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In many countries, national governments deploy city-regionalism not simply as a domestic policy tool but also as a geopolitical device enabling the internationalization of state territory and economy. Focusing upon the evolution of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China, this paper offers new insights into the close associations between Chinese city-regionalism and the geopolitical orchestration of national development. Rather than conceived as an inevitable outcome of contemporary globalization processes, the development of YRD region is instead examined against the changing geopolitical dynamics and national objectives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1949 to the present day. In the early phase of CCP rule, the development of regional urban centres, such as Shanghai in YRD region, was an instrument of national territorial integration and class unity. Following economic reforms in the 1980s, the formal designation of YRD as a city-region reflected the Chinese state's aspiration for accelerated economic growth and the internationalization of the domestic economy. Now confronted with widening regional inequalities, the Chinese state has greatly expanded YRD region to incorporate peripheral cities and provinces for the sake of regionally coordinated development. Even as YRD transforms into a global city-region, Shanghai seemingly separates itself functionally and discursively from the rest of the region. In departing from contemporary post-Westphalian or hyper-globalist perspectives on the rise of global city-regions in a stateless world, the paper provides a new interpretation of Chinese city-regionalism as a case of countervailing geopolitical processes at work within and beyond national state borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper builds an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) multiple logistic regression model to analyze how socio-economic development impacts mainland China's coastal waters environment. China's coastal provinces have significantly different seawater quality at different stages of the seawater's EKC. Jiangsu and Hebei are still at the early stage of the seawater's EKC because of the large quantity of pollution-intensive industry, whereas the coastal provinces at the late stage of the seawater's EKC have presented obviously improved seawater quality based on adjustments in the industrial structure since 2001. Urbanization has a severe impact on the seawater quality of Shanghai and Zhejiang at the middle stage of the seawater's EKC. Furthermore, this paper proposes an overall strategy and several "tailored" strategies to address coastal waters environment improvement for current poorly targeted policies at different stages of the seawater's EKC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the pattern of institutional change and its underlying logic in China's recent land development governance. China's central government has been issuing national policies since 2012 to promote urban regeneration to improve land use efficiency and sustainability. Through the lens of historical institutionalism, this paper analyses the making and implementation of Shanghai's new urban regeneration policies since 2014, which was a response to the central state's mandate. Results show that the redevelopment mode encouraged by the municipal governments is financially unattractive to district governments and market entities. Pro-growth development governance maintains strong inertia since it has been embedded in interlocking institutional arrangements. However, the top-down campaign temporarily changed the power distribution among different levels of government and cultivated incremental institutional layering. A small range of redevelopment projects were implemented through political mobilisation of the state-owned enterprises' financial resources and the local cadre's attention. This paper concludes that the transformation of China's land development governance is an inevitably arduous top-down process, characterised by constant rescaling of the distribution of power and constant adjustments to reconcile the pro-growth inertia and the state mandate toward sustainability. • Adopting historical institutionalism, the paper focuses on power in urban governance. • Sustainable land development modes contradict China's pro-growth inertia. • Top-down political mobilisation drives the paradigm shift in urban redevelopment. • Political mobilisations temporarily alter power distribution and trigger institutional changes. • Arduous incremental institutional layering in urban governance is inevitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the entire cruise industry. This research aims to provide an understanding of the impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry from various stakeholders and recommend corresponding post-COVID recovery strategies for building a sustainable cruise industry. By conducting 22 semi-structured interviews in Shanghai, China and analysing the interview data using content analysis, this research finds five aspects of the impacts that are worth discussing, namely social, health and well-being, regulatory, operational, and financial aspects. Key findings include the impacts of different stakeholders' opinions, the problems existing in the current cruise industry, and the potential for future improvement. Recommendations and recovery strategies are proposed to mitigate the negative impacts. This research not only explores the impact of COVID-19 on cruise tourism and fosters recommendations in the most fast-developing region (China) but also facilitates researchers and policymakers to understand the effects of the pandemic and proposes future risk mitigation strategies. • This paper investigated the impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry. • This paper examined the impacts from five aspects i.e., social, health and well-being, regulatory, operational, and financial aspects. • Strategies were proposed to mitigate the negative impacts. • The findings contribute to the literature by exploring the impact of COVID-19 on cruise tourism in the most fast-developing region. • Recovery strategies were proposed that can facilitate researchers and policymakers to build a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cruise sector is one of the most characteristic examples of globalised business. This characteristic makes the cruise supply chain (CSC) likely to expose to a variety of risks, such as the geopolitical environment and inclement weather, which requires an urgent need for risk mitigation strategies. A review of the literature revealed that supply chain risk mitigation strategies often remain at a conceptual level, and they mainly focus on a specific risk or a perspective of a specific cruise sector; there is therefore a gap in the absence of practical risk mitigation strategies in the cruise industry from a supply chain perspective. To address the gap, this paper interviewed and analysed opinions of eight types of CSC players. Twenty risk mitigation strategies in the context of a CSC were identified