The rapid increase in the aging population has raised significant concerns about the living conditions and well-being of elderly residents in old communities. This study addresses these concerns by proposing a Sustainable Urban Renovation Assessment Model (SURAM) specifically designed to enhance elderly-friendly environments in Chongqing City. The model encompasses multiple dimensions, including the comfort of public facilities, service safety and convenience, medical travel services, infrastructure security, life service convenience, neighbor relations, ambulance aid accessibility, commercial service facilities, privacy protection, elderly care facilities and service supply, and medical and health facilities. By employing factor analysis, the study reduces the dimensionality of the 49 indicator factors, allowing for a more focused and comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of aging-friendly renovation efforts. The main factors identified in the proposed model include community infrastructure security, elderly comfort of community public facilities, completeness and convenience of surrounding living services, and security and convenience of elderly care services. The results reveal that the age-appropriate comfort of public facilities plays a significant role in achieving successful aging-appropriate renovation outcomes. The findings demonstrate that by addressing specific needs such as safety, accessibility, and convenience, communities can significantly improve the quality of life for elderly residents. Moreover, the application of SURAM provides actionable insights for policymakers, urban planners, and community stakeholders, guiding them in implementing targeted initiatives for sustainable and inclusive urban development.

Urbanization process affects global socio-economic development. Originally tied to modernization and industrialization, current urbanization policy is focused on productivity, economic activities, and environmental sustainability. This study examines impact of urbanization in various regions of Kazakhstan, focusing on environmental, social, labor, industrial, and economic indicators. The study aims to assess how different indicators influence urbanization trends in Kazakhstan, particularly regarding environmental emissions and pollution. It delves into regional development patterns and identifies key contributing factors. The research methodology is based on classical economic theories of urbanization and modern interpretations emphasizing sustainability and socio-economic impacts and includes two stages. Shannon entropy measures diversity and uncertainty in urbanization indicators, while cluster analysis identifies regional patterns. Data from 2010 to 2022 for 17 regions forms the basis of analysis. Regions are categorized into groups based on urbanization levels leaders, challenged, stable, and outliers. This classification reveals disparities in urban development and its impacts. Findings stress the importance of integrating environmental and social considerations into urban planning and policies. Targeted interventions based on regional characteristics and urbanization levels are recommended to enhance sustainability and socio-economic outcomes. Tailored urban policies accommodating specific regional needs are crucial. Effective management and policy-making demand a nuanced understanding of these impacts, emphasizing region-specific strategies over a uniform approach.

Ecological environment damage events will destroy or damage the balance between animal and plant habitats and ecosystems, and even pose a threat to China’s ecological security. However, at present, there are some problems in the identification and evaluation of forest ecosystem damage, such as imperfect evaluation system, insufficient quantitative evaluation methods, imperfect damage compensation management system, and lack of analysis of the overall damage of the interaction between human activities and forest ecosystem. Based on the damaged object, the system involves a total of four first-class indicators, including physical damage, mental damage, economic forest fruit loss, forest by-products loss, processing and manufacturing loss, forest tourism loss, scientific research literature and history loss, soil conservation loss, water conservation loss, wind prevention and sand fixation loss, carbon fixation and oxygen release loss, atmospheric purification loss. There are 14 secondary indicators of emergency treatment fee and investigation and evaluation fee, as well as 22 tertiary indicators, and the value quantification method of each indicator is clarified by using market value method, alternative cost method, shadow engineering method, recovery cost method and other methods. The article also discusses the management system of forest ecosystem damage from the two aspects of forestry technology department and judicial administration department. The purpose is to provide reference for the quantification and standardization of forest ecosystem damage assessment technology and the improvement of management system.

This study investigates seismic risk and potential impacts of future earthquakes in the Sunda Strait region, known for its susceptibility to significant seismic events due to the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate. The aim is to assess the likelihood of major earthquakes, estimate their impact, and propose strategies to mitigate associated risks. The research uses historical seismic data and probabilistic models to forecast earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 6.0 to 8.2 Mw. The Gutenberg-Richter model helps project potential earthquake occurrences and their impacts. The findings suggest that the probability of a major earthquake could occur as early as 2026–2027, with a more significant event estimated to likely occur around 2031. Economic estimates for a 7.8–8.2 Mw earthquake suggest potential damage of up to USD 1.255 billion with significant loss of life. The study identifies key vulnerabilities, such as inadequate building foundations and ineffective disaster management infrastructure, which could worsen the impact of future seismic events. In conclusion, the research highlights the urgent need for comprehensive seismic risk mitigation strategies. Recommendations include reinforcing infrastructure to comply with seismic standards, implementing advanced early warning systems, and enhancing public education on earthquake preparedness. Additionally, government policies must address these issues by increasing funding for disaster management, enforcing building regulations, and incorporating traditional knowledge into construction practices. These measures are essential to reducing future earthquake impacts and improving community resilience.

The year of 2024 marked the twelfth anniversary of the cooperative mechanism between China and Central and Eastern European countries (China-CEEC). China has repeatedly affirmed its willingness to implement the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), which created many opportunities to enhance the cooperation of the two sides. The paper exemplified some cases in the process of the cooperation, which were rarely discussed previously as normally it was dominated by the large-scale investment project. The cases of the climate change and ocean issues were perceived as a package of holistic EU-China relations that demonstrates the commitments from both sides to deal with SDG 13 and SDG 14. A qualitative method of the policy-circle evaluation and the goal-setting in the global governance was applied in the paper. The findings affirm that the current China-CEEC cooperation scheme is still carrying on both opportunities and challenges and affected by various internal and external factors.