ALBERT

Description: The green retrofitting of existing residential buildings is an important approach to realise the sustainable development of stock buildings. In addition to the new technologies and materials related to green retrofitting, the intention of residents toward the green retrofitting of existing residential buildings must be understood. However, the factors affecting such intentions are still unclear. Hence, this study refers to the extended theory of planed behaviour and constructs a theoretical model of the intention toward the green retrofitting of existing residential buildings. On the basis of the data from 507 questionnaires collected from eastern and western China, the theoretical model is tested via structural equation modelling (SEM). Multigroup SEM is used to analyse the differences in population characteristics and the intention of residents toward the green retrofitting of existing residential buildings in residential areas. Research results reveal the following: (1) the most important factors affecting residents’ intention toward green retrofitting are policy factors, followed by cognition of green retrofitting, behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control; (2) policy factors not only directly affect residents’ intention toward green retrofitting but also indirectly affect their intention toward existing residential green retrofitting through perceived behavioural control; (3) residents’ cognition of green retrofitting exerts no significant direct impact on their intention toward green retrofitting, but it does indirectly affect their intention toward green retrofitting through behaviour and subjective norms; (4) behaviour, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control have direct and significant influences on intention toward green retrofitting; (5) demographic characteristics (gender, age, monthly family income, education level, and occupation) and regional variables (east and west) present significant differences in different influence paths. The conclusion of the study provides a targeted path reference for the promotion of the green retrofitting of existing residential buildings.

Description: Agricultural irrigation strongly affects groundwater pollution in cultivated areas. Groundwater vulnerability was evaluated using the DRASTIC method by considering agricultural activities that affect water infiltration and pollutant transport to the groundwater. Three scenarios, using different water recharge sources and calculation methods, were considered for the Tongliao area of northern China. For Scenario 1, only precipitation contributed to the net recharge estimation and ~33.77% of the area was under high pollution risk. For Scenarios 2 and 3, both precipitation and irrigation return water were considered for net recharge estimations. The fractional areas of high pollution risk regions were 40.60% and 19.22% for Scenarios 2 and 3, respectively. The modified infiltration coefficients for this study area were used in Scenario 3, and the fractional area of the high-risk region was 21.38% lower than for Scenario 2. The use of empirical infiltration coefficients in Scenario 2 overestimated the water infiltration ability in the cultivated areas, which also overestimated the fractional area of high-risk regions in this study. Accurate assessment of the impact of agricultural activities on the groundwater pollution risk is essential for cultivated areas. Emphasis should be placed on the calculation method of proper parameters for DRASTIC model construction.