and examined into control and detection, relationship-based strategies, marketing strategies, policy-based strategies, risk transfer and share, and flexibility strategies. A broad picture and a deep understanding of strategies to deal with risks in the CSC were provided. The findings contribute to the literature and practice by linking theoretical strategies to practical strategies and exploring the mitigation strategies with actual practice in the CSC that can be used directly by practitioners and researchers. • This paper identified and explored twenty risk mitigation strategies in the context of a cruise supply chain. • Twenty-two participants from eight types of CSC players were interviewed. • This study explored the mitigation strategies with actual practice in the CSC that can be used directly by practitioners and researchers. • The findings contribute to the literature and practice by linking theoretical strategies to practical strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lead market factors are often not primarily country-specific, but rather regionally established • Regional demand, technological capabilities and regulation constitute regional lead markets • Shanghai displays a high lead market potential for waste management innovations The success of environmental innovations and sustainability transitions critically depends on market formations and diffusion processes. As of today, the geography of transitions literature provides suitable terms and case study evidence that these processes are highly regional phenomena. However, pertinent conceptual frameworks such as the multi-level perspective, technological innovation systems, or the somewhat less prominent lead market concept lack an explicit regional perspective. This paper develops a regionalized framework ('regional lead markets (RLM)') in order to provide a more appropriate conceptual lens for analyses of regional transition and innovation diffusion processes. We argue that regional lead markets are determined by regulatory advantages, demand advantages and technological advantages. A regional lead market adopts a later successful innovation at an early stage and gains competitive advantage in the respective industry, driving national and international diffusion. We demonstrate the concept's applicability by providing illustrative evidence on Shanghai's lead market potential for waste management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dramatic shift in Shanghai’s socio-spatial landscapes in the postreform China. Supported by the recent population census, one percent sample survey, and other socioeconomic statistics, this paper posits that a socioeconomically segregated metropolis has emerged in Shanghai: It is an individual’s social status and the affordability of certain areas that determines where one can live. As such, a highly segregated socio-spatial structure has emerged in Shanghai driven not only by global forces, but also by developers and the state, as well as the associated institutional change. The findings of this paper calls for the Shanghai municipal government to review its property-led redevelopment approach, and regulate its policies for suburban industrialization and central city gentrification. This aims to diminish the social damage inherent in an increasingly segregated city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PISA success of Shanghai has aroused open challenge and debate about whether the city is a “model of equity”. There have been heated debates about the education of migrant children in Shanghai. This paper analyses publicly accessible policy papers and literature to provide a contextualised interpretation of the major progress and ongoing challenges surrounding the education of migrant children in Shanghai. The paper shows the structural inequalities affecting migrant families and their children. It refers to central as well as local government policies and the constraints these policies face. The analysis shows that Shanghai remains riddled with ongoing challenges that may have been obscured by the PISA success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group travel behaviour widely exists in cities, but has not been well investigated by researchers. To fill this gap, this paper develops a co-existence-based methodological framework to systematically explore the spatiotemporal characteristics of group travel behaviour. We apply our framework to a case study of Shanghai, China, using a one-month tranche of metro smart card data. Results show that most travellers perform a small number of group trips, together with a small number of co-travellers. They usually travel in a dyad or triad group and form far more small social communities than large ones. Group travel behaviour is distinctly different from individual travel in terms of both time and space: group travellers are more likely to travel during weekends, on holidays, and in the afternoons and evenings. They also prefer to perform group behaviour near stations located in the city centre or the centres of new towns in suburban areas, and close to attractions and public facilities. The analysis we present has various potential applications such as improving the management of public events and supporting the design of group ticket policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global discourse of ambiguous property rights, the prevailing argument is that ambiguous property rights are blamed for myriad land-related problems in the Global South. In the absence of secure land property rights, China provides new insights into this prevailing argument; however, whether China's ambiguous land property rights have led to land-related problems is still under heated debate. Through an empirical investigation of the Shanghai No.10 Iron and Steel Works redevelopment, this paper explains the ambiguity of property rights over state-owned industrial land in relation to the ambiguous property rights approach and evaluates its impacts on industrial land redevelopment. The case study analyzes the major stakeholders and their de jure rights and de facto rights, reveals the land rents redistribution, and examines how ambiguous property rights fundamentally impacted the spatial outcomes of the No.10 Steelworks site. With the evidence of the two-sided impacts caused by ambiguous property rights in China, this paper criticizes the monolithic understanding of ambiguous property rights in the global discourse and argues that the introduction of ambiguous property rights has been a double-edged sword for land redevelopment in non-Western countries. New thinking concerning alternatives to land institutions is finally discussed within and beyond China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the rapid urbanization of Chinese cities with a focus on the plans for a new, ongoing urban sub-centre in the north-west of Shanghai: Zhenru Urban Sub-Centre. Information-rich urbanization is a defining feature of the 21st century, reshaping cities and communities in China and in developing countries around the world. The scale and pace of change requires a solid systems approach of urban development. In 