Ramona Strohschön | RWTH Aachen University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Ramona Strohschön
In developing and newly industrialized countries, population growth and migration contribute imme... more In developing and newly industrialized countries, population growth and migration contribute immensely to the development of megacities and mega urban areas. In most cases, the rapid development ofcities has far-reaching consequences for the ecosystem in general and the hydrological cycle in particular. The developments in China within the last decades show an interesting, but complex setting. Massive and rapidly occurring land use changes in the economically booming South-Chinese Pearl River Delta result in rising hazards and risks for the urban water resources and often in a severe deterioration of water quality. The quantity and quality of local groundwater sources is, however, much less investigated than the situation of the surface waters. In order to supporting a better protection of the urban groundwater resources, the aims of this article are to analyze the vulnerability of the groundwater and the potential hazards and risks for groundwater resulting from land use changes – ...
2018 was the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the reform and opening policy (gaigekaifang, 改革... more 2018 was the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the reform and opening policy (gaigekaifang, 改革开放) of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 4 decades, the country has undergone tremendous transformations under the leadership of the Communist Party. Some 40 years ago, the People's Republic of China was largely an agricultural state and, for political reasons, almost isolated from world trade. The reform and opening policy initiated by DENG XIAOPING in 1978 has brought unprecedented dimensions of economic growth, national migration, urban expansion and transformation. Since 2010, China is the second largest economy in the world. Downsides to this development are serious hydrological problems and immense challenges of water supply and sanitation. In the northern and north-eastern provinces, which suffer from natural water shortages, the increasing pollution of surface waters and the overuse of groundwater has led to a serious imbalance in the human-environment structure. As a result, the focus of the (mostly Chinese) scientists has long been on these regions as well as on the floods of Chang Jiang, while regions like the southern Pearl River Delta have been neglected. Only after the ecological damage had increased, this area's developments received more (inter-)national attention. However, by 2007, even government agencies were prohibited from releasing environmental data. Accordingly, the research situation presented itself: studies on groundwater quality, surface water quality and structural quality of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) and its tributaries in the area of South Chinese megacities as well as the (in-)formal water supply of the population did not exist for the period of the studies (2007-2011), or only with a vague wording. An overall view was missing.The aim of the dissertation is to determine the water-related vulnerability of the megacity of Guangzhou. This includes, on the one hand, the social vulnerability of the population with regard to their water and sanitation supply, and, on the other, t [...]
This interdisciplinary paper aims at Guangzhou’s development and its effects on surface andground... more This interdisciplinary paper aims at Guangzhou’s development and its effects on surface andgroundwater quality taking the new city axis as an example. Qualitative morphological analyses, field mappings, interviews and water sampling of standard in-situ and various hydrochemical parameters were conducted between 2007 and 2009 in order to examine the following research questions: Which types of land use can be found within the new city axis? Are there infrastructure differences of water supply and wastewater disposal? How does land use affect the quality of surface and groundwater? How do inhabitants perceive and appraise settlement structures, infrastructures and environmental quality and how do they cope with their individual situation? Within four small-scale research areas, so-called urban units, different stages and types of development and factors influencing the water resources as well as spatial variations of water quality could be identified. Deficits in city planning, water ...
Cybergeo, 2011
Auswirkungen der Interimsnutzung von Brachflächen auf die lokale hydrologische Situation in Guang... more Auswirkungen der Interimsnutzung von Brachflächen auf die lokale hydrologische Situation in Guangzhou, China. Abandoned sites: urban voids of the megacity The impact of interim use of abandoned sites on the hydrological situation in Guangzhou, China Des surfaces abandonnées: Blancs urbains de la mégapole L'utilisation temporaire des surfaces abandonnées et ses effets sur la situation hydrologique locale à Guangzhou, Chine
Die Erde; Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin
Economic and demographic growth and restructuring processes have led to severe social and ecologi... more Economic and demographic growth and restructuring processes have led to severe social and ecological problems in Chinese megacities. Using the vulnerability approach as analytical framework, the study presented here investigates formal and informal processes which determine the ecological as well as the social vulnerability in an urban village in the expanding city of Guangzhou. The main questions are: In what way and why do living conditions of different population groups change? What are the central institutional factors for these changes? And which agency strategies exist for households of different origin and socioeconomic background to cope with the rapidly changing socioeconomic and natural environment?
Since China adopted its "open-door" policy in 1978/ 79, the Pearl River Delta became on... more Since China adopted its "open-door" policy in 1978/ 79, the Pearl River Delta became one of the most rapid and dynamic urbanizing areas in East Asia due to migration, industrialization and globalization processes. The study area Guangzhou grew from a small town to a megacity with some 15 million inhabitants within less than 30 years. The rapid population growth and the urban and industrial expansion led to a remarkably increasing demand for freshwater, a high water consume and a rising sewage production. While economy and house constructions developed very fast, the expansion of water infrastructures could not keep pace with the urban growth. The consequences arising out of these situations are a serious deterioration of the surface and groundwater resources but also a degradation of living conditions and a threat to human health, particularly of the urban poor. In contrast to other studies that often consider the surface water quality outside Guangzhou, our focus was put ...
