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Urban Science
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Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of...
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Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of Developing Countries

A special issue of Urban Science (ISSN 2413-8851).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 19462

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Quy Van Khuc

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Development Economics, VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Interests: environmental economics and sustainable development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Developing countries have seen rapid economic growth, but they have also faced unprecedented environmental challenges, including air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, waste pollution, etc. Take air pollution as an example. It is alarming that 99 percent of the world’s population breathes polluted air. Air pollution is deemed a “quiet killer”, giving rise to numerous consequences ranging from health and psychological impacts to economic and social costs. For example, air pollution annually causes roughly 7 million premature deaths and an economic loss of USD 8.1 trillion, accounting for 6.1% of the global GDP. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the urban population is projected to exceed two-thirds of the total global population by 2050, as urbanization exacerbates the air pollution problem, creating even more air pollution challenges for humankind in the long run.

Every new piece of information matters for scientific progress in air pollution assessment, policymaking, and public health protection. From this viewpoint, the goal/objective of this Special Issue (SI) of Urban Science is to keep communities, scholars, and policymakers informed on the research progress on air quality and human health. Specifically, this SI serves as a forum for advancing scientific understanding of environmental changes associated with air pollution and air quality, strategies and/or different measures that the public, particularly urban residents, can employ to lessen and/or mitigate unexpected impacts. I hope that the useful information and insightful findings presented by scholars in this SI can support or facilitate desirable urban environment policies that help, ultimately, increase human and societal wellbeing.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Environment quality and pollution (i.e., air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, waste pollution, etc), as well as their various impacts and/or effects on human wellbeing;
  • Socioeconomic effects of air pollution, such as population migration, the psychological process of migration intention, and/or productivity consequences of pollution-induced migration;
  • Environmental literacy and environmental culture;
  • Knowledge, attitude, practices, and/or strategies or measures used by urban residents to cope with air pollution;
  • Environmental policy studies to improve air quality;
  • Private and public partnerships for improved air quality;
  • Psychological, economic, and social costs of air pollution before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Quy Van Khuc
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Urban Science is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental literacy
  • culture tower
  • environmental culture
  • psychological impacts
  • economic costs
  • social costs
  • mindsponge – mindspongeconomics
  • public health
  • urban environment
  • public–private partnerships
  • urban policy
  • willingness to pay
  • contingent valuation