2011, China announced that it has reached an urbanization rate of 50%. If we take rapid urbanization as a given and that it is already well underway, it is still widely unclear what research needs to be conducted and policy changes made to support municipalities of fast transforming cities and to avoid repeating the development mistakes that have occurred in industrialized nations, i.e. driving urban growth with high consumption patterns without fully considering the environmental and social needs and occupants'' behaviour and aspirations. This paper compares two cases of urban development patterns for new sub-centres for polycentric city structures: It relates to new urban sub-centres in Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China), and the relationship of these sub-centres to ‘Network City’ theory. Network theory is useful in this context as the ‘network’ metaphor and concepts of decentralization seem to have replaced the ‘machine’ metaphor which was based on efficiency based on the availability of cheap fossil fuels. As cities aim to move towards more resilient urban ecosystems and polycentric systems, the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin, compared to Zhenru Sub-Centre in Shanghai, is discussed. Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and less car-dependency. According to documentation of the Shanghai municipality, Zhenru urban centre, which is currently in its planning phase, is supposed to become a ‘new sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis’. Based on the Potsdamer Platz experience, a series of careful recommendations are formulated for the design and development of such centres, knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other. The conclusion includes five lessons (recommendations) from Potsdamer Platz for the urban design of new sub-centres to ensure a delivery of economical, social and environmental sustainable outcomes. A core finding is that drawing lessons from the German case study for Chinese urbanization seemed a useful tactic and gave a sense that there are underlying urban design strategies. However, the conversion of such strategies to another cultural and social context requires further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 2011, China announced that it has reached an urbanisation rate of 50%. If we take rapid urbanisation as a given and that it is already well underway, it is still widely unclear what research needs to be conducted and policy changes made to support municipalities of fast transforming cities and to avoid repeating the development mistakes that have occurred in industrialised nations, i.e. driving urban growth with high consumption patterns without fully considering the environmental and social needs and occupants’ behaviour and aspirations. The scale and pace of change requires a solid systems approach of urban development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the rapid urbanisation of Chinese cities with a focus on the plans for a new, on-going urban sub-centre in the north-west of Shanghai: Zhenru urban sub-centre. Information-rich urbanisation is a defining feature of the 21st century, reshaping cities and communities in China and in developing countries around the world. The paper compares two cases of urban development patterns for new sub-centres for polycentric city structures: it relates to new urban sub-centres in Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China), and the relationship of these sub-centres to ‘Network City’ theory. Network theory is useful in this context as the ‘network’ metaphor and concepts of decentralisation seem to have replaced the ‘machine’ metaphor which was based on efficiency based on the availability of cheap fossil fuels. The question to be addressed is how Chinese cities can be better steered towards more sustainable models of development. As cities aim to move towards more resilient urban ecosystems and polycentric systems, the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin, compared to Zhenru sub-centre in Shanghai, is discussed. Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and less car-dependency. According to documentation of the Shanghai municipality, Zhenru urban centre, which is currently in its planning phase, is supposed to become a ‘new sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis’. Based on the Potsdamer Platz experience, where an isolated ‘City within the City’ was developed, a series of careful recommendations are formulated for the design and development of such centres, knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other. The conclusion includes five lessons (recommendations) from Potsdamer Platz for the urban design of new sub-centres to ensure a delivery of economical, social and environmental sustainable outcomes. A core finding is that drawing lessons from the German case study for Chinese urbanisation seemed a useful tactic and gave a sense that there are underlying urban design strategies. However, the conversion of such strategies to another cultural and social context requires further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The relationship between dense urban development, often represented by high-rise buildings, and its location vis-à-vis metro stations reflects the connection between transportation infrastructure and land use intensity. Existing literature on high-rise buildings has focused either on developed countries or on cities where urban and public transit developments have occurred in an uncoordinated manner. This paper examines the following questions: What is the spatial proximity and spatial correlation between high-rise buildings and metro stations in different stages of development in various parts of the city? What were some of the factors that resulted in the observed patterns? The results suggest that buildings constructed after 2000 and buildings within the urban core/Shanghai Proper districts had a greater spatial proximity to the metro stations. However, the spatial correlation, measured by the number of high-rise buildings within a 500-m buffer from the nearest metro stations and the time-distance to these stations, is stronger in the outer districts than in the urban core. These differences can be accounted for by Shanghai's stages of urban development, the existence of metro infrastructure when high-rise development was undertaken, and the city's land use policies. This case study sheds light on the relationship between high-density developments and metro systems in other large cities in China and other developing countries where rapid urban development coincides with the establishment of a comprehensive public transit system. • Investigate the relationship between high-density development and its location vis-à-vis metro stations. • Understand the different spatial distribution patterns of high-rise buildings between suburban districts and urban core. • Application of the spatial proximity and spatial correlation measures between high-rise buildings and metro transit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Co-production is a valuable approach to waste management. • Co-production of waste