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MDPI AG, a publisher of open-access scientific journals, was spun off from the Molecular Diversity Preservation International organization. It was formally registered by Shu-Kun Lin and Dietrich Rordorf in May 2010 in Basel, Switzerland, and maintains editorial offices in China, Spain and Serbia. MDPI relies primarily on article processing charges to cover the costs of editorial quality control and production of articles. Over 280 universities and institutes have joined the MDPI Institutional Open Access Program; authors from these organizations pay reduced article processing charges. MDPI is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, the International Association of Scientific, Technical, and Medical Publishers, and the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA).
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Displaying 501 - 505 of 1524Land Use Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin in the Background of China’s Economic Transformation: Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and Influencing Factors
Rapid urbanization has led to the increasing scarcity of land resources in China. Exploring the spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors of urban land use efficiency (LUE) is of great significance for optimizing the allocation efficiency of land resources and promoting regional sustainable development. In this study, the Super-SBM model was used to calculate the urban LUE of the Yellow River Basin from 2009 to 2018. The regional differences and agglomeration characteristics of LUE in the Yellow River Basin were analyzed.
Integrated Approaches to Ecosystem Services: Linking Culture, Circular Economy and Environment through the Re-Use of Open Spaces and Buildings in Europe
Green and blue infrastructure, nature-based solutions, and cultural and built heritage play a key role in enhancing ecosystem services provision and shaping urban quality and communities’ wellbeing calling for an integrated approach to ecosystem services in urban policy and planning and decision-making. On the other side, under-used spaces and buildings have social, cultural, economic, as well as ecological functions and benefits, which are essential to sustainable urban development.
Scale Effects and Regional Disparities of Land Use in Influencing PM2.5 Concentrations: A Case Study in the Zhengzhou Metropolitan Area, China
Land use has been demonstrated to have an important influence on PM2.5 concentrations; however, how the scale effects and regional disparities in land use influence PM2.5 concentrations remains unclear. This study investigated the scale differences in spatial variations in PM2.5 concentrations, in spatial associations between PM2.5 concentrations and land use, and explored the effects of the spatial heterogeneity and action scale of land use on PM2.5 concentrations. The main findings indicated greater intra-unit variation at small scales and greater inter-unit variation at large scales.
Review of Research on Non-Conforming Urban Expansion: Measurement, Interpretation, and Governance
Spatial plans are widely used as a basic tool for regulating urban expansion. However, land development beyond zones planned for urban development is prevalent worldwide, posing a serious challenge to the implementation of spatial plans and their effectiveness in regulating urban expansion. This paper presents a review of research progress relating to the measurement, interpretation, and governance of non-conforming urban expansion. Spatial conformance between actual land use and plans is the basic criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of plans in containing urban expansion.
Land Preservation Uptakes in the Escarpments of North-Eastern Ethiopia: Drivers, Sustainability, and Constraints
Agricultural land is an indispensable resource for agrarian communities worldwide. There is a growing awareness that the world’s arable land supplies are limited and finite. For the last five decades, the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) and other development organisations have carried out land preservation uptakes intended to curb the effects of land degradation and improve agricultural productivity through various soil and water conservation practices (SWCPs). The study assessed the sustainability, drivers, and constraints of SWCPs in Dessie Zuria and Kutaber Woredas of South Wollo.