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The Ming Great Wall Military Defense System is the most complete ancient military cultural heritage in China, which is of great significance to the study of China's ancient military defense mechanism and pattern. Military settlement is an important carrier of this mechanism. The estimation and in-depth understanding of its value can further excavate the profound connotation of the military defense system and the Great Wall spatial pattern in the Ming Dynasty. This paper adopts the AHP-CRITIC weighting approach to determine the weights of the historical value, scientific value, social value, cultural value and artistic value of the settlement heritage, so as to construct the value evaluation model of military settlements, and takes 34 Ming Great Wall military settlements in the Liaoxi Corridor as an example for evaluation. The results of the evaluation identified the priority settlements for conservation and development, and also explored their relationship with historical status, urbanization processes and official policies. The evaluation model constructed in this paper has a certain universality, and can also be followed in the evaluation of other military settlements in the Ming Great Wall Defense System, so as to obtain the overall cognition of the settlement system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As major carriers of modern economy and population, cities and towns are vortex centers of pollution migration, and the environmental effects brought about by China's unprecedented urbanization can be imagined, although the specific scale is still a mystery. This paper focuses on the nonlinear response mechanism of urban PM2.5 concentration to the urbanization population scale, considering that China's urbanization development path is dominated by large- and medium-sized cities. The panel data of PM2.5 concentration of Chinese cities observed by satellite during 1998–2016 are used to capture the nonlinear characteristics of panel threshold model (PTM). The estimation results of the double-threshold PTM including the quadratic term of urbanization population show that the U-shaped relationship between urbanization population and PM2.5 concentration is nonlinear adjusted by urban GDP per capita with the two thresholds of 6777 Yuan and 10,296 Yuan at 2010 constant price. When the urban GDP per capita exceeds 10,296 Yuan, the urbanized population at the turning point of the U-shaped curve is 12.967 million people, which only appears in a few super-large cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing. The size matching of urban economy and population is an important follow-up of environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 40 years, China has witnessed the world's largest urbanization process. In light of its natural and cultural conditions featuring resource scarcity, frequent natural disasters, rich cultural heritage and regional disparities and dynamics, this process aggravates the complex and severe problems faced by urban areas, including resource and environmental damage, security risks and cultural degradation. To address these issues, a shift in national and regional urban spatial layouts from improving economic competitiveness to balancing protection and development as well as security and development is needed. Related theories and research methods should also be adjusted accordingly. Therefore, given China's specific conditions and regional spatial layouts, the paper introduces the "national spatial planning theory," which aims to create a sound living environment. The core concept is "precise adaptation," which ensures the adaption of urban development to natural and cultural conditions. It is the first theory that proposes to develop the national urban spatial layout based on the analysis of ecological environment. It also suggests shifting the focus from eco-environment to security and culture as urbanization progresses and problems change constantly. In addition, a method framework and technical system of "precise analysis, adaptive distribution and dynamic evaluation" is formulated to build an adaptive urban spatial layout on the basis of quantitative analysis of the capacity of spatial resources. The practices of regional planning processes on varying scales in the past 20 years are to illustrate the specific applications of the theoretical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gulangyu Island is a special case of social development and changes since modern China. In the past, Chinese and foreign people lived together and Chinese and Western cultures coexisted, resulting in an international community with outstanding cultural diversity and modern quality of life. As a functional carrier, space is of great reference significance to the research on the spatial evolution path of the Gulangyu international community with the accelerating globalization and rapid expansion of urbanization. Based on the interpretation of historical maps and the integration of historical geographic information, this paper explores the evolution path of Gulangyu community space in modern times from the perspective of actor-network theory. It is found that: (1) The change of key actors promotes the spatial evolution of the Gulangyu international community. (2) In the stage of foreign culture dissemination (1840–1902), foreign nationals, as key actors, promoted the formation and development of actor-networks through administrative recruitment and other means, and promoted Gulangyu Island to change from a traditional Minnan community to a modern community form, with the embryonic form of an international community beginning to emerge. (3) In the stage of multicultural integration (1903–1940), overseas Chinese returning home became key actors. The concept of a combination of Western cultures was not only embodied in community management but also acted on space practice to promote the multicultural integration of the Gulangyu international community. This paper summarizes the effects of various factors on the evolution of community space, to provide a reference for other coastal cities to rationally develop islands and promote the multicultural integration of local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of China's land border cultural heritage, aiming to offer guidance for its protection and development. The study compiled a comprehensive database of heritage sites and analyzed their mathematical characteristics based on quantity, type, and quality. The spatial pattern of the cultural heritage was described using kernel density analysis, spatial variability, and spatial correlation, while the driving mechanism was measured based on Geo-Detector model. The findings revealed that the land border areas of China have a total of 1227 cultural heritage, comprising two main types and 18 subtypes. National cultural heritage accounted for 22.74%, with ancient city ruins being the largest type of cultural heritage. The Southwest and Northeast regions of China exhibited high-high clusters and low-low clusters, respectively. Moreover, the study identified history of administrative succession, evolution of historical and cultural, altitude, distance from the city, population density, minority population ratio, urbanization process, and per capita GDP as significant factors impacting the spatial pattern of land border cultural heritage in China. Based on these findings, the study suggests that the government should invest more in border cultural heritage, improve transportation infrastructure in border areas, ensure dynamic inheritance and protection of cultural heritage, and promote the joint development of different types of cultural heritage. The research results will provide data support and decision-making reference for the sustainable development of cultural heritage in land border areas, and can provide a new perspective for the management of cultural heritage in similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the relationship between new urbanization and carbon emission to provide reference opinions for the construction of low-carbon urbanization, an evaluation system between new urbanization and carbon emission was constructed. Then their matching degree relationship was analyzed by coupling coordination degree model based on the data from 2012 to 2021 in Anhui Province, and their development trend from 2023 to 2032 was predicted by gray prediction model. The results show that: (1) New urbanization and carbon emission have the co-trend effect, and the consistency of core impact factors is relatively significant. Among them, the level of new urbanization increases from 0.058 in 2012 to 0.699 in 2021 and carbon emission development increases from 0.023 in 2012 to 0.165 in 2021, which both showing an upward trend. Meanwhile, social urbanization and population carbon emission are the core influencing factors. (2) The coupling coordination degree between new urbanization and carbon emission is low, but the synergy trend is optimistic and there is a large room for improvement. Among them, the coupling coordination coefficient of the coupling system rises from 0.136 in 2012 to 1.412 in 2021 (antagonistic phase), and then reaches 0.820 by 2032 (highly coordinated phase) by forecast. It shows that their current development is unbalanced, but the development trend is good, and