management is compatible with centralized governance regimes. • The government-volunteer consortium and the peer pressure underpin co-production. • Contextual elements are critical for the success of waste management policies. Rapid urban population growth in China has resulted in significant challenges for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management. To combat these challenges, Chinese authorities implemented a pilot program of MSW sorting in eight Chinese cities including Shanghai in 2000 but is yet to reach a widespread success. This paper uses a qualitative case-study approach to explore the potential of a community-based co-production strategy for household waste sorting as an alternative to the conventional top-down approach. Co-production implies the involvement of citizens, consumers, volunteers and/or community organizations in producing public service. We find two major drivers of the government-volunteer consortium and the peer-pressure effect help realize the potential of waste-management co-production at a lowered cost with improved efficiency and collaborative innovation. In addition, context-specific conditions including policy consistency, strong volunteer effort and compatibility with local culture to promote public participation must be present for further co-production application. We also acknowledge that the co-production approach would be most effective at the initial stage of policy implementation to foster the waste-sorting habit-formation in regions where the waste collection rates remain low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Private rental housing market and its spatial determinants in China remain under-studied. • Housing rents in Shanghai are heavily influenced by job opportunities, salary level, and the size of floating population. • Housing rents are also sensitive to the distribution of public transport and service amenities. • In areas with better infrastructure, roles of well-paid jobs and private amenities are more significant. • In suburban districts, metro stations, sharing bikes, bus stops, and shopping facilities have an additional rental premium. The failure of public housing policies and skyrocketing housing prices have made the private rental sector an increasingly important part of the housing system in Chinese metropolises. However, due to the lack of data, the private rental housing market remains poorly understood. By integrating open data, this paper comprehensively examines the spatial patterns and determinants of residential rents in Shanghai at the intra-urban level. We find that high rents are concentrated heavily in the inner-city area, which not only forces low-income families to live in the suburbs, where rents are still relatively affordable, but also makes housing costs a heavy burden to non-native young professionals. The results of spatial regressions suggest that the rental housing market in Shanghai is shaped by regional level factors such as job opportunities, salary levels, and the size of the "floating" population, and neighborhood level indicators like public transport facilities and service amenities. Such factors are differentiated across space. In the areas with better infrastructure, the roles of high salaries and attractive amenities are highly significant. In suburban districts, the presence of a larger "floating" population, better access to metro stations, sharing bikes, bus stops, and shopping facilities tend to raise rents. These patterns indicate that the geographical inequality of infrastructures, spatially imbalanced job accessibility, and institutions that make housing unaffordable have reinforced the rental and commuting burdens on economically disadvantaged groups, which also undermines their social mobility. Thus, our study suggests that the Chinese government should devote more effort to decentralize high-paying jobs, improve employment accessibility in urban peripheries and villages, as well as reform public housing policies and provide more public housing to make rental housing more affordable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The significant home price premium in top school attendance zones and the emerging evidence on residential segregation found in China's cities call for a study on the socioeconomic segregation in urban schools and its potential consequences. Using the 2009 and 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys, this paper documents the socioeconomic and academic segregation among 15-year-old students in middle and high schools in Shanghai. We illustrate the effects of residence-based enrollment by comparing middles schools (required to use residence-based enrollment) and high schools (allowed to use merit-based selection), and further quantifies the relationship between school socioeconomic composition and academic achievement. We find that middle schools are more socioeconomically segregated, while high schools are more academically segregated. However, school segregation lessened from 2009 to 2012, especially in middle schools, likely due to the weakening of residence-based enrollment. Public schools in Shanghai became somewhat more integrated socioeconomically, but such a progress in equity was accompanied by an increasingly positive correlation between individual socioeconomic background and student performance, and an increasingly negative correlation between school socioeconomic diversity and student performance, both requiring the attention of policymakers. Highlights • An early study on the socioeconomic segregation in urban schools and its consequences in China; • Middle schools are more socioeconomically segregated, while high schools are more academically segregated; • School segregation lessened from 2009 to 2012, likely due to the weakening of residence-based enrollment; • Student performance was increasingly more correlated with family socioeconomic status; • School socioeconomic diversity and student performance was increasingly negatively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper uses the concept of citizenship in the social sense of membership and the right to an allocation of resources to examine the urban citizenship of migrants in Chinese metropolises with special reference to Shanghai. Citizenship in the Chinese context is interlocked with the household registration (hukou) system instituted more than 50years ago. The paper tracks the changes in both the defacto and the hukou population in selected Chinese cities in the past 30years to analyze how large the gate of the hukou system has been opened and under what circumstances urban hukou is conferred on migrants. Facing a flood of migration, the Shanghai Municipal Government has introduced a residence card system without challenging the existing hukou system. Blended new wine in an old bottle, a hierarchical structure of population registration and management has been set up leading to a system of citizenship stratification, which allows the municipal government to trade the differential citizenship for talents, capital, and super-low-cost labor and to avoid the social obligations to the non-constituents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The