Megacities, 2013
The megacity Guangzhou in the South-Chinese Pearl River Delta is one of the most economically dyn... more The megacity Guangzhou in the South-Chinese Pearl River Delta is one of the most economically dynamic and rapidly urbanizing areas in the world and meanwhile home to some 15 million people. The urban growth, which also includes various spatial structural changes in the city center as well as in the peri-urban area, has created severe deterioration of water quality within the last 30 years.
Due to China’s economic liberalization at the end of the 1970s and the institutionalization of nu... more Due to China’s economic liberalization at the end of the 1970s and the institutionalization of numerous special economic areas, Chinese agglomeration areas such as the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China have recorded great economic growth in a relatively short period of time and – caused primarily by national migration – an exorbitant increase in population. Urban areas like Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Dongguan grew from small cities into giant megacities within a short time. Over the course of this development, the PRD has become one of the most dynamic and densely populated regions in China and, moreover, is among the regions in the world with the fastest rate of urbanization (Baier and Strohschön 2007). These dynamic development processes not only led to transformations of the population structure, civic economy and urban morphology, but also to considerable ecological problems and thus to changes in quality of life.
Uwf Umweltwirtschaftsforum, 2009
In China urbanization developed quite late in international comparison due to the household regis... more In China urbanization developed quite late in international comparison due to the household registration system which made migration into cities difficult until the state opened politically and economically in 1978. Since then the study area Guangzhou, located in the Pearl River Delta, belongs to one of the most dynamic and rapid growing regions in China. Migration, industrialization and urbanization led and are still leading to an uncontrollable and incalculable development of the city causing not at least serious consequences for the environment. Regarding the water resources, problems of water supply and purity of drinking water as well as adequate sanitation facilities, sewage disposal and treatment of wastewater are apparent and endanger parts of Guangzhou's population: access to good water quality often depends on the social status and living standard. In particular, domestic wastewater is discharged untreated into water bodies forming the main source of pollution in river water in the Pearl River Delta nowadays. Surface and groundwater quality are increasingly deteriorating which also affects human health given that groundwater is still used directly as drinking water.
In developing and newly industrialized countries, population growth and migration contribute imme... more In developing and newly industrialized countries, population growth and migration contribute immensely to the development of megacities and mega urban areas. In most cases, the rapid development ofcities has far-reaching consequences for the ecosystem in general and the hydrological cycle in particular. The developments in China within the last decades show an interesting, but complex setting. Massive and rapidly occurring land use changes in the economically booming South-Chinese Pearl River Delta result in rising hazards and risks for the urban water resources and often in a severe deterioration of water quality. The quantity and quality of local groundwater sources is, however, much less investigated than the situation of the surface waters. In order to supporting a better protection of the urban groundwater resources, the aims of this article are to analyze the vulnerability of the groundwater and the potential hazards and risks for groundwater resulting from land use changes – ...
2018 was the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the reform and opening policy (gaigekaifang, 改革... more 2018 was the 40th anniversary of the beginning of the reform and opening policy (gaigekaifang, 改革开放) of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 4 decades, the country has undergone tremendous transformations under the leadership of the Communist Party. Some 40 years ago, the People's Republic of China was largely an agricultural state and, for political reasons, almost isolated from world trade. The reform and opening policy initiated by DENG XIAOPING in 1978 has brought unprecedented dimensions of economic growth, national migration, urban expansion and transformation. Since 2010, China is the second largest economy in the world. Downsides to this development are serious hydrological problems and immense challenges of water supply and sanitation. In the northern and north-eastern provinces, which suffer from natural water shortages, the increasing pollution of surface waters and the overuse of groundwater has led to a serious imbalance in the human-environment structure. As a result, the focus of the (mostly Chinese) scientists has long been on these regions as well as on the floods of Chang Jiang, while regions like the southern Pearl River Delta have been neglected. Only after the ecological damage had increased, this area's developments received more (inter-)national attention. However, by 2007, even government agencies were prohibited from releasing environmental data. Accordingly, the research situation presented itself: studies on groundwater quality, surface water quality and structural quality of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) and its tributaries in the area of South Chinese megacities as well as the (in-)formal water supply of the population did not exist for the period of the studies (2007-2011), or only with a vague wording. An overall view was missing.The aim of the dissertation is to determine the water-related vulnerability of the megacity of Guangzhou. This includes, on the one hand, the social vulnerability of the population with regard to their water and sanitation supply, and, on the other, t [...]
