Search Results (881)

Urban resilience (UR) is shaped by multiple interacting factors, yet existing studies have paid limited attention to the differentiated nonlinear and interactive mechanisms across different resilience dimensions. Based on panel data from 110 prefecture-level and above cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2015 to 2024, this study adopts a four-dimensional framework covering social, economic, ecological, and infrastructure resilience. Spatial analysis and the XGBoost-SHAP model are combined to examine the spatiotemporal evolution, key drivers, nonlinear responses, turning point characteristics, and factor interactions of overall UR and its four dimensions. The results show that overall UR increased steadily, while the four dimensions followed distinct evolutionary trajectories: economic and infrastructure resilience improved most rapidly, ecological resilience increased steadily, and social resilience improved relatively slowly. The importance and effects of key drivers also varied across overall resilience and its four dimensions. Major factors, including technological investment, non-registered population, unemployment insurance coverage, land use, and natural population growth, exhibited distinct nonlinear responses and turning point characteristics, with their effects changing across different variable levels. Furthermore, significant interactions were identified among population and industrial structure, population and transportation, industry and technology, and industry and social security across different resilience dimensions. Overall, UR in the YREB is characterized by differentiated development, nonlinear responses, nonlinear transition patterns, and joint influences of multiple factors. Full article

High-altitude hypoxia is associated with sleep disruption, affective fluctuation, and changes in cognitive performance, yet prior findings remain markedly heterogeneous in both direction and magnitude. To clarify this variability, this structured narrative review synthesizes evidence from systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and key empirical studies on psychological and cognitive adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia, with a particular focus on personality and related traits. The review is organized along three axes: exposure context and characterization (real-altitude field/residential exposure, hypobaric chambers, normobaric hypoxia, expedition settings, and dose alignment), exposure duration and time course, and outcome domains spanning sleep/fatigue, affective adaptation, and cognitive performance. Across the literature, cognitive effects appear domain-specific and strongly conditioned by exposure dose, temporal stage, and task characteristics, whereas sleep disturbance during the early acclimatization period emerges as one of the more consistent findings and appears closely intertwined with anxiety-related responses. Although direct personality-related evidence remains limited and uneven, the available findings can be organized into a testable trait–process–outcome framework that distinguishes candidate associations with relatively more direct evidence from mechanism-informed hypotheses. Neuroticism/emotional stability and anxiety-related traits have received comparatively more direct empirical investigation than other personality domains, but the available evidence is insufficient to regard them as established predictors of high-altitude adaptation. The roles of conscientiousness, resilience/hardiness, extraversion, agreeableness, and openness remain more tentative and are better treated as targets for prospective testing. We therefore propose that personality-related dispositions may influence adaptation-relevant outcomes through candidate processes involving threat appraisal, coping, resource regulation, and social interaction. We conclude that future research should strengthen exposure dose characterization, specify the boundary conditions for generalizing across real-altitude, hypobaric-chamber, normobaric hypoxia, and expedition settings, and adopt longitudinal, multilevel, and ecologically valid designs to test personality-related pathways more rigorously. Full article

Ecuadorian aquaculture plays an increasingly important role in food security, providing a sustainable complement to capture fisheries. Manabí constitutes a key economic sector that contributes to employment generation, income diversification, and supply of high-quality protein. However, the sector’s heterogeneity and limited legal registration of enterprises hinder the development of policies and targeted interventions. This study characterizes aquaculture enterprises in Manabí, integrating productive, technological, and socio-economic variables obtained from field surveys. Three distinct entrepreneurship patterns were identified: small-scale, informal farms cultivating native species with low technology but characteristics that may contribute to socio-ecological resilience; semi-formal producers operating with intermediate technology and mixed species; and freshwater shrimp farms operating at the largest relative scale within the sample, though still small-scale and family-based, with moderate technological development and market integration limited mainly to local and regional markets. The typology focused on a gradient in formalization, technological sophistication, and market orientation among enterprises. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of aquaculture diversity in Manabí and offer a practical framework for differentiated policy design using a Strategic Producer Positioning Map. Strengthening formalization, technological innovation, environmental management, and social inclusion is essential to enhance the sector’s sustainability and competitiveness, contributing to sustainable blue economy development in coastal Ecuador. Full article