rapid economic ascent of China and the increasing integration of the world economy over the past two decades have made the metropolises in China, such as Shanghai and Beijing, emerging global cities. As in other parts of the developing world, foreign investment is a central force underlying the emergence of Chinese metropolises as global cities. This is especially true in Shanghai where major foreign investments in China are concentrated. The primary objectives of this paper are twofold: (1) to examine the process of foreign investment development in Shanghai and (2) to assess the significance of foreign investment in the transformation of Shanghai into a global city. As the literature on global cities dwells primarily on the experiences of those cities with advanced economies, this paper broadens the scope by contributing to a better understanding of the dynamics of global city formation in the developing world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Migrants' residential location plays a critical role in their social integration process. In China, large numbers of migrants are coming to the major cities due to the opportunities offered, and most of them have to be settled in the disadvantaged urban periphery. By examining the place effects of suburban residence on the incorporation of migrants into cities, this paper contributes to the literature on understanding the socio-spatial exclusion of migrants. Drawing on a survey undertaken in Shanghai, it is found that, after controlling for the effects of individual characteristics, migrants living in the suburbs not only earn less than their counterparts in the central city, but are also less likely to construct inter-group and diverse social ties to aid future prospects. To make matters worse, they have little chance of moving to the central locations where there are more resources, and instead are likely to be trapped in the suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether ambient air pollution is associated with childhood atopic eczema is controversial. In this paper, we selected 3358 preschool children who had not altered residences since pregnancy from a cross-sectional study during 2011–2012 in Shanghai, China, and obtained parent-reported data regarding childhood atopic eczema using an improved ISAAC questionnaire. We recorded daily concentrations of SO 2 , NO 2 , and PM 10 throughout the child's lifetime (2006–2012), and calculated period-averaged concentrations for each district where the child lived to represent the child's exposure levels of these pollutants during different periods. In the multiple logistic regression analyses adjusted for potential confounders as well as for the other pollutants in the same periods, childhood atopic eczema was significantly associated with increments of NO 2 in the approximate interquartile range (20 μg/m 3 ) during gestational period (adjusted OR, 95% CI for eczema lifetime-ever: 1.80, 1.29–2.49; for eczema in the year prior to the survey: 2.32, 1.57–3.43) and during the first year of life (2.00, 1.40–2.84; 2.16, 1.43–3.28). Exposure to elevated NO 2 in the first two years, three years and total lifetime, as well as exposure to mixtures containing NO 2 in each of these periods, were consistently associated with increased likelihood of childhood eczema. The highest odds ratios were found between exposure to a mixture of SO 2 and NO 2 during total lifetime (increment: 35 μg/m 3 ) and childhood eczema (adjusted OR, 95% CI: 2.80, 1.75–4.48; 3.50, 1.98–6.19). No significant associations were found between childhood eczema and ambient SO 2 and PM 10 individually or in mixtures. This study indicates that gestational and lifetime exposures to ambient NO 2 are risk factors for atopic eczema in childhood. Exposure to ambient SO 2 and PM 10 may enhance the effect of NO 2 exposure on childhood eczema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multimodal integration has become a significant issue in urban sustainable transport; however, there are some challenges in practice, especially in the developing countries. Based on passengers' travel experience, this paper establishes a conceptual framework of multimodal integration that considers nine categories of interchange performance indicators at three different levels of the “integration ladder”. This framework is illustrated by a case study of Shanghai Hongqiao Comprehensive Transport Hub in China, to identify the main barriers of multimodal integration inside the hub from a people-centered perspective. On one hand, observational survey was conducted to record the indicators about interchange facilities provision; on the other hand, 603 questionnaires were collected to reflect the passengers' perception of interchange services. Both surveys show that the lowest level of information integration has been achieved in this hub, but the moderate level of facilities and services integration and the highest level of ticketing and fare integration are still limited. Further improvement is expected with respect to multimodal services and ticketing, such as time coordination, luggage delivery facilities, through ticketing and interchange discount. Moreover, for people with different personal and travel characteristics, their perceptions of multimodal integration have some differences, which suggest that the design, operation, and management of urban transport hubs should be people-centered in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New-generation migrants, defined as migrants who were born in or after 1980 and whose household registration (hukou) status remains in their place of origin, are now the major migrant labour force in urban China. Most of them start migration immediately after full-time education and have a great desire of becoming urban citizens. While previous studies focus on inequalities experienced by migrants as a result of the hukou institution, migrants’ social integration in the city is under-researched. Drawing on data from a questionnaire survey of new-generation migrants in Shanghai in 2012, this paper employs a structural equation model to examine the extent to which new-generation migrants are integrated into the urban society and the factors influencing their integration. The results show that both labour market outcomes and interaction with local urban residents are crucial for their social integration. These individual factors have deep roots in structural and institutional constraints which prevent migrants from getting access to opportunities and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Education governance can be a form of social relations deliberately constructed and modified by the government. • Underlying the rise of international schools in China is a policy tradition to externalise education. • China's education policymaking sees a pragmatic role of the state and a process of disrupted neoliberalisation. • Policy networks show different shapes, and non-Western contexts have the potential to contribute new insights. The current literature demonstrates the commercialised orientations of international schools in China and the role of the global