there is a chance for improvement. This paper deepens the understanding of the logical correlation between new urbanization and carbon emission, and the following views are formed: (1) Low-carbon development is still the mainstream of new urbanization; (2) The coordination development of new urbanization and carbon emission reduction should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can promoting urbanization and controlling haze pollution result in a win–win situation? Based on panel data from 287 prefecture-level cities in China, this paper uses the three-stage least-squares estimator method(3SLS) and generalized space three-stage least-squares estimator method (GS3SLS) to study the spatial interaction between haze pollution and urbanization. The results show the following: (1) There is a spatial interaction between haze pollution and urbanization. On the whole, haze pollution and urbanization have a typical inverted U-shaped relationship. (2) Haze and urbanization show different relationships in different regions. The haze pollution in the area left of the Hu Line has a linear relationship with urbanization. (3) In addition to haze, urbanization also has a spatial spillover effect. When the haze pollution in the surrounding areas increases, the haze pollution in the area will also increase, but the level of urbanization will increase. When the level of urbanization in the surrounding areas increases, it will promote the level of urbanization in the local area and alleviate the haze pollution in the local area. (4) Tertiary industry, greening, FDI and precipitation can help alleviate haze pollution. FDI and the level of urbanization have a U-shaped relationship. In addition, industry, transportation, population density, economic level and market scale can promote regional urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the steady increase in urbanization that has occurred, China has begun to suffer from serious urban sprawl. Both the increase in urbanization and the subsequent urban sprawl have led to major changes in CO2 emissions. In this paper, we expand the STIRPAT model to empirically analyse the effects of China's urbanization and urban sprawl on CO2 emissions from 1997 to 2018, with regression results showing that both urbanization and urban sprawl have increased CO2 emissions. Further analyses of the mechanisms indicate that urbanization can increase overall CO2 emissions by not only increasing industrial CO2 emissions, but also by increasing construction CO2 emissions and residential consumption CO2 emissions as well. Urban sprawl can increase overall carbon emissions by increasing CO2 emissions from transport, construction and industry. We then make specific suggestions for China's carbon reduction and low-carbon development based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization of Ya'an has brought about a series of environmental issues. By referring to the physical coupling model and using the data from 2010 to 2019, this paper establishes a coupling coordination model of the urbanization and eco-environment in Ya'an. First, the entropy method was used to calculate the weight of each index of urbanization and eco-environment systems. Then, the comprehensive urbanization level of Ya'an was calculated using four indexes: economic, population, spatial and social urbanization. The eco-environment evaluation index system included three main indexes: eco-environment level, pressure and response. Finally, coupling coordination model was used to determine the degree of coupling and coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment, and the spatial correlation of the coordination degree between districts and counties in Ya'an was analyzed. The results show that: (1) economic urbanization (37.76%) and eco-environment pressure (40.50%) made the most significant contributions to the urbanization and eco-environment subsystems, respectively. This shows that economic factors are the most significant contributors in promoting the development of urbanization. As it is very important for Ya'an to reduce environmental pollution and the pressure on the eco-environment, these findings suggest that more attention should be paid to economic development and environmental protection when formulating and implementing policies. (2) The degree of coupling coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment has increased every year, from moderate imbalance to high coordination. The overall development of spatial autocorrelation from positive to negative suggests that Ya'an should strengthen the interregional cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of cities and urban agglomerations, the operation of cities is becoming increasingly complicated, and the risks of urban safety are expanding, which make cities prone to become the place where disasters and accidents occur. Resilient cities can better adapt to changing environment, cope with uncertain risks, and achieve safe and sustainable development. In this paper, the urban resilience model and evaluation techniques were studied, quantitative analysis model of urban resilience was constructed. An urban resilience multi-dimensional evaluation index system and evaluation methods and criteria suitable for Chinese cities were established. The method of urban resilience analysis and optimization simulation was proposed, which included mechanism analysis, scenario construction, and strategy optimization. Based on GIS system, the resilient city evaluation and comprehensive integrated management platform were developed, and demonstration applications were carried out. The results provide favorable scientific and technological support for decision-making of urban safety management and construction of resilient cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The act of balancing simultaneous rapid development of urbanization and ecological environmental protection is an increasingly important strategic agenda of national importance. While focusing on the principle of sustainable development, this paper calculates and analyzes the extent of coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the new urbanization quality (NUQ) and eco-environmental carrying capacity (EECC) of 246 prefecture level and above cities in China. The gravity center moving trajectory, Moran's I and LISA are employed to perform exploratory spatial analysis, and the differences among cities are analyzed by variation coefficient (CV) method. Based on simulation by the NUQ and CCD, results obtained show a continuous growth trend at similar rate among the cities. Meanwhile, the mean value of EECC showed a fluctuating growth trend. The coordinated development type cities were largely concentrated in the coastal areas of the east. In comparison, other areas are dominated by disorders recession type cities and the coordination transition type cities. The center of gravity CCD was found moving from the northeast to the southwest. The situation of HH (CDD main city—high, CDD surrounding cities—high) and LL (CDD main city—low, CDD surrounding cities—low) always accounted for more than seventy percent. The cluster locations of HH and LH (CDD main city—low, CDD surrounding cities—high) are largely concentrated around mega-urban agglomerations comprising the following three major urban agglomerations, i.e., (i) the Yangtze River Delta; (ii) the Pearl River Delta; and (iii) the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. CV of CCD shows that the gap among cities is gradually narrowing. In summary, the results conclude that most of the evaluated cities have not achieved coordinated development. As such, enhancing ecological environment protection awareness, improving the utilization effectiveness of natural resources and gradual elimination of regional differences should be the way forward in facilitating the process of new urban construction. The significance of this research not only helps increase the focus on ecological environmental governance, but also enrich the theoretical system of urbanization, both of which have important theoretical significance and application values in the building of an ecological civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid new-style urbanization process in China has had a significant impact on the inheritance and protection of local culture. This paper quantitatively analyzes the spatiotemporal difference regarding the coupling coordination between the inheritance of local culture and the new-style urbanization process in China. It is found that during the period between 1991 and 2017, the coexistence of inheritance of local culture and new-style urbanization in China has successively undergone three stages, and at present, the coupling coordination between these two processes is still at a relatively low level, featuring significant differences across various regions and a progressive decrease in the degree of coupling coordination from east to west in China. However, the economically underdeveloped regions, especially ethnic minority regions, are under far greater pressure in terms of coordinated coexistence of both the inheritance of local culture and new-style urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of China's economy and society, China's railway transportation system has been dramatically improved in terms of its scale and operational efficiency. To