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4429 KiB  
Article
Investigation into the Rationale of Migration Intention Due to Air Pollution Integrating the Homo Oeconomicus Traits
by Quan-Hoang Vuong, Tam-Tri Le, Viet-Phuong La, Thu-Trang Vuong and Minh-Hoang Nguyen
Urban Sci. 2023, 7(2), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7020059 - 1 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2316
Abstract
Air pollution is a considerable environmental stressor for urban residents in developing countries. Perceived health risks of air pollution might induce migration intention among inhabitants. The current study employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) to investigate the rationale behind the domestic and international [...] Read more.
Air pollution is a considerable environmental stressor for urban residents in developing countries. Perceived health risks of air pollution might induce migration intention among inhabitants. The current study employed the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) to investigate the rationale behind the domestic and international migration intentions among 475 inhabitants in Hanoi, Vietnam—one of the most polluted capital cities worldwide. We found that people perceiving more negative impacts of air pollution in their daily life are more likely to have migration intentions. The effect of perceived air pollution impact on international migration intention is stronger than that of domestic migration. Acknowledging a family member’s air pollution-induced sickness moderated the association between perceived air pollution impact and domestic migration intention, while the personal experience of air pollution-induced sickness did not. In contrast, the moderation effect of personal experience of sickness became significant in the international migration circumstance, but the effect of information about a family member’s sickness was negligible. The findings suggest that urban inhabitants’ consideration of air pollution-averting strategies reflects some characteristics of Homo Oeconomicus. Although an individual’s socioeconomic decision may seem insignificant on a collective scale, through environmental stressors as catalysts, such decisions might result in considerable social tendencies (e.g., internal migration and emigration). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of Developing Countries)
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19 pages, 2978 KiB  
Article
Preventing the Separation of Urban Humans from Nature: The Impact of Pet and Plant Diversity on Biodiversity Loss Belief
by Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Minh-Hieu Thi Nguyen, Ruining Jin, Quang-Loc Nguyen, Viet-Phuong La, Tam-Tri Le and Quan-Hoang Vuong
Urban Sci. 2023, 7(2), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7020046 - 25 Apr 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3809
Abstract
Despite the dependence of human existence on myriad ecosystem services and products, a high proportion of people feel disconnection from nature due to urbanization. This separation appears to have created an increase in the numbers of climate change and biodiversity loss denialists, thereby [...] Read more.
Despite the dependence of human existence on myriad ecosystem services and products, a high proportion of people feel disconnection from nature due to urbanization. This separation appears to have created an increase in the numbers of climate change and biodiversity loss denialists, thereby weakening global efforts to prevent environmental degradation and address environmental issues. The current study employs the reasoning capability of Mindsponge theory and the statistical advantages of Bayesian inference to examine whether access to in-home pet and plant diversity can increase the probability of biodiversity loss belief among urban residents. The findings from 535 Vietnamese respondents indicate that, when respondents feel comfortable at home, a higher diversity of pets is associated with a higher likelihood of believing that biodiversity loss is a real and major problem. However, the effect becomes the opposite when the respondents feel uncomfortable at home. Plant diversity has a positive impact on biodiversity loss belief regardless of comfort. Notably, the impact of plant diversity on biodiversity loss belief is more substantial among respondents who feel uncomfortable than those who feel comfortable. Following these findings, we suggest that increasing in-home biodiversity can be a promising way to raise urban residents’ awareness of the occurrence and significance of biodiversity loss, which will subsequently help them build up an eco-surplus culture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of Developing Countries)
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32 pages, 30387 KiB  
Article
Ecomindsponge: A Novel Perspective on Human Psychology and Behavior in the Ecosystem
by Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Tam-Tri Le and Quan-Hoang Vuong
Urban Sci. 2023, 7(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7010031 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5475
Abstract
Modern society faces major environmental problems, but there are many difficulties in studying the nature–human relationship from an integral psychosocial perspective. We propose the ecomind sponge conceptual framework, based on the mindsponge theory of information processing. We present a systematic method to examine [...] Read more.
Modern society faces major environmental problems, but there are many difficulties in studying the nature–human relationship from an integral psychosocial perspective. We propose the ecomind sponge conceptual framework, based on the mindsponge theory of information processing. We present a systematic method to examine the nature–human relationship with conceptual frameworks of system boundaries, selective exchange, and adaptive optimization. The theoretical mechanisms were constructed based on principles and new evidence in natural sciences. The core mechanism of ecomindsponge is the subjective sphere of influence, which is the limited mental representation of information received from and processed based on the objective sphere of influence–actual interactions in reality. The subjective sphere is the sum of two sub-spheres: influencing (proactive) and being influenced (reactive). Maladaptation in thinking and behavior of the mind as an information collection-cum-processor results from the deviation of the subjective sphere from reality, which includes two main types: “stupidity” and “delusion”. Using Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics on a dataset of 535 urban residents, we provide consistent statistical evidence on the proposed properties of subjective spheres. The dynamic framework of ecomindsponge can be used flexibly and practically for environmental research as well as other psychosocial fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of Developing Countries)
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17 pages, 3540 KiB  
Article
Improving Energy Literacy to Facilitate Energy Transition and Nurture Environmental Culture in Vietnam
by Quy Van Khuc, Mai Tran, Thuy Nguyen, Nguyen An Thinh, Thao Dang, Dang Trung Tuyen, Phu Pham and Luu Quoc Dat
Urban Sci. 2023, 7(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci7010013 - 23 Jan 2023
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 6242
Abstract
Concern about energy depletion has risen because of industrialization and consumerism, pushing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. To this end, every group within society, especially the youth, should be made responsible for confronting and/or mitigating environmental problems. This study [...] Read more.
Concern about energy depletion has risen because of industrialization and consumerism, pushing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. To this end, every group within society, especially the youth, should be made responsible for confronting and/or mitigating environmental problems. This study advances the understanding of young adults’ intentions to learn about energy conservation and its influencing factors, as well as contributes to the literature on environmental management and environmental culture and development. We used a systematic random sample technique to conduct a large-scale online survey with 1454 students from 48 different Vietnamese universities and employed Bayesian regression model to analyze the data. The initial research indicates that young adults are highly concerned about the environment, but more work has to be done to turn perceptions into actions. The majority of respondents—nearly 83%—want to increase their energy-saving knowledge, and around 50% are interested in enrolling in an energy course. Their decision regarding participation in an energy course is largely influenced by their perception and income. Women were more inclined to take energy-saving courses, and people who lived in rural areas had a stronger desire to increase their knowledge. Our research has various policy implications for promoting energy transformation and/or nurturing environmental cultures associated with environmental education improvement in Vietnam and beyond. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Progress on Environment, Health and Growth in Urban Areas of Developing Countries)
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