Reuse of Large-Scale Mine Wastelands in Peri-Urban Areas Based on Perceptions of Residents’ Health Needs

• Published in: Journal of urban planning and development 2024-06, Vol.150 (2)
• Main Authors: Hong, Zhizhong, Liang, Tao, Garcia, Ester Higueras, Wang, Lingqing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case Studies; Case Study; Cities; Construction; Cultural tourism; Industrial development; Questionnaires; Regional development; Restoration; Rural populations; Site surveys; Suburbs; Surveys; Sustainable development; Tourism; Urban areas; Urban environments; Urbanization
• ISSN: 0733-9488; 1943-5444
• DOI: 10.1061/JUPDDM.UPENG-4787

Abstract In the twenty-first century, with the development of urbanization, large-scale mine wastelands in peri-urban areas have become increasingly closely related to the daily lives of urban and rural residents. Adopting a reuse method that meets the health needs of these residents, restoration, construction of mine wastelands in the suburbs of cities, and the formation of high-quality healthy environments and service supply are in line with the demands of healthy city construction and sustainable development. In addition, they have received increasing attention from all sectors of society. Based on the main criteria for constructing a healthy urban environment, this paper takes the comprehensive remediation and construction project of mine wastelands in the Taiyuan Xishan Ecological and Cultural Tourism Demonstration Area as a case study. It uses on-site surveys and an open-ended web-based questionnaire. It focuses on researching the perceived health needs of urban and rural residents in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, China concerning the main elements that determine health, such as the natural ecological environment, the construction of facilities and activities, and the local economic and industrial development. The results of 748 questionnaires that were completed by participants who effectively participated in the survey show that most participants preferred a comprehensive development model (86.6%) to reuse these areas. In addition, the specific needs of urban and rural residents for health safety, equity and quality, and healthy low-carbon industries should be considered. The differences in demand among groups of citizens due to different ages, living distances, levels of education, and occupations should be comprehensively considered. This paper demonstrates that a full understanding of the health needs of residents has great practical significance when improving the healthy environment and service supply level in mine wasteland restoration and construction and promoting the development of regional healthy city construction. Practical Applications Recently, the healthy environment and sustainable development of areas that host large-scale mine wastelands on the outskirts of cities have received increasing attention from all sectors of society. This paper suggests that during the reuse and construction of these areas, government management, development, and construction companies, planning and design organizations, and other departments that are i