uncover the underlying relationship between urbanization and railway network structure, this paper examines the evolution of China's railway transportation system from 1999 to 2019 by applying complex network theory. The results show that China's railway network (CRN) has become more connected, more "small-world" and more heterogeneous since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Based on the train flow and train travel distance, the evolutionary course of CRN is found to undergo two apparent stages, with a turning point in 2007. By calculating the regional railway connection index (RRCI), it is revealed that the planned core cities in different regions act as bridges connecting the regions to the rest of the whole network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shiyang River Basin is located in the essential zone of Hexi Corridor in China, where the shortage of water resources has intensely impeded the development of the cities there for a long time. Based on the data related to water resources and urbanization system from 2005 to 2017, the paper regarded each county of Wuwei and Jinchang as the minimum research unit, and calculated their water resources constraint intensity (WRCI) every year through comprehensive measurement model, with the conclusion that: (1) In the past 13 years, the WRCI of all counties in the Shiyang River Basin had declined, among which Minqin had the most obvious decline, from an extreme constraint in 2005 to a strong constraint in 2017. The WRCI of Jinchuan was the most stable, fluctuating at a low level, while the decline of other counties was between the two. (2) The overall WRCI of the Shiyang River Basin decreased by about 0.2, from intense constraint to strong constraint, but still was under great pressure of water resources. (3) The WRCI in the Shiyang River Basin had always been "higher in the north than the south, and higher in the downstream area than upstream area". The WRCI of the counties in the upstream area such as Gulang and Tianzhu were relatively low, while WRCI of the counties in the downstream area such as Minqin and Yongchang were at a high level, reflecting the unbalanced spatial development of the basin, but the gap was gradually narrowing. In the future, all counties in the Shiyang River Basin still need to make efforts to tap the potential of utilization of water resources and improve urbanization level in economic and social aspects, so as to realize the goal of regional coordination and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the development of the urban rail transit industry in China from an overall and macroscopic perspective. Multiple factors were considered, such as the degree of urbanization, non-public vehicle ownership, road capacity, and modal share of public transport in international metropolises, as well as planning and construction of urban rail transit systems in China’s large and extra-large cities. Through extensive investigations and research, this paper presents a comprehensive, systematic, and in-depth analysis and explanation of the domestic social demands and environmental background for the development of urban rail transit in China. Based on national development policies and strategic plans, information on current cutting-edge technologies, the adaptability of various urban rail transit modes, industrial technologies, local finances as well as investment and financing models, this study analyzes the opportunities and challenges that the development of urban rail transit in China faces over the 2016-2020 period aligned with China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. This paper aims to provide a forecast and outlook on the period’s ten major trends. The predicted trends include expanded scale, differentiated development, networked structure, multimodal transit systems, industrial standardization, intelligent systems, self-developed technology, diversified funding, international markets, and strategic planning. This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the current situation, development prospects, and future trends of urban rail transit in China and proposes corresponding measures and strategies. The findings can serve as an important and valuable reference for the development of urban rail transit in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of urbanization, large-scale population movement, and disintegration of the traditional communities, the disaster-related social vulnerability in China's coastal areas is presenting new features. Many researchers point out that interacting persistent urban growth and hazard risk accumulation have ratcheted up negative impacts on immigrants, but nevertheless there is less consideration based on what really happens in the focal coastal urbanizing areas from the bottom-up perspective. This paper is devoted to studying a Chinese fishing village to provide a perspective of what factors shape the vulnerability of new-coming immigrants in urbanizing process through an in-depth case study. Based on the original qualitative data, the analysis of spatial, social and political aspects was involved. It concludes that compared with the locals who remained predominant, the immigrants suffer from the social, environmental and institutional pressures which produce or even reproduce the plights of livelihood and status. The results of this study provide policy recommendations for decision-makers to reduce inequality for immigrants and enhance cohesion of society to cope with hazard risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fresh agricultural food online exchange system is gradually becoming an emerging e-business model in China. However, how and when to make an investment in this new business model is risky due to the unique characteristics of fresh agricultural food. In this paper, from a third party decision maker's perspective, we propose an evolutionary discounted cash flow model to investigate the optimum time point for investment. Based on the assumptions of base demand, the derived e-demand occurring on the pendent e-business system can be characterized by non-stationary stochastic processes. Then our new model can further be innovatively analyzed by considering the dynamic scheme of the cash flow and its evolution. The analytical results suggest the optimal investment time point depends upon the consumers' switch rate from the physical store to e-store and on the urbanization rate. A Monte Carlo simulation is further presented to compare the effects of multiple uncertainties embedded into the system. Our uncertainty analysis reveals that when government financial support fluctuates greatly, the optimal investment time could be either in the very beginning or in the end. This optimal time strategy also holds for the random demand factor after the coefficient variation of the demand reaches a certain threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use change is the most prominent feature of Chinese urbanisation. In China, the expansion of land consumed for urban development is inevitable given the rapid increases in the urban economy and urban population, but also in meeting the population's increasing demand for better quality of life. This paper is based on a research study of Wujiang district in Suzhou, which is considered representative of many of the rapid urbanisation areas within the nation. The objective is to develop an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of land use change and how this change contributes to environmental deterioration, as assessed by changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV). In this study, ESV is defined as the environmental products and functions provided for human well-being. Based on local planning documents, Landsat TM remote-sensing images and field surveys, the research analyses the cost to the environment when traditional land uses are transformed into urbanisation. The research demonstrates that conversion to urban land use which ignores the limit and capacity of the environment can generate significant environmental costs, as assessed by ESV, which in turn, can lead to a deterioration of quality of life for inhabitants, the exact opposite of the original intention. The research demonstrates that by mapping the spatial distribution of ecological service values, ESV can be used as a guide to urban sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of urbanization promotes the development of economy and society, and also brings great pressure to the environment. In order to better understand the harmonious and interactive relationship between environment and urbanization, by selecting 13 cities in Hunan province of China as cases, this paper establishes a correlation model and a comprehensive evaluation system, uses entropy weight method to weight the index, the coupling coordination model to analyze the coupling coordination relationships empirically, and gray prediction model to predict the trend and make corresponding decision recommendations. The results show with novelty that the overall performances of environment and urbanization for the 13 cities in Hunan province have similarities, the coupling coordination degrees are mild with slight fluctuations, and the next years will keep the similar trends. However, the coupling coordination development is unbalanced with the coupling degree of the east