The network utility analysis of "cancer villages" and surrounding big cities in Huaihe river Basin

Abstract

The urbanization process continues to accelerate over the past decades, bringing great wealth to mankind, but also brought a lot of environmental problems such as the air pollution, water pollution and the solid waste pollution. These pollutants are to a certain extent cause some influences on the development of the cities. For example, the "cancer villages" has become a hot topic these years and has aroused extensive attention among scholars. This study aims to understand the relationship between the "cancer villages" and the "large cities" around them. The ecological network analysis is used to analyze the relationship between cancer villages and the adjacent large cities. The network utility analysis is used to analyze the intensity and patterns of the relationships between "cancer villages" and the large cities, and a mutual index M is established to reflect the degree of mutualism between the "cancer villages" and the large cities. The results show that "cancer villages" both affect and are affected by cities through indirect feedback relationships. Moreover, the composition between the "cancer villages" and the adjacent cities is a highly competitive urban metabolic network. Considering these indirect connections, not all of the "cancer villages" are able to reduce their pollution by transferring it to another city or county because it can return through indirect pathways. The best approach would be to lower the pollution generation in the first place in order to prevent its impacts, as well as to at least partially mitigate them through more effective medical care.