The growing volume of tourism in European mountain national parks has resulted in numerous conflicts between nature conservation and the expectations of various stakeholder groups. Exceeding ecological and social carrying capacities has led to an ongoing debate on implementing visitor limits and further restrictions, the effectiveness of which strongly depends on public understanding and acceptance. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge regarding the general system of nature conservation, attitudes toward potential regulations, and their impact on conservation and tourism development across three stakeholder groups. A non-probability, purposive-convenience sampling strategy was utilized due to the specific characteristics of the surveyed stakeholder groups. The research was conducted using an online questionnaire distributed to tourists, mountain guides, and employees of the Babia Góra, Gorce, Pieniny, and Tatra National Parks, resulting in a total sample of 106 respondents. Statistical differences among the national parks employees (n = 24), mountain guides (n = 42) and tourists (n = 40) were analyzed using the Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test due to violated Chi-square assumptions, supplemented by Cramér’s V for effect size. The study demonstrated that national park employees and mountain guides possessed significantly higher factual knowledge regarding biodiversity threats and zoning regulations compared to tourists. Significant differences among stakeholder groups were confirmed across multiple dimensions (p = 0.005 to 0.05), with Cramér’s V values indicating moderate relationships (V = 0.21 to 0.26). Conversely, national park employees and tourists expressed stronger support for expanding protected areas, whereas mountain guides more frequently associated new national parks with tourism restrictions. Moreover, the majority of respondents across all stakeholder groups agreed that: (i) nature protection is the main goal of national park establishment; (ii) educational activities are the most effective methods of protecting nature from tourism-related threats; (iii) leaving trails should be banned in all national parks, and (iv) seasonal limits on tourist entry should be obligatory in the most frequently visited parks. The lack of significant differences was confirmed by statistical test (p = 0.08–0.93). Considering the findings of this preliminary investigation, it is suggested that future research directions should include additional stakeholder groups and encompass a wider geographical area. Full article

(1) Background: As urbanization accelerates worldwide, mental health issues have become a major public health challenge, threatening the social sustainability of cities. Despite growing attention to restorative urban landscapes, the visual characteristics of slopes—an integral yet underexplored component—remain insufficiently studied regarding their psychological benefits. (2) Methods: This study employed an online questionnaire survey across three slope variable groups: gradient, quantity, and shape. Open-ended feedback was also collected to explore latent behavioral intentions. (3) Results: Perceived restorative benefit scores decreased with increasing slope gradient; however, this decline tended to level off when the slope exceeded 30%. Gradient changes primarily influenced emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dimensions, with limited effects on self-reported physiological sensations. Combinations of 2–3 slopes yielded the highest perceived restorative benefits, with significant gender differences observed. Irregular and curved shapes received the highest scores, whereas participants under 18 displayed a unique preference for sharp-edged forms. Open-ended responses frequently mentioned “lying down” and “lying flat.” (4) Conclusions: These findings reveal differentiated effects of slope visual characteristics on psychological restoration and landscape preference, offering evidence-based guidance for health-oriented and sustainable urban landscape design. These findings contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), by demonstrating how slope morphology can be strategically used to create restorative urban environments that support both human well-being and ecological rationality. Full article

Cognitive assessment and training are fundamental tools for supporting healthy aging and monitoring cognitive decline in older adults. Socially assistive robots are being investigated in this context because of their potential to provide multimodal, engaging, and personalized interactions during cognitive interventions. However, current evidence remains fragmented regarding the robotic embodiments, interaction strategies, and monitoring approaches used for cognitive assessment and training, as well as their ability to produce robust and long-term clinical benefits. To address this gap, this systematic review analyzes 37 studies identified through searches of Scopus, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore, following a PRISMA-based methodology. The review examines the main technological and methodological characteristics of the proposed systems, including robot embodiment, interaction capabilities, cognitive intervention paradigms, and the integration of multimodal monitoring technologies. The results highlight the predominance of humanoid robots and multimodal interaction strategies, together with an emerging use of adaptive and AI-based approaches. However, the available evidence is characterized by methodological heterogeneity, limited longitudinal validation, and a lack of standardized and ecologically valid evaluation protocols. Although the reviewed studies report encouraging findings concerning feasibility, engagement, acceptance, and preliminary cognitive outcomes, the evidence remains insufficient to identify the most effective robotic embodiment or confirm long-term clinical benefits. Larger comparative and longitudinal studies are therefore required. Full article