higher than that of the west; therefore, corresponding measures for better environmental governance and urban planning need to be taken in different cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing faces a serious problem of carbon emissions and the economic sectors are the main source of carbon emissions. Previous literatures have extensively focused on estimating the impact of carbon emissions of individual sector. Little attention has been paid to the multisectoral carbon emissions. In this paper, a multisectoral decomposition analysis was reported to explore the carbon emissions in Beijing. The emissions are decomposed into energy structure, energy intensity, economic structure (in industry), economic output, and population scale effects by the method of logarithmic mean Divisia index. Agricultural, industrial, construction, transportation, commercial, and other sectors are taken into consideration. The results show that population scale effect is the main factor for increasing carbon emissions in all sectors. The energy efficiency improvements are primarily responsible for the decrease in emissions in the industrial sector, while it increases emissions in construction, transportation, and commercial sectors. The economic output in agricultural and other sectors exerts a positive effect on emissions. In contrast, the energy structure effect only makes a minor contribution to the emission decrease in industrial, construction, commercial, and other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization in China has been associated with a growing hunger for energy consumption and steadily-increasing CO2 emissions. In this paper, an integrated system dynamics model composed of four sub-models is developed to simulate the urbanization and energy consumption in China from 1998 to 2050. Three scenarios are provided: accelerated economic development, emission reduction constraint, and low-carbon oriented. The result reveals that rapid economic growth and sufficient energy supply will foster China's urbanization in all three scenarios. Under the low carbon transition scenario, China's urbanization rate is expected to reach 76.41% in 2050, both reducing carbon emissions and promoting eco-friendly development. All three scenarios witness a dramatic growth of residential energy consumption and a steady increase of industrial energy consumption. China still has a long way to achieve the low-carbon transition goal. China should promote renewable resources and energy, pursue a low-carbon lifestyle, and reduce energy intensity over the next few decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between human behaviour and vulnerability is interactive, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This paper analyses vulnerability and human behaviour in the core areas of Qilian Mountains National Park, which is located in Qilian and Sunan counties. We used the vulnerability index and grey correlation degree methods to analyse the data. The results show that from 2005 to 2017, the vulnerability degree in the Qilian Mountain area decreased gradually (Qilian County vulnerability decreased from 0.0357 to − 0.2237, and Sunan County vulnerability decreased from 0.1428 to − 0.4489). In 2017, the degree had reached its lowest value due to central and local government policy (− 0.2237 and − 0.4489). Considering that human behaviour contributed to the vulnerability degree, we find that land use and agricultural development mode, the acceleration of industrialisation and changes in the spatial patterns of human activities, and the development of urbanization and changes in resident identities are the main concepts driving the relationship between human behaviour and vulnerability. The innovative assessment indicators developed in this study can be applied to thoroughly explore the relationship between human behaviour and vulnerability and to find the influencing factors. Under certain conditions, this approach can be applied to vulnerability research in specific countries and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urban explosion has resulted in a substantial loss of agricultural production on the fringes of many cities. Farmland is not only converted into urban uses but also taken out of production because it has lost its value for those who can farm it. This farmland abandonment process has received little research attention. This paper studies the abandonment of farmland around the rapidly urbanizing city of Wuhan and aims to identify its important determinants based on an extensive field survey among local farmers. Around 800 semi-structured field interviews were conducted to capture the parcel and location characteristics, farming practices, and household characteristics. Important parcel-related drivers of land abandonment are lack of family members to work the land and fragmentation of parcels. Spatial characteristics are less important, except for the presence of certain soil types that favour cultivation and designation under the farmland protection policy. The planted crop species and the option to transfer land to other farmers are important farming practices to continue cultivation. Moreover, farmers with a higher farming income and lower education levels are less likely to abandon their farmland. We suggest that land use policies can help in preventing further farmland abandonment by steering urban development away from the most suitable soils for farming and concentrating development to limit the fragmentation of parcels. Strengthening the land market and removing the remaining barriers for farmers to transfer land to colleagues can further help to keep farmland in production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of abandoned mine subsidence on transportation facilities is a growing concern due to rapid urbanization and industrialization in China. Transportation infrastructures are being or will be developed in many areas with potential subsidence problems. Consequently, it is necessary to assess and mitigate the long-term and progressive residual subsidence effects on transportation facilities in such regions. This paper presents an integrated framework to identify and mitigate the risks of abandoned mine subsidence on highway infrastructures. The framework comprises four steps: comprehensive investigations of abandoned mine features; identification of subsidence mechanisms, conceptual model construction and risk assessment; optimization of remedial solutions and development of a management strategy. A case study that demonstrates a successful application of the framework is also presented in this paper. In this example, a technique that integrates remote-sensing analysis throughout surface features with conventional investigation methodologies is proved to be a potential tool to detect and understand areas that might be at risk of surface subsidence. Based on the analysis of the representative failure mechanisms observed in situ and the influencing factors, a methodology has been developed to assess the geohazards associated with mine subsidence. Moreover, the proposed criteria for stability classification allowed us to define three geohazard levels on a regional scale. Subsequently, based on a brief review of remedial works made in China, the paper gives some recommendations to identify the most appropriate solutions to mitigate residual subsidence risk on transportation infrastructures. Such integrated decision-making framework will assist practitioners and regulators in identifying the potential risks of residual subsidence on transportation routes, optimising the most appropriate alignments, and assessing risk management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to introduce a method to fill the gap in urban freight volume prediction in the Internet of Things by utilising deep learning for meeting smart logistics requirements in China. To meet this objective, researchers reviewed relevant literature to demonstrate that deep learning is appropriate for logistics use. Chinese urban transportation system has been selected as the study object with 9 years of data to examine the deep learning application in Chinese urban transportation in the IoT environment. Researchers introduce the deep learning method to predict urban road freight volume and design the prediction model architectures of two new DL algorithms. Model training and parameter adjustment are also tricky in the research of this article. It is necessary to understand the role of each parameter in the algorithm and flexibly use the relevant DL framework in Python to obtain an ideal model through multi-fold cross-validation and multiple trials. The final results show that the transportation freight volume prediction in the Internet of Things by utilising deep learning has excellent prediction effects to meet smart logistics requirements compared with traditional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding farmers' future residential preferences and the factors affecting these choices is crucial for tackling the issues related to hollow village management and rural planning. Despite limited research on the role of the family life cycle, this study explores how the family life cycle, characteristics of the household head, livelihood strategies, and resource availability shape farmers' future residential preferences. Data were collected from 777 households