education industry and overseas governments. This paper, drawing on narratives of school principals and senior managers who experienced the rise of international schools in Shanghai and working with theoretical tools from policy network studies and policy sociology, demonstrates the powerful and pragmatic role of the state in shaping and shifting the beliefs and traditions of international school practices and policies, and a process of disrupted neoliberalisation. The findings indicate the complexities and ambivalences in such notions as education governance, neoliberalisation, and globalisation, and shed light on the localised modalities and assemblages embedded within specific Chinese education policy contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Household and municipal solid waste (MSW) are difficult problems worldwide, but nowhere more than in the rapidly growing cities and super-cities where over half of the world's population now lives. An important mitigation is the diversion of reusable materials through sorting “at source” in the household, and in countries where most meal preparations occur at home, this includes sorting out food waste. In this paper we examine results from an early pilot scheme for food waste recycling in 100 communities in the metropolis of Shanghai, China, that has had limited success (28% diversion rates on average) and is ready for reflective changes. We consider different approaches in the literature designed to support sorting and reduction of MSW, such as law enforcement, top-down policies, community involvement and financial investment, and then explore which of these are present and missing in Shanghai. We find that there is considerable government support and willingness to make financial investment – about 1.37 million yuan per distract – but this is not as effective as it could be, apparently because of a traditional lack of rigorous use of data, of clarification of roles, and of supporting enforcement legislation. Even though financial investment is important and significant for the household waste sorting and reduction, it cannot produce results on its own. It should be targeted to appropriate stakeholders in the context of wider considerations to produce an overall environment for food waste recycling to become mainstream. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The first to examine the herding behavior in China's eight carbon markets. • Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Fujian four carbon markets exist herding behavior. • There is no herding behavior in China's overall carbon market. • Herding intensity is positively correlated with carbon market volatility. This paper introduces a modified cross-sectional absolute deviation approach to measure the existence of herding behavior and herding asymmetry, and uses the runs test to measure the herding intensity in China's carbon markets. It is the first study to examine the existence of herding behavior in China's carbon markets. The empirical results show that no herding behavior exists in China's overall carbon market. As for herding asymmetry, no herding behavior exists in both up and down markets and in the markets with high and low trading volumes, as well as in the markets with high volatility. Among China's eight carbon markets, herding behavior exists in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Fujian, in which Chongqing has the highest herding intensity, while Guangdong, Hubei, Shenzhen, and Tianjin have no herding behavior. The herding behavior is prone to the occurrence when carbon price continuously rises or falls with high volatility. When the carbon market is highly volatile with a large transaction volume, the herding intensity is high. Herding intensity is positively correlated with market volatility. Finally, we propose policy implications to mitigate herding behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Knowledge and technologies produced in Chinese cities has increasingly taken a greater share of total output of global cities. • The quality of this output has increased over time Chinese cities improve the quality of their knowledge output before increasing the quality of technology. • Only Beijing, Shanghai & Shenzhen compete globally in terms of quality of output – other Chinese cities do not. • This can be a mechanism for increasing regional inequality within China. Are Chinese cities becoming smarter in terms of the knowledge and technologies they produce? For decades, the widely held believe in the global North is that China merely copies, imitates and only incrementally improves ideas. Recently, this believe is increasingly being challenged. In this paper I quantify this process. Using data from about 6,1 million patents and 60 million academic publications I examine the complexity of technologies and knowledge developed in major Chinese cities and compare these to those produced in other global cities. The results show that (1) knowledge and technologies produced in Chinese cities has increasingly taken a greater share of total output of global cities; (2) the quality of this output has increased over time; (3) Chinese cities improve the quality of their knowledge output before increasing the quality of technology; and (4) only Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen compete with other global cities in terms of the quality of output, suggesting emerging regional inequality within China linked to knowledge and technology production. Not only is the size of the Chinese economy increasing, so is the quantity and quality of its knowledge and technology output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Planned as Shanghai’s new port, Yangshan is currently expanding its roles as transhipment hub and integrated logistics/industrial center in the Asia–Pacific region. This paper examines the impact of the emergence of Yangshan on the spatial pattern of the Yangtze River Delta since the 1970s, with reference to existing port system spatial evolutionary models. While this emergence confirms the trend of offshore hub development and regionalization processes observed in other regions, we also discuss noticeable deviations due to territorial and governance issues. Strong national policies favoring Shanghai’s vicinity rather than Ningbo as well as the growth of Yangshan beyond sole transhipment functions all contribute to Shanghai’s transformation into a global city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, Shanghai city, the biggest city in China, was selected as the case for quantifying the impact of land-use/land cover (LULC) change on patterns of surface urban heat island (UHI). Time series of LULC maps of Shanghai were produced from Landsat TM/ETM+ images between 1997 and 2008, during which this city experienced unprecedented urban growth. The results show that dramatic changes in LULC have occurred, with loss of cropland, forest and shrub to urban use. The built-up land increased by 219.50%. In contrast, bare land, cropland, fallow land, forest and shrub decreased by 79.38%, 50.50%, 43.35%, and 20.90%, respectively. Consequently, these drastically altered the land surface characteristics