This interdisciplinary paper aims at Guangzhou’s development and its effects on surface andground... more This interdisciplinary paper aims at Guangzhou’s development and its effects on surface andgroundwater quality taking the new city axis as an example. Qualitative morphological analyses, field mappings, interviews and water sampling of standard in-situ and various hydrochemical parameters were conducted between 2007 and 2009 in order to examine the following research questions: Which types of land use can be found within the new city axis? Are there infrastructure differences of water supply and wastewater disposal? How does land use affect the quality of surface and groundwater? How do inhabitants perceive and appraise settlement structures, infrastructures and environmental quality and how do they cope with their individual situation? Within four small-scale research areas, so-called urban units, different stages and types of development and factors influencing the water resources as well as spatial variations of water quality could be identified. Deficits in city planning, water ...
Cybergeo, 2011
Auswirkungen der Interimsnutzung von Brachflächen auf die lokale hydrologische Situation in Guang... more Auswirkungen der Interimsnutzung von Brachflächen auf die lokale hydrologische Situation in Guangzhou, China. Abandoned sites: urban voids of the megacity The impact of interim use of abandoned sites on the hydrological situation in Guangzhou, China Des surfaces abandonnées: Blancs urbains de la mégapole L'utilisation temporaire des surfaces abandonnées et ses effets sur la situation hydrologique locale à Guangzhou, Chine
Die Erde; Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin
Economic and demographic growth and restructuring processes have led to severe social and ecologi... more Economic and demographic growth and restructuring processes have led to severe social and ecological problems in Chinese megacities. Using the vulnerability approach as analytical framework, the study presented here investigates formal and informal processes which determine the ecological as well as the social vulnerability in an urban village in the expanding city of Guangzhou. The main questions are: In what way and why do living conditions of different population groups change? What are the central institutional factors for these changes? And which agency strategies exist for households of different origin and socioeconomic background to cope with the rapidly changing socioeconomic and natural environment?
Since China adopted its "open-door" policy in 1978/ 79, the Pearl River Delta became on... more Since China adopted its "open-door" policy in 1978/ 79, the Pearl River Delta became one of the most rapid and dynamic urbanizing areas in East Asia due to migration, industrialization and globalization processes. The study area Guangzhou grew from a small town to a megacity with some 15 million inhabitants within less than 30 years. The rapid population growth and the urban and industrial expansion led to a remarkably increasing demand for freshwater, a high water consume and a rising sewage production. While economy and house constructions developed very fast, the expansion of water infrastructures could not keep pace with the urban growth. The consequences arising out of these situations are a serious deterioration of the surface and groundwater resources but also a degradation of living conditions and a threat to human health, particularly of the urban poor. In contrast to other studies that often consider the surface water quality outside Guangzhou, our focus was put ...
Megacities, 2013
The megacity Guangzhou in the South-Chinese Pearl River Delta is one of the most economically dyn... more The megacity Guangzhou in the South-Chinese Pearl River Delta is one of the most economically dynamic and rapidly urbanizing areas in the world and meanwhile home to some 15 million people. The urban growth, which also includes various spatial structural changes in the city center as well as in the peri-urban area, has created severe deterioration of water quality within the last 30 years.
Due to China’s economic liberalization at the end of the 1970s and the institutionalization of nu... more Due to China’s economic liberalization at the end of the 1970s and the institutionalization of numerous special economic areas, Chinese agglomeration areas such as the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China have recorded great economic growth in a relatively short period of time and – caused primarily by national migration – an exorbitant increase in population. Urban areas like Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Dongguan grew from small cities into giant megacities within a short time. Over the course of this development, the PRD has become one of the most dynamic and densely populated regions in China and, moreover, is among the regions in the world with the fastest rate of urbanization (Baier and Strohschön 2007). These dynamic development processes not only led to transformations of the population structure, civic economy and urban morphology, but also to considerable ecological problems and thus to changes in quality of life.
Uwf Umweltwirtschaftsforum, 2009
In China urbanization developed quite late in international comparison due to the household regis... more In China urbanization developed quite late in international comparison due to the household registration system which made migration into cities difficult until the state opened politically and economically in 1978. Since then the study area Guangzhou, located in the Pearl River Delta, belongs to one of the most dynamic and rapid growing regions in China. Migration, industrialization and urbanization led and are still leading to an uncontrollable and incalculable development of the city causing not at least serious consequences for the environment. Regarding the water resources, problems of water supply and purity of drinking water as well as adequate sanitation facilities, sewage disposal and treatment of wastewater are apparent and endanger parts of Guangzhou's population: access to good water quality often depends on the social status and living standard. In particular, domestic wastewater is discharged untreated into water bodies forming the main source of pollution in river water in the Pearl River Delta nowadays. Surface and groundwater quality are increasingly deteriorating which also affects human health given that groundwater is still used directly as drinking water.