in China's main grain-producing area. The findings reveal that 52.90% of households prefer to stay in their current rural residences. Other favored options are elderly care facilities (13.90%), living with children in the village (12.36%), and ancestral homes (11.68%). The family life cycle significantly affects these preferences (p < 0.01), with changes in family structure and age leading to different living choices. Specifically, households in the initial (71.29%), burden (70.32%), and stable stages (40.14%) prefer their current rural residences, while those in the maintenance and empty-nest stages opt for living with their children's residences (22.22% and 16.96%, respectively) or in elderly care facilities (30.00% and 33.93%). Meanwhile, age, health, income, livelihood strategies, and land ownership also markedly influence the choice of residence. Recommendations include educational programs for elderly rural residents, improving older individuals' adaptability to rural changes, creating more rural employment opportunities, and enhancing medical and infrastructural services for the sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New urbanization (NU) and ecological welfare performance (EWP) play pivotal roles in achieving sustainable urban development, with both emphasizing social equity and environmental management. Exploring the coordinated relationship between EWP and NU is invaluable for understanding the symbiotic interplay between humans and nature. We constructed a framework to elucidate the coupling mechanism of EWP and NU from the perspective of systems theory. We quantified the levels of NU and EWP utilizing the entropy weighting method and the super-efficient SBM method, respectively. Furthermore, we assessed the degree of coupling coordination between the two using the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). Spatial and temporal evolution analysis was conducted, and factors influencing the degree of coupling coordination between EWP and NU were explored through a spatial–temporal geographically-weighted regression model (GTWR). The results indicate: (1) During the study period, the average annual increase in EWP in the study area was 2.59%, with a narrowing relative gap between cities. Conversely, the average annual increase in the level of NU was 7.6%, with demographic and economic dimensions carrying the highest weights. (2) The type of coupling coordination between EWP and NU transitions from basic coordination to moderate coordination, with the development of EWP lagging behind that of NU. (3) City size demonstrates a positive yet diminishing trend on the coupling coordination level, with economic development exerting the greatest influence and exhibiting a "V" trend, while the impact of green technology innovation diminishes negatively. Additionally, regional disparities are significant, with city size exhibiting a negative impact in areas of high population density and low economic levels, and green technology innovation showing notable polarization characteristics in core cities. These findings serve as a foundation for fostering coordinated ecological development amid the rapid urbanization process of the Chengdu–Chongqing Economic Circle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Energy conservation and emission reduction policies restrict the economic and social development of all countries in the world, and the impact on China, which has low urbanization, is more serious. In the process of promoting urbanization, the pressure of carbon emission reduction in the construction industry has increased, and the high emissions of the construction industry have made the low-carbon development of cities face severe challenges. China is at a critical stage of urbanization development, and there is become a general consensus on how to improve the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry. The interaction between urbanization and the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry is a long-term and complex process. As one of the industries contributing to China's urbanization process and carbon emissions, it is of great practical significance to explore the coordination relationship between urbanization and the carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry (CEECI) to realize the goal of "double carbon", promoting urbanization construction and solving the problem of "green development". Taking 30 provinces in China as the research target area, the double weighted summation method and the undesirable output superefficiency window-EBM-DEA model are used to measure the provincial urbanization level and CEECI, respectively. Then, the coupling coordination degree model of the relative development index is introduced, and the spatial autocorrelation model and the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics of the coordination level of urbanization and the CEECI are analysed. Results: From 2010 to 2021, China's urbanization level increased steadily, but the growth rate gradually decreased. There were significant differences in urbanization levels among provinces. The eastern provinces have a higher level of urbanization but lack an impetus in the later period, while the western provinces have a lower level of urbanization but a faster growth rate. The low-carbon development trend of China's construction industry is good, and the overall development of the CEECI shows an "N" type, and the inflection points appear in 2013 and 2018. The interprovincial urbanization level is significantly different from that of the CEECI, and the development form of the central and western provinces is better than that of the eastern provinces. The coordination level of urbanization and the CEECI in China is transitioning from the running-in stage to the coordination stage, and the coupling coordination degree between systems is on the rise, while the relative development degree is on the decline. The spatial distribution pattern is in a dynamic state of change, and the overall distribution pattern is "high in the east and low in the central and western regions". The differences among provinces were significantly decreased, with 63.33% of provinces at the high running-in level. The provinces that entered the coordination stage were mainly located in the eastern region, and only Beijing was in the coordination stage by the end of the study. In addition, 90% of the provinces exhibited lagging efficiency, and only Jiangxi, Guangxi and Chongqing, which had low coordination levels maintained synchronous development of the two systems. The coordination level between provincial urbanization and the CEECI showed a positive spatial distribution, the global Moran index showed a "V" shape trend, and the spatial dependence of the coordination level between the two systems gradually weakened. In the local spatial distribution, there are two types of convergence: high and low. Conclusions: The coordination degree of urbanization and the CEECI analysed in this study is an extension of the research on the relationship between the two. By integrating the two into a unified framework, the method of combining quantitative and qualitative analysis is used to further explore the coordination relationship between the two, which not only enhances the scientificity and accuracy of the research but also extends the breadth and depth of relevant theoretical research. At the same time, according to the coordination type between urbanization and the CEECI, China should propose corresponding targeted coordination and optimization paths from the perspective of urbanization and low-carbon development of the construction industry to achieve high-quality development of China's economy and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coordinated development of land urbanization and population urbanization is crucial for the advancement of new urbanization. The study applied the entropy weight method and coupling coordination degree model, taking Shaanxi—a province in China characterized by a moderate pace of economic development and volume, along with distinct geographic and demographic features within its region—as the subject. It assessed the coordination conditions of these two types of urbanization from both macro and micro scales during the years 2010–2022. Utilizing the Analytic Network Process (ANP), the study ranked and analyzed the causes of issues stemming from uneven development, thus connecting a crucial link from theoretical analysis to decision-making implementation. The results showed that: (1) The province's land urbanization index was between 0.075 and 0.203, whereas the population urbanization index ranged from 0.221 to 0.408, with the development of the former significantly lagging behind the latter. (2) The coupling degree between land and population urbanization ranged from 0.835 to 0.854, with a coordination degree between 0.148 and 0.306. This indicated that a close connection had been formed between the two, yet a benign coupling relationship had not been established, displaying a spatial distribution characterized by "high in the middle, low in the north and south". (3) The limitation on further urban expansion was identified as the primary issue to be addressed (with a weight of 0.324), followed by insufficient infrastructure (with a weight of 0.261). The extent of ecological environmental damage was comparatively