This thesis explores the environmental and public health damages associated with the informal e-waste recycling industry in China and provides an overview of Chinese policies regulating e-waste. Furthermore, the thesis examines how the United States has contributed to these ecological and human health damages by exporting e-waste to China and failing to regulate the US e-waste recycling industry.

Introduction – The scene for this thesis is set in the highly regulated automotive industry. Recent scandals in the automotive industry have shown that companies have manipulated their emission results in order to pass regulations. The regulations are from the beginning implemented to protect the environment and encourage companies to develop green innovation but the authors question if regulations puts more pressure on the companies than they can handle. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how regulations affect green innovation. Method – The authors adopted a pragmatist research philosophy and used an abductive research method. The empirical data has been gathered through a qualitative study, conducting semi structured interviews with companies within the automotive industry. The abductive research approach meant that the frame of reference has been updated and revised when new data, which was previously not covered in the theory, was gained from the interviews. With a five-step process the authors have analyzed the empirical data with the frame of references and from the result drawn conclusion. Conclusion – The conclusions drawn in this thesis is that regulations have a positive impact on companies green incremental innovation and can have both an inhibitory and a positive effect on radical green innovation. However, there are few underlying factors affecting the outcome such as infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication. Contribution – The contribution of this thesis has added new qualitative knowledge to the research field on how regulations affect green innovation. By localizing and highlighting the factors found in the conclusion, companies and policy makers can cooperate to enhance the development of green radical innovations in the future. Future research - Future researcher are encouraged to investigate how infrastructure, technology neutrality and communication each are affecting green radical innovation. Key words: Green innovation, Regulations, Government policy and the Automotive Industry Paper type: Master thesis

published_or_final_version / abstract / Biological Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Although urban green infrastructure [UGI] is increasingly characterized as an asset because it simultaneously serves critical social and environmental functions, few planning tools or research approaches exist where multiple functions are integrated into a systemic spatial analysis. Accordingly, this report examines the utility of ergonomics as a methodological approach to integrate the natural and social sciences and forge a deeper understanding of UGI multifunctionality. Five administrative districts in Dresden [Germany] were selected as a study area to carry out this analysis. Mixed methods were used to categorize and measure various social and environmental functions of UGI cases, and outcomes analyzed for spatial clustering in GIS. Results from this study provide strong evidence that combining social and environmental variables can significantly inform the way UGI networks are perceived and valued. / text

The State of Illinois and Federal government have designated one of three major rail corridors bisecting Springfield, Illinois, to be retrofitted to accommodate future high-speed rail traffic. The three corridors that bisect the city are known as the 3rd Street, 10th Street, and 19th Street corridors, each running north to south through the central city area. The approved plan completely decommissions the 3rd Street Corridor while expanding the 10th Street corridor to serve rail traffic currently using both of these corridors. Traffic to run along the expanded 10th Street corridor will include Amtrak's high-speed rail passenger service between St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The decommissioning of the 3rd Street Corridor in Springfield presents an opportunity for green infrastructure development in the form of a linear park. More broadly, this report argues that increasing quality of life amenities via the redevelopment of rail infrastructure provides a viable alternative economic development strategy for cities facing stagnant growth. / text

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