in many cities. Members of the residents' committee, the "mass-organization" entrusted to governance the communities (shequ), are now to be democratically elected. The administration of the communities has to adhere to the principles of democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. The grassroots organs of the ruling Chinese Communist Party have to adapt to the democratic institutions, while non-governmental organizations, especially in the form of the homeowners' committee, also emerges as another channel for urban residents to participate in public affairs. The major aim of this study is to document and analyze these institutional designs and reforms. It also provides an interpretive perspective for these grassroots democratic reforms, arguing that these reforms embody a Chinese model of democratic development.

Author: Zhou, Nan Publication Date: 05-15-2012 Publication Info: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Texte intégral téléchargeable sur le site des archives ouvertes de l'Université de Californie : http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/1sp9m82g Executive Summary "Local level actions and leadership are crucial for achieving national energy-saving or greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction targets. Local level actions can also assist in proving the effectiveness of new policies or initiatives by demonstrating them at a smaller scale. It is often also shown that innovative policies or practices can be relatively easily implemented at the local level because of the reduced scale and the possibility of exemption from some national legislative bureaucracy. Following success at the local level, the pilot policies or practices could be replicated to other localities or expanded to a national program. For example, China's Top-1000 Enterprise Program was drawn upon the successful experience from a demonstration program implemented in two steel mills in Shandong province that was modeled after the voluntary agreements program in The Netherlands (Price et al. 2003)."

Abstract The development objective of the Gansu Qingyang Urban Infrastructure Improvement Project for China is to assist Qingyang Municipality to improve selected urban infrastructure services including urban roads and urban environmental services. There are two components to the project. The first component is urban infrastructure improvements. This component includes the following subcomponents: 1) urban bypass. This sub-component includes (i) construction of bypass roads of the southern section of Xifeng's West Ring Road and the northern section of Xifeng's East Ring Road with installation of associated pipes; (ii) construction of three connection roads to the two bypass corridors of West Ring Road and East Ring Road; 2) integrated road corridor. This sub-component includes: (i) improvement of three selected main road corridors (Nan Bei Street, Anding Dong Xi Road, West Ring Road), including road pavement, traffic channelization, and lighting and greening, along with drainage and sewage system improvements; (ii) rehabilitation of three selected backstreets and small lanes for slow traffic (Nanyuan, Tianhe and Xifeng lanes); and (iii) carrying out, as part of the design of the integrated road corridor, the parking action plan, the public transport action plan, and the traffic safety, education and enforcement action plan; 3) drainage and sewage; and 4) wastewater treatment plant. The second component is institutional strengthening and capacity building. This component includes: provision of technical assistance for: (a) carrying out of a water resource study covering, among others, for water reuse, sub-basin water environment improvements and industrial wastewater discharge licenses in Xifeng District that supports the ongoing investments of wastewater management; (b) the improvement of the operation and maintenance capabilities of Qingyang Municipal Water Supply and Sewage Company (QWSSC) and Xifeng District's Public Utility and Transportation Bureaus in the p

Thématiques 2 et 3 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Heiko J. Jahn Paru dans : Public Health Forum, Volume 20, Issue 2, June 2012, Pages 27.e1-27.e4 Public Health und Stadtentwicklung Summary Chinese megacities pass through rapid change, coined by fast economical and population growth. This leads to impaired governability and the necessary infrastructural measures, to protect the environment, cannot keep up with this developments. This results in substantial health threatening pollution. Existing laws and regulations should be implemented of all governmental levels from the central government down to the city sub-district level to improve urban health.

Feature Story August 14, 2012 The year 2011 was a historic moment in the urbanization of China, as its urban population exceeded its rural population for the first time. About 350 million new urban residents are expected to migrate to cities over the coming 20 years. Urban development on such a scale is both a challenge and an opportunity for urban transport. A challenge, as current trends are unsustainable both at local and national level. Locally, the rapid growth in car ownership has enabled greater personal mobility for many but has also brought traffic congestion, accidents, and air pollution. Slow and congested transport systems are beginning to stifle the efficiency of the urban economy. The construction of new roads to accommodate traffic leads to urban sprawl and accelerated traffic growth and hampers the mobility of those who do not own a car. Nationally, excessive conversion of farmland for urban development consumes scarce land resources and impacts the country's ecological systems. Rising fuel consumption also endangers the nation's long-term energy security, while growing emissions from urban transport render the national objectives of CO2 reduction difficult to achieve. But this rapid urbanization also represents an opportunity, as the recognition of urban transport's spillover effects has led to a new policy emphasis on public transport priority and sustainable urban transport development. [...]

Thématique 4 [ScienceDirect, via Biblio-SHS] Auteur : Alana Bolanda, Jiangang Zhu Paru dans : Geoforum, Volume 43, Issue 1, January 2012, Pages 147-157 Abstract In recent years, there has been heightened interest in creating more environmentally sustainable forms of urban development in China. Central in these greening initiatives has been increased attention on promoting public participation in community-based environmental activities. Focusing on China's green community initiatives, we examine the production and effects of participation in a state-led development program. Our analysis considers how incentives for program organizers and participants are structured by broader political and economic imperatives facing Chinese cities. We also consider what influence China's history of neighborhood-based mobilization campaigns had on the meanings and methods of participation in green communities. To understand how urban development processes and memories of mobilization influence participation at the local level, we present two examples of the community greening process from the city of Guangzhou, comparing policy outcomes between a new and older neighborhood. This article seeks to demonstrate that the participatory processes associated with such an urban environmental initiative cannot be adequately understood without reference to earlier participatory practices and broader policy priorities guiding development in Chinese cities. Highlights ► Emergence of green communities in China is related to broader urban transformations. ► Participatory programming reflects aspects of China's earlier mobilization campaigns. ► Even in highly structured settings, participation can produce new social dynamics. ► Cautions against reading participation solely through binary of failure or success. ► Contributes to literatures on sustainable cities and participatory development.

LESLIE L. SHIEH Ph.D. THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) March 2011 China's nationwide Shequ (Community) Construction project aims to strengthen neighbourhoodbased governance, particularly as cities wrestle with pressing social issues accompanying the country's economic reforms. This policy has produced astounding outcomes, even though it is implemented through experimentation programs and the interbureaucratic document system rather than through legislation. It has professionalized the socialist residents' committees and strengthened their capacity to carry out administrative functions and deliver social care. Thousands of service centres have been built, offering a range of cultural and social services to local residents. This research addresses how the centrally promulgated policy is being implemented locally and what its impacts are in various neighbourhoods. The lens of community building is used to explore how the grass roots organize themselves and how they are defined and governed by the state. The research thus seeks to analyze the impact of Shequ Construction, not through measuring outcomes against the intentions set out in policy documents, but through considering the wider, sometimes unforeseen, implications for other processes going on in the city. Based on fieldwork in Nanjing, the chapters explore the meaning Shequ Construction has in four areas of urban governance: 1) fiscal reform and decentralization of public services, 2) suburban village redevelopment, 3) community-based social service provisioning through the emergent nonprofit sector, and 4) role of homeowners' association under housing privatization and neighbourhood inequality. By examining the interaction of Shequ Construction with a diverse set of policies, this research demonstrates how policy becomes interpreted during the course of implementation by local agencies as they contend with realities on the ground; and conversely how the Shequ pol