lower (with a weight of 0.225), and the degree of social injustice was the lowest (with a weight of 0.191). Therefore, to alleviate the problems associated with the imbalanced development between land urbanization and population urbanization, measures such as optimizing land spatial layout, enhancing urban ecological service functions, and strengthening the central cities' radiating effect should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid population growth and rural-to-urban migration in many Chinese cities, a large amount of natural lands have been converted to urban and agricultural lands recently. During this process of land conversion, economic development and quality of life improvement are considered as major goals, and their influences on ecological systems have often been neglected. The degradation of natural ecological systems due to land use change, however, has become severe, and may require immediate attentions from urban planners and local governments. Taking HaDaQi industrial corridor, Heilongjiang Province, China, as a case study area, this paper examined the trend of land use changes during 1990-2005, and quantified their influences on natural ecosystem service values. In particular, this study applied two major valuation methods, and examined whether different valuation methods generate significantly different results. Analysis of results suggests that human dominated land uses (e.g., urban and agriculture) have expanded rapidly at the cost of natural lands (e.g., wetlands and forest). Due to these land use changes, the total ecosystem service value decreased 29% (2.26% annually) from 1990 to 2005 when the first method was applied, and this rate is estimated to be 15.7% (1.13% annually) with the second approach. Moreover, the annual rate of ecosystem service value decline during 2000-2005 is about four times higher than that in 1990-2000 with both methods, suggesting much more severe ecosystem degradation during 2000-2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urbanization process in the past 20 years has drawn much academic attention, and as a result, many attempts to explain the uniqueness of China's urbanization have emerged. Some argued that Tolley's model (1987), the well known theory explaining global urbanization, or the `Murray-Szelenyi' thesis (1984), which focus on the investigation of urbanization in socialist countries, can be applied in China. Most western literature, however, claimed either a `rural-bias' or an `urban-bias' from the state took place in China's urbanization process. This paper suggests another perspective in the analysis of this process, as it argues that it was the state bias for the allocation of production and human resources in the cities of higher hierarchical ranking that is behind China's urbanization. The objective of the paper is to test it through two hypotheses. The first hypothesis suggests that the higher the city is in the urban hierarchy, the more population it has; and the second argues the higher administrative position a city has, the better social and economic performance it will show. Using statistical data to validate these two hypotheses, this paper attempts to justify the role of `state-bias' of resources allocation and the dominance of the administrative hierarchy in China's urbanization process. Lastly, the paper argues, the state itself is a major factor or source for China's urbanization development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the North Loess Plateau of China, city civilization, social complexity, and stratification emerged during the Longshan period (3000-2000BCE). Based on Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis and archaeological predictive model, we conducted a comparative analysis of environmental characteristics between sites and non-sites, ordinary and walled city sites, as well as large and smaller city sites. Initially, we developed a Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) model to predict the locations of archaeological sites from this period. Our findings indicate a high predictive accuracy of the model, demonstrating a clear environmental preference by the people of the Longshan Period. The presence or absence of the site was found to be influenced by various factors, including temperature, elevation, river distance, and precipitation. Furthermore, we discovered that walled cities had higher environmental requirements compared to ordinary sites. Terrain and land use played a more significant role in shaping prehistoric cities than climate. Lastly, the landscape in the Shimao site, which served as a most crucial and largest settlement centers on the North Loess Plateau (NLP), resembled that of other minor walled cities. Due to its abundant grassland, Shimao relied more on animal husbandry rather than agriculture. The combination of agriculture and animal husbandry has promoted the urbanization processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage landscapes are consistently perceived as landscapes of high value. However, these landscapes are very vulnerable to change. In China, rapid land use change, especially urbanization, has become one of the main challenges for the conservation of cultural heritage landscapes in rural areas. This paper focuses on the designated cultural villages in rural China by systematically analyzing the spatial distribution of the designated cultural landscape across the country and assessing the threats these traditional landscapes are facing under current and future urbanization and other land use pressures. Current designated cultural heritage landscapes in China are predominantly located in the rural and peri-urban regions of Central and South China and less frequently found in other regions. Especially in these regions risks to land use change are large. These risks are assessed based on observed recent land use change and land use model simulations for scenarios up to 2050. The risk assessment reveals that especially in Southeast China along the sea coast and near the cities along the Yangtze River, high pressures are expected on cultural heritage landscapes due to urbanization. At the same time, in Southwest China, especially in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, high pressures due to other land use changes are expected, including land abandonment. This assessment gives direction and guidance toward the selection of the most threatened cultural villages for detailed investigation and additional protection measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme precipitation has been reported to occur more frequently, and intensified extreme precipitation can cause considerable socioeconomic losses. Extreme precipitation can be measured by the concentration index (CI) and the precipitation concentration index (PCI). The former indicates the degree to which daily precipitation is unevenly distributed in the time domain, and the latter represents the degree to which monthly precipitation is unevenly distributed throughout the year. In this paper, we analyzed spatiotemporal characteristics of extreme precipitation by using CI and PCI and examined whether links exist between extreme precipitation and urban extent. We found that the spatial patterns of PCI and CI are different over China. The two are consistent in being high in Northeast China and low in Southwest China. However, they differ significantly; Northwest China is where CI is low but PCI is high, which indicates that precipitation is highly concentrated in a few months of the year, but daily precipitation is more evenly distributed during the wet season in Northwest China. The trends of both PCI and annual CI are spatially heterogeneous and are significant at the 90 % confidence level for approximately 20 % of China, and seasonal CI exhibits very different trends. Possible links between precipitation concentration and urbanization are investigated by analyzing the correlation coefficient between CI (PCI) and population density. Precipitation concentration is found positively correlated with urbanization at the 99 % confidence level in the three selected regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization in China during the first decade of the twenty first century has brought about profound environmental changes at citywide and regional scales. In this paper, we present a comprehensive set of indicators and put forward a new evaluation method for measuring environmental impacts of urbanization from 2000 to 2010. We compared these impacts among 286 cities in mainland China and found that the overall quantity of pollutant discharge decreased as cities became more economically developed during the years 2000-2010. However, larger and denser cities, and wealthier cities in the eastern part of China tended to have larger quantities of pollutant discharge, resource consumption, and changes in land use (i.e., expansion of the built environment). The discharge increase occurred despite these cities having increased their investment in pollution control and construction of municipal environmental infrastructure. The negative impact from the intensity of pollutant discharge (i.e., discharge per unit of economic output) was generally less in more developed cities, although this was not always the case. Some cities, such as resource-based cities and old industrial cities, had both larger quantities