Synergistic pollution reduction and carbon mitigation (SPRCM) is a critical pathway for advancing global climate governance and promoting green and low-carbon transitions. It also represents an important practice for strengthening ecological civilization and achieving regional sustainable development in China. Based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces during 2010–2024, this study employs an improved entropy-weighted TOPSIS method to measure SPRCM levels and integrates a modified gravity model, social network analysis, and the CatBoost-SHAP explainable machine learning approach to examine its spatiotemporal evolution, spatial network structure, and nonlinear association characteristics. The main findings are as follows. First, China’s overall SPRCM level shows a gradual upward trend, while significant regional disparities remain. Second, the interprovincial spatial association network has gradually evolved toward a polycentric structure and exhibits clear hierarchical characteristics. Although network connectivity has continuously improved, linkages between core and peripheral provinces remain relatively weak. Third, individual network characteristics display distinct regional differentiation. Eastern coastal provinces consistently occupy core network positions, whereas northeastern and some western provinces remain relatively peripheral. Fourth, the block model analysis identifies four functional groups within the network: net beneficiaries, net spillovers, brokers, and two-way spillovers. These blocks play differentiated roles in spatial association and network interactions. Fifth, the CatBoost-SHAP analysis indicates that road density, freight volume, and human capital are the most important variables in explaining model predictions, with their combined mean absolute SHAP importance accounting for 54.59%. Moreover, these factors exhibit significant nonlinear association patterns with predicted SPRCM levels. Full article

In an increasingly urbanized world, green spaces provide Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) that support human well-being and are often perceived as the most valued benefits in cities. Yet, their perception and co-occurrence remain underrepresented in Latin American regions. In this study, we assess the diversity and bundling of CES perceived by visitors across five urban parks in the Mexican city of Xalapa, Veracruz, and examine how park identity (synthesizing park-specific ecological and structural characteristics) and sociodemographic factors influence these perceptions. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analyzed 373 surveys using general linear models. We identified 13 CES, with an average of three services per park. ‘Recreation’, ‘Mental health’, ‘Physical health’, and ‘Contact with nature’, the most frequently mentioned services, together with ‘Social relations’, consistently formed a dominant CES bundle, suggesting patterns in how cultural benefits are co-experienced. Park identity, visitor Age, and Gender were key predictors of CES perception variation, highlighting joint spatial and social influences. By integrating CES bundles with park-specific characteristics and sociodemographic drivers, this study advances current understanding of CES perception comprehensively and demonstrates that CES are not uniformly experienced across urban green spaces, underscoring the need for context-sensitive planning and management that account for both place identity and user diversity. Full article

National parks are established to ensure ecological integrity and unified management. However, due to frequent human activities, complex land-tenure arrangements, and limited governance capacity, certain areas within park boundaries are excluded from centralized oversight, resulting in “non-contiguous management spaces.” At present, cross-national evidence on non-contiguous management spaces, particularly in developing countries, is quite limited. This study employs a qualitative comparative research design based on a literature review and policy analysis, taking Tianchuang in China’s Wuyishan National Park and Enclaves in Nigeria’s Gashaka-Gumti National Park as typical cases to compare their concept and characteristics, causes of formation, socio-ecological consequences, and governance models. The results show that: (1) In terms of concept and characteristics, Tianchuang and Enclaves are both land parcels inside park boundaries but outside unified park management. Tianchuang typically appear as numerous small, fragmented patches, whereas Enclaves are more often contiguous village blocks. Livelihoods associated with Tianchuang are more diverse, whereas those in Enclaves are mainly based on farming and herding. (2) In terms of formation, both stem from trade-offs in boundary delimitation to balance conservation and development. Tianchuang reflects an intentionally designed, proactive avoidance within a unified planning framework to mitigate conflicts and facilitate park establishment, whereas Enclaves embody a passive tolerance shaped by limited state capacity and respect for local pastoral livelihoods to prevent social conflict. (3) In terms of socio-ecological consequences, both Tianchuang and Enclaves provide room for local development but may weaken ecological connectivity, increase human—wildlife conflict, and affect community livelihoods and trust. Tianchuang reveals unclear mandates and complex coordination, whereas Enclaves expose regulatory capacity gaps and dependence on local and external actors. (4) In terms of governance models, both adopt a “co-existence” approach. Tianchuang are managed through a top-down, government-led governance model, whereas Enclaves rely on a bottom-up, multi-party deliberative governance model. Based on these findings, this study proposes policy implications for improving the governance of Tianchuang and Enclaves and provides broader insights into the governance of non-contiguous management spaces in developing-country national parks. Full article

