Industrial pollution resulting in mass incidents: Urban residents' behavior and conflict mitigation

Authored by Yong Liu

Date Published: 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.08.125

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Industrial environmental pollution often entails conflicts of interest; therefore, it is more likely than many other factors to result in a mass incident and challenge sustainable development and cleaner production. Employing an adaptive agent-based model, this study explored mass incidents from the perspective of residents' behavior, influencing factors, and conflict mitigation policies. Results from the simulation model revealed three types of residents' behavior: no behavior, lawful behavior, and extreme behavior, moreover, residents' behavior changed slightly as their legal awareness increased. Similarly, the timing of government actions and the speed with which firms responded to environmental grievances related to their practices did not clearly affect residents' behavior. In contrast, other factors such as satisfaction with the compensation awarded, levels of pollution health risk, and the speed at which rumors were propagated affected their behavior dramatically. Findings could be incorporated into governmental decision-making to help alleviate environmental pollution conflicts. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based model China Risk Complex Firms Environmental-health Industrial pollution Mass incident Environmental policy Air