of pollutant discharge and greater pollution intensity compared to other types of cities, indicating that environmental impacts did not necessarily decrease with increasing urbanization. The results of this study provide a promising basis for decision-making to reduce the impacts for different types of cities in the decades to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major source of greenhouse gases, energy generation poses a threat to modern civilization; however, it also holds some of the remedies to the climate change problem. Hydroelectricity generation and renewable electricity generation produce relatively less carbon dioxide and ensure sustainability. China is the largest producer and consumer of hydropower in the world. In this context, this study revisits the nexus of hydropower generation, trade, urbanization, economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in China using the novel QARDL approach. The use of QARDL is warranted to explain the heterogeneous effects of factors affecting environmental degradation at distinct quantile levels. Findings revealed that EKC is valid, urbanization worsens while trade and hydropower generation mitigates environmental degradation. The study calls for effective policies to enhance investment in hydropower generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data collected from 22 urban and 65 rural meteorological stations in northwestern China between 1961 and 2009, this paper presents a study concerning the effects of urbanization on air temperature trends. To distinguish among the potential influences that stem from the economic development levels, population scales, and geographic environments of the cities in this region, the 49-year study period was divided into two periods: a period of less economic development, from 1961 to 1978, and a period of greater economic development, from 1979 to 2009. Each of the cities was classified as a megalopolis, large, or medium-small, depending on the population, and each was classified as a plateau, plain, or oasis city, depending on the surrounding geography. The differences in the air temperature trends between cities and the average of their rural counterparts were used to examine the warming effects of urbanization. The results of this study indicate that the magnitude of warming effects due to urbanization depends not only on a city's economic level, but also on the population scale and geographic environment of the city. The urbanization of most cities in northwestern China resulted in considerable negative warming effects during 1961-1978 but evidently positive effects during 1979-2009. The population scale of a city represents a significant factor: a city with a larger population has a stronger warming influence, regardless of whether the effect is negative or positive. Among the three geographic environments of the cities considered, plateaus and plains more significantly enhance warming effects than oases. The urban population trend has a very significant logarithm relationship with the urban temperature effect, but no clear relationships between urban temperature effects and city elevation were detected. The majority of the temperature trends, accounting for more than 60 % of the trends during 1961-2009, can be explained by natural factors, although urbanization has had some obvious effects on temperatures in northwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the micro level data, this paper examined the spatial changes of Chinese manufacturing industries during 2002-2007. Liberalized and globalized industries are largely concentrated in the coastal region while low technology, resource-based and protected industries are widely dispersed in the inland regions. Some labor-intensive industries in the coastal region encountered congestion effects and are relocated to the central region. Statistical results indicate that industrial enterprises have significantly benefited from the geographical proximity of related enterprises. The agglomeration effects however differ across regions and sectors. The coastal region enjoys both localization and urbanization economies. The western region has no significant localization economies while the central region has no evidence of urbanization economies. The Capital Region enjoys urbanization economies to a certain degree. Both the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta have the benefits of agglomeration. The further agglomeration in the PRD however would generate congestion effects. Although labor-intensive industries gain from agglomeration effects they are more likely to suffer from the congestion effects of related enterprises. The empirical findings indicate that agglomeration effects are not pervasive in transitional economies like China. Industrial agglomeration would contribute to productivity improvement only in a globalized and liberalized environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How urban vegetation was influenced by three decades of intensive urbanization in China is of great interest but rarely studied. In this paper, we used satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and socioeconomic data to evaluate effects of urbanization on vegetation cover in China's 117 metropolises over the last three decades. Our results suggest that current urbanization has caused deterioration of urban vegetation across most cities in China, particularly in East China. At the national scale, average urban area NDVI (NDVI) significantly decreased during the last three decades ( P < 0.01), and two distinct periods with different trends can be identified, 1982-1990 and 1990-2006. NDVI did not show statistically significant trend before 1990 but decrease remarkably after 1990 ( P < 0.01). Different regions also showed difference in the timing of NDVI turning point. The year when NDVI started to decline significantly for Central China and East China was 1987 and 1990, respectively, while NDVI in West China remained relatively constant until 1998. NDVI changes in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, two regions which has been undergoing the most rapid urbanization in China, also show different characteristics. The Pearl River Delta experienced a rapid decline in NDVI from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s; while in the Yangtze River Delta, NDVI did not decline significantly until the early 1990s. Such different patterns of NDVI changes are closely linked with policy-oriented difference in urbanization dynamics of these regions, which highlights the importance of implementing a sustainable urban development policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis on the situation of urbanization and urban housing growth since the mid 1990s in China. It calculates a much improved measurement of urbanization level in each province, which takes the unique characteristics of China's urban/rural composition into consideration. Relative to the CPI (Customer Price Index) deflator, the adjusted prices of urban commodity house in each province between 1995 and 2005 are computed in this article. The correlation analysis on urban commodity prices and the levels of urbanization in each province gives evidence to support the regional variation of urbanization and urban housing growth in China. The results suggest that the existing high urbanization levels but still boosting urban commodity housing prices in developed provinces make the serious challenge to local urban housing provision. In contrast, the moderately developed provinces benefit from the relatively even expansion of both urbanization and urban commodity housing prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China has the largest population in the world, the available water resources per capita in China are very limited. With the rapid economic development that is currently occurring, the shortage of water resources at the national level has become extremely critical. How to solve the problems due to water scarcity and water pollution has received increasing attention from the Chinese government and various communities. In order to provide a sustainable development environment for 1.6 billion people in the future, the whole country has started to reform urban water resources management systems in terms of related policies, regulations, methodologies, and technologies focusing on improving the efficiency and effectiveness in water use. Urban water quota management has now become a core strategy in developing a water resources governance model for water demand management aiming at establishing a water-saving society. This paper introduces the main stages and the processes of implementing water quota management in China, analyzes the basic principles, and expounds the elements, information foundation, core module and operational model of the urban water quota management system. It has been demonstrated that urban water quota management has made some remarkable contribution not only in transforming the pattern of water mode and strengthening water management enforcement but also in integrating various management methods in saving water and preventing pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on homogenized land surface air temperature (SAT) data (derived from China Homogenized Historical Temperature (CHHT) 1.0), the warming trends over Northeast China are detected in