The growing complexity of public policies and socio-ecological transitions demands evaluation tools that integrate environmental, economic, and social dimensions across multiple governance contexts. However, the main evaluation impact methods are fragmented and sector-specific, limiting their ability to capture cross-scale interdependencies and sustainability of trade-offs. While existing reviews address methods in isolation, no updated systematic framework is built upon joint epistemological and participatory dimensions, proposing an integrated and transformative framework. Through a common analytical framework—encompassing the type of impact assessed, territorial scale, methodological approach, degree of stakeholder participation, and operational complexity—the paper presents a systematic comparative review of eleven widely used evaluation methods, covering the environmental, economic, social, and multidimensional dimensions. These methods are selected through screening of peer-reviewed literature published between 2022 and 2025 using an AI-assisted text-mining protocol to support keyword extraction, methodological classification, and manual validation. Its focus is on the analysis and critique of their characteristics, complexity, and epistemological limitations, particularly focusing on measurability and participation. The comparative analysis reveals a structural epistemological gap between qualitative bottom-up perspectives and quantitative, top-down approaches, as well as structural fragmentation across evaluative dimensions. They also draw attention to the approaches’ inadequate ability to manage non-linear dynamics, uncertainty, and transformative scenarios, which affects the legitimacy, comparability, and general efficacy of decision-making processes. Building on these, the paper advances a paradigmatic shift toward three systemic integrated principles: (i) systemic evaluation grounded in methodological and epistemological integration; (ii) transformative evaluation oriented toward collective learning and the redefinition of development trajectories; and (iii) co-produced evaluation based on the active engagement of territorial actors. Full article

Urban parks provide key ecosystem services and support everyday recreation, but their multifunctional use often creates mismatches between planned functions and diverse public demands. Taking Chaoyang Park in Beijing as the study area, this study applied Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGISs) to map landscape values and identify recreation conflicts. Boundary-based and inductive social landscape metrics were used to analyze the spatial patterns of six landscape values: aesthetic value, ecological value, recreational value, cultural value, healing value and economic value. Kernel density analysis was further used to identify recreation conflict hotspots and examine their spatial association with landscape value agglomeration. The results show that the landscape values in Chaoyang Park are characterized by multi-value agglomeration in core areas and functional differentiation in peripheral areas. Aesthetic value, recreational value and ecological value are the dominant value types, and their spatial distribution is highly consistent with the planning orientations of functional areas. Recreation conflicts are mainly manifested as activity disturbances and space contention, and are jointly associated with overlapping spatial functions, divergent activity characteristics and unbalanced facility allocation. This study demonstrates that PPGISs can support refined management and recreation conflict regulation in large urban parks, providing evidence for public participation planning and sustainable management of urban green spaces in high-density cities. Full article

Spatiotemporal differentiation and coupled driving mechanisms of urban ecological resilience in transboundary composite economic belts remain an understudied niche within human–land coupling system research. Taking 29 prefecture-level and county-level units of the Huaihe River Eco-Economic Belt from 2014 to 2023 as research samples, this study constructs an ecological resilience evaluation framework tailored to the pollution disturbance characteristics of the Huaihe River Basin under a three-dimensional theoretical framework encompassing resistance, adaptability, and recoverability. The entropy weight method is adopted to calculate comprehensive ecological resilience values, while the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is applied to identify spatiotemporal heterogeneous correlations among multiple influencing factors. This paper further characterizes the spatiotemporal evolutionary patterns of urban ecological resilience across the study area and unpacks the coupled associative effects of natural, economic, and social driving factors. The empirical results reveal three key findings: (1) Temporally, the overall comprehensive ecological resilience of the study region rose from 0.318 to 0.416, with a total growth rate of 30.91%. Its evolutionary trajectory follows three successive phases: rapid growth, steady improvement, and slow saturation. Adaptability, which is predominantly boosted by anthropogenic environmental governance, constitutes the primary contributor to resilience growth. The range of urban resilience values narrowed by 9.97%, indicating continuous advancement in balanced regional development. (2) Spatially, ecological resilience presents a prominent core-periphery pattern, with high-resilience zones concentrated in mountainous southwestern areas and low-resilience zones distributed across northeastern plains. All low-resilience county-level units were eliminated by 2023. (3) In terms of driving associations, topographic relief and environmental governance investment maintain persistent positive correlations with ecological resilience, while per capita GDP acts as the core economic supportive factor. The proportion of secondary industry and population density exhibit significant negative correlations with resilience. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) shifts from a negative correlation to a weak positive correlation alongside progressive ecological restoration, whereas river network variables exert negligible long-term associative impacts. Collectively, the spatiotemporally heterogeneous coupling of natural endowments, industrial-economic conditions, and social governance factors shapes the evolutionary patterns of regional ecological resilience. This study fills the research gap regarding long-timescale resilience driving mechanisms for transprovincial composite river basins covering five provinces. It identifies novel human–land coupling mechanisms, including the temporal reversal of vegetation’s ecological benefits and the dual stress imposed by industrial agglomeration and dense human settlements in plain regions. The quantitative outputs of this research can provide data-based references for differentiated coordinated ecological governance across the Huaihe Ecological Economic Belt. Full article

Land and industrial systems form the cornerstone of regional sustainable development. Widespread misuse of land often accompanies industrial structure evolution (ISE), making the promotion of comprehensive land use benefits (LUB) a pivotal obstacle to regional sustainability. This study establishes an integrated framework to evaluate the dynamic characteristics of ISE and its interactive responses to multidimensional (ecological, social, and economic) LUB. The ISE assessment covers long-term changes in industrial investment, employment, and economic output, while LUB systematically integrates the ecological, social, and economic values of land resources. Combined with an enhanced genetic algorithm, a multi-objective optimization model is constructed and applied to 33 counties in Zhejiang Province, China. The results indicate that regional LUB exhibits obvious spatial heterogeneity and staged evolution from 2000 to 2020, with the regional industrial structure transforming from industrial-driven to service-oriented. The proposed model formulates targeted industrial adjustment pathways to resolve tertiary industry overinvestment and unbalanced secondary industry development. The optimization effectively promotes comprehensive land use sustainability, realizing differentiated regional progress including economic upgrading in the east, multidimensional coordination in the south, social benefit improvement in the north, and ecological sustainability promotion in the west. This study provides theoretical and practical references for high-quality regional sustainable development. Full article

Construction waste management (CWM) is vital for enhancing resource utilization, ecological civilization, and high-quality development. Technological innovation is the cornerstone of efficient CWM, driving waste reduction, reuse, and recycling practices. Understanding the relevance of CWM technological innovation across different regions is an important foundation for the scientific formulation of CWM policies and a key entry point for achieving a circular economy. This study employs patents to reflect CWM technological innovation, uses social network analysis (SNA) to explore its spatial network characteristics, and adopts a quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) to verify its influencing factors across Chinese provinces. Results demonstrate significant overall network characteristics in CWM technological innovation, though technological innovation in CWM exhibits low spatial correlation among provincial regions of China. The analysis reveals a pronounced polarization in the CWM innovation networks across Chinese provinces, demonstrating a distinct core–periphery structure. Although spatial clustering in China’s CWM technological innovation is evident, correlations mostly exist within blocks, indicating a need to enhance inter-block correlations. The greater the disparity in living standards and the smaller the differences in economic structure, educational development, and urban construction, the more likely provinces are to establish spatial associations, thereby increasing the probability of forming a spatial correlation network of CWM technological innovation. This study contributes to the growing literature on construction waste management by providing a spatial network perspective for understanding regional technological innovation and its driving mechanisms. The findings inform regional coordinated strategies for sustainable CWM practices. Full article

Wild boar populations have expanded globally due to factors such as habitat restoration, climate change, and adjustments in hunting policies. This expansion has led to agricultural losses, threats to public safety, disease transmission, and ecological damage, thereby exacerbating human–animal conflicts. Current strategies for mitigating conflicts between wild boars and humans face challenges, including insufficient assessment of long-term control effects and limitations in population dynamics monitoring technologies. This paper reviews mitigation strategies for global wild boar conflicts from ecological, economic, and social perspectives and provides a comprehensive evaluation for their effectiveness. Existing mitigation strategies include population control (hunting management and reproductive regulation), habitat management (landscape barriers and food resource regulation), physical protection (electric fences and multimodal deterrence devices), and community engagement mechanisms (ecological compensation and participatory management). The effectiveness of these strategies varies significantly across regions. Global case studies on human–wild boar conflicts demonstrate that multidimensional collaborative governance has achieved notable success in mitigating these conflicts. For example, dynamic management systems based on intelligent monitoring and community participation can effectively reduce the incidence of wild boar conflicts. Given the limitations of the current single-indicator evaluations, this paper proposes a comprehensive evaluation framework encompassing “strategy effectiveness, cost, and sustainability”. The application of synergistic multi-strategy approaches produces significant synergistic effects, exhibiting nonlinear superposition characteristics. Therefore, future efforts should integrate intelligent early warning systems and policy reforms to develop an adaptive social–ecological coupling framework. Full article