this paper, and the impacts of urban heat islands (UHIs) evaluated. Results show that this region is undergoing rapid warming: the trends of annual mean minimum temperature (MMIT), mean temperature (MT), and mean maximum temperature (MMAT) are 0.40 C decade−1, 0.32 C decade−1, and 0.23 C decade−1, respectively. Regional average temperature series built with these networks including and excluding “typical urban stations” are compared for the periods of 1954–2005. Although impacts of UHIs on the absolute annual and seasonal temperature are identified, UHI contributions to the long-term trends are less than 10% of the regional total warming during the period. The large warming trend during the period is due to a regime shift in around 1988, which accounted for about 51% of the regional warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rapid economic development, China has experienced one of the greatest rates of change in land use/land cover during the last two decades. This change is mainly urban expansion and cultivated land reduction in urban growth regions, both of which play an important role in regional climate change. In this paper, the variation of the urban heat island (UHI) caused by urbanization has been evaluated with an analysis of land use change in China. First, meteorological observation stations were grouped by different land cover types (dry land, paddy field, forest, grassland, water field, urban, rural inhabitable area, industrial and mineral land, and waste land) throughout China. These stations were subdivided into urban and non-urban classes. Then, a new method was proposed to determine the UHI intensity from the difference between the observed and the interpolated air temperature of urban type weather stations. The results indicate that the trends of UHI intensity in different land use change regions are spatially correlated with regional land use and its change pattern. During 1991–2000, the estimated UHI intensity has increased by 0.11 °C per decade in the spring and has fluctuated in other seasons throughout China resulting from land use change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measures of the effects of population pressure on the landscape using traditional methods for classifying urban territory are inadequate. The crude scale at which population densities are calculated and dependence on country-specific administration divisions hinder their ability to address such questions as the environmental impacts of cities and suburbs and make cross-national comparisons particularly difficult. This paper examines comparative urbanization measures among three case studies: the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong Province of China, the Indian state of Kerala, and the southern part of Florida in the United States. It proposes a measure based on the distribution of local population densities, taking advantage of the detailed data on small area populations and land area available in modern censuses and model-derived population databases such as LandScan, and the increasing potential of spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS). Examined with a similar set of thresholds, the resulting density distributions offer the potential to show better the ecological effects of population than do traditional measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of urbanization, exploring the relationship between production–living–ecological space (PLES) and ecosystem service value (ESV) is a major scientific issue in promoting regional sustainable development. The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration is an ideal study area, which has the highest urbanization rate in China. Based on Landsat TM/ETM imaging data from 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018, this study established a land use classification system of PLES. The spatial and temporal characteristics of PLES and ESV were analyzed, and the response of ESV to changes in PLES was investigated based on the elasticity formula. The results showed that from 2005 to 2018, production space and ecological space were the main types of PLES and exhibited an imbalance in transformation. Production space was the main transfer type, and living space significantly expanded. Moreover, from 2005 to 2018, the ESV of the YRD urban agglomeration showed an increasing and then decreasing trend. ESV presented a "high in the southwest and low in the northeast" spatial pattern. Furthermore, ESV was sensitive to changes in PLES, showing a trend of ecological space > production space > living space. However, the sensitivity of ESV to changes in PLES varied according to urbanization level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is a social and complex phenomenon. In recent years, rapid urbanization has not only accelerated economic development in China, but also has raised ecological concerns including biodiversity reduction, habitat degradation and congestion effect, which poses significant challenges to green economic efficiency. Although China proposed its first ecological civilization strategy in 2007, as stressed in the thirteenth Five-Year Plan (2016–2020), resource shortages and environmental degradation caused by urbanization processes have created a bottleneck effect, thus restricting China's green economic efficiency. Therefore, this study aims to determine how heterogeneous environmental regulations affect China's green economic efficiency from the perspective of urbanization over the period 2003–2017. The results of static and dynamic threshold regressions show that command-and-control and voluntary environmental regulations promote green economic efficiency at different urbanization levels. In static threshold model, market-based environmental regulation stimulates green economic efficiency when urbanization is below the first threshold and above the second threshold, while it constrains green economic efficiency when urbanization is between the single and the double thresholds. In dynamic threshold model, market-based environmental regulation improves green economic efficiency when urbanization is below the threshold and impedes it when urbanization exceeds the threshold. Finally, several important policy recommendations are documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Presents the author's response to comments about his study on economic reforms in China since 1978. China's operation of a reform policy without a theoretical base; Process of urbanization in China; Ways in which market reforms in China continue to be buttressed by socialist principles of control and egalitarianism; Significance of specific environmental factors in the future development of China.

The sustainability of land conversion to urban use is an important factor that promotes sustainable urbanization. However, China's local governments have relied too much on the land finance model for urbanization, which has led to disordered growth of urban land, ultimately posing a threat to ecosystem security and socioeconomic development. Effectively evaluating the factors that influence the growth of urban land is critical to improving the sustainability of urban land use. In this study, we explored the factors that affect the growth in the area of urban land using spatial analysis models based on panel data for Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2019. We found that fiscal decentralization, infrastructure, industrialization, and industrial upgrading were the main factors responsible for the growth of urban land, but that their degrees of influence differed between regions. Our findings identify the necessity for local governments to design urban land-use policies and perform strategic planning for urban land use to improve sustainability based on the main factors that influenced the growth of urban land in each region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrestrial ecosystem productivity and foundation of regional ecosystem services have been significantly influenced by recent urbanization processes. This study assesses the changes in terrestrial ecosystem productivity in Jiangsu from the years of 2000 to 2015 in response to the urbanization. A linear model that incorporates the traditional equalization method is proposed to improve the estimation accuracy of net primary productivity (NPP) loss. Results revealed that the land area of urban construction expanded rapidly during the research period to encompass an area of 8672.8 km2. The rate of expansion was highest during 2005–2010. Additionally, the expansion rate of urban construction land was considerably higher in southern Jiangsu compared to the northern areas. The NPP exhibited a rising tendency from the year of 2000 to 2015, and varied from 33.30 to 40.23 Tg C/y. It was higher in the central parts, which include the cities of Yancheng and Nantong. The increase in urban construction land has resulted in a significant reduction in the terrestrial ecosystem productivity, i.e. a cumulative NPP loss of 2.55–2.88 Tg C during the research period. The NPP losses due to the conversion from cropland to constrction land were the highest, followed by the wetland. The work in this paper indicates that the rate of future productivity losses in terrestrial ecosystem in northern Jiangsu would be faster than the southern areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]