and spatiotemporal patterns of UHI. According to temporal analysis on seasonal and inter-annual variations of intensity of the UHI (UHII), both the mean UHII between the city center (UHIIC-R) and UHII between the peri-urban and surrounding rural areas (UHIIP-R) reached maximum during summer period, followed by UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R during spring period. UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R were both relatively weak during winter period. In contrast, UHIIC-R and UHIIP-R were both slight during autumn period. Spatially, there were significant LSTs gradients from the city center to surrounding rural areas. Furthermore, the overall relationships between surface UHI pattern and pixel-based biophysical features as well as population density and road density were quantitatively explored. Thus, based on temporal–spatial analysis of land use dynamics, patterns of LST, and socioeconomic driving forces, our findings highlight the urgent demands for planers and decision-makers to deliberately take urban expansion, UHI effects, and their impact on local climate change into account in future planning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Knowledge absorption theories argue that technologically less advanced companies (latecomer firms) can substantially upgrade their knowledge base through active knowledge absorption. These theories view knowledge absorption as a stepwise process which includes a linkage phase, a leverage phase and a learning phase (LLL concept). Case studies in Taiwan and Korea have shown that latecomer firms can indeed follow this approach and catch-up technologically with advanced firms. This paper aims to discuss the relevance of the LLL concept in China using the example of Optical Technology (OT). It reveals that the concept is not universally applicable. In the case of China, the ownership of companies determines successes and failures of strategies for increasing knowledge absorption. Private firms face substantial difficulties in establishing the necessary linkages; the upgrading of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) is controlled by their parent companies. This result has implications for theoretical concepts of learning and innovation in China, as well as for policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Within a wide body of literature it has been argued and demonstrated that community participation in tourism development is advantageous in terms of the sustainability and effectiveness of the development policies adopted. However, over time, doubts have been raised about whether community participation should take place in developing countries. There are major concerns regarding the immaturity and the incompliance of the political and social conditions of developing countries in relation to the requirements necessary for an effective participatory planning. In this paper, we argue that mega-events, due to their wide scope and the key role that large groups of stakeholders play in their success, may represent a driver for community participation in developing countries. In order to explore our idea, we will analyse tourism development and the planning of a mega-event within the Yangtze River Delta area, driven by the organisation and preparation of the Shanghai World Expo. According to our evidence, some initial elements of participative decision-making have indeed developed around the organisation of this mega-event, even though China has historically been considered refractory towards community participation. Finally, we discuss the findings in the light of existing knowledge to elicit significant questions about community participation in tourism development within developing countries and to address further research on this topic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous studies have understood urban competitiveness mainly from an economic perspective. Drawing on insights from recent debates on urban governance that argue for sustainable development, this study employs a more balanced view that takes into account the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of urban competitiveness. A four-level hierarchical indicator system is used to examine the competitiveness of 253 Chinese cities at the prefecture level or above in the year 2000. The results show that most of the top 20 cities are in the eastern part of China and have populations over 0.5 million. The bottom 20 cities are located primarily in the western part of China and have smaller populations that range from 0.2 to 0.5 million. In 2000 the city with the top economic competitiveness was Shanghai, the top social competitiveness was Beijing, and the top environmental competitiveness was Zhuhai. A given city does not necessarily rank the same in economic, social, and environmental competitiveness, but may perform well in different ways. The paper argues that, in order to sustain urban competitiveness, a city should achieve not only good economic performance, but also satisfactory social and environmental development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Residential development provides product/service value like floor space, while at the same time it induces severe environmental impacts. This paper introduces a methodology for eco-efficiency (EE) evaluation of residential development at city level, which links product/service value and environmental impacts together. Different from previous researches on environmental impacts related to the construction process of residential buildings, the proposed methodology selects the ecological footprint (EF) as an aggregate environmental indicator to represent all resources consumed and all wastes produced by residential development, while the traditional EF model of a region is improved in view of characters of residential development. Since the final and main objective of the residential development is to provide floor space, which is chosen as the indicator of product/service value herein. The proposed methodology is applied and exemplified in the eco-efficiency evaluation of residential development in three Chinese cities, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing. Results derived from the proposed methodology can help policy-makers and participants in the industry to assess residential development quantitatively and roundly. They can also provide implications for the environmental management of residential development at city level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multiyear inventories of vehicular emissions in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou from 1995 through 2005 have been developed in this paper to study the vehicle emissions trends in China''s mega cities during the past decade. The results show that the vehicular emissions of CO, HC, NO x and PM10 have begun to slow their growth rates and perhaps even to decline in recent years due to the implementation of measures to control vehicular emissions in these cities. However, vehicular CO2 emissions have substantially increased and still continue to grow due to little fuel economy improvement. Passenger cars and large vehicles (including heavy duty trucks and buses) are the major sources of vehicular CO2 and CO emissions while large vehicles were responsible for nearly 70% and 80% of the vehicular NO x and PM10 emissions in these mega cities. Motorcycles are also important contributors to vehicular emissions in Guangzhou and Shanghai. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The spatial expansion of universities in China is an integral component of the capital accumulation strategy at the interface of higher education and urbanization. • In the development of university town projects, universities functioned as a financing vehicle for (sub)urban development. • The financialisation of universities was motivated by opportunity-driven strategies, intertwined with central-local tensions, and it was implemented within the state system and through multiple state agencies. • The study highlights the importance of understanding the variegated forms of the financialisation of the state by looking at diverse financial contexts, inter-scalar interactions, and operational mechanisms. This study examines the dynamics of university towns by focusing on the role of universities in China's (sub)urbanisation. Based on statistical data, the spatial expansion of universities is recognised as an integral component of the capital accumulation strategy at the interface of higher education and urbanisation. An empirical study of Shanghai further details the land-tuition-leverage strategy, the financialisation of universities, and the final government bailouts. In these processes, universities functioned as a financing vehicle for (sub)urban development. Moreover, the financialisation of universities was motivated by opportunity-driven strategies, intertwined with central-local tensions, and it was implemented within the state system and through multiple state agencies. The paper thus suggests the importance of looking at diverse financial contexts, inter-scalar interactions, and concrete mechanisms for understanding the variegated forms of the financialisation of the state and (semi-)public institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the unique institutional structures which manage interactions and interrelationships among key actors, their roles and functions, and how these articulate with national and global forces to produce new spaces of spatial economic development in the Pudong New Area in Shanghai. We begin with a revisionist historical perspective which links the official creation and initial development of Pudong to the political and international trade relations uncertainties of post-Tiananmen China and an economically laggard Shanghai of the late 1980s. The early focus in Pudong on export-oriented development has since yielded to a rather more sophisticated and comprehensive combination of strategies incorporating local, regional and international dimensions. Planning priorities and the resulting patterns of development in Pudong arose from the deliberate amalgamation and professionalisation of administrative responsibilities which have initiated and managed processes of change. The morphology of these spatial economic changes is not fully explained in relation to decentralisation, marketisation, and globalisation. The article considers a number of elements which need to be considered as part of a new conceptual framework for understanding the depth and extent of new spaces of globalisation in Pudong. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the gendered impacts of job-housing balance and neighborhood environments on mental health in the context of urban China. Using data of suburban commuters derived from a 2017 activity-travel survey in Shanghai, we employ ordered logistic regression models to test the effects of job-housing distance, commuting mode and neighborhood-scale environments on self-rated mental health status, and explore whether such effects vary between men and women. Model results indicate that, while longer job-housing distance generally predicts a lower level of self-reported mental health evaluations, this correlation is not significant among women. Compared with other travel modes, commuting by public transit is positively correlated with self-rated mental health, especially for women. Furthermore, whereas both men and women report better mental health status if living in a neighborhood with outdoor facilities and lower noise pollution, proximity to public space is negatively associated with mental health for men but not significant for women. Our findings entail the complexity of gendered mechanisms through which the physical environment – including the job-housing spatial relationship and neighborhood environment affects mental health among suburban commuters in rapidly urbanizing China. • Rapid suburbanization creates significant spatial imbalances between residential location and workplace. • Activity-travel survey in Shanghai was used to assess job-housing distance and perceived mental health. • Long commutes are associated with poorer mental health outcomes among residents. • Gender differences are associated with variable outcomes due to family roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The socio-spatial segregation experienced by migrants has attracted considerable attention and an increasing number of studies have examined segregation in migrants' daily activity space recently. However, research on activity diversity and spatial contact between local residents and migrants has been limited. This paper fills this knowledge gap by investigating the differences in the extensity, intensity, diversity and exclusivity of activity spaces among local residents, urban migrants and rural migrants based on their routine activities in suburban Shanghai, China. It finds that rural migrants have low daily mobility and are physically constrained, and there is spatial sorting of activity locations among different social groups. Neighborhood environment significantly influences activity space-based segregation: People who live in neighborhoods with higher POI density and better access to commercial establishments and public spaces have small activity spaces, while those who live in neighborhoods with mixed land use, better access to public transit, and higher street connectivity have more diverse activity participation. Neighborhoods with better public spaces and a lower land use mix promote shared activity spaces. This study uncovers the segregation suffered by migrants by examining the usage of urban space and spatial interactions among social groups, enhancing our understanding of activity space-based segregation in developing countries. • We analyze the activity space-based segregation emphasizing diverse locations visited in residents' daily lives. • There is significant activity space-based segregation among hukou groups. • Rural migrants have limited daily mobility and are physically constrained in activity space. • Local residents tend not to share activity spaces with migrants. • Residential neighborhood attributes significantly influence activity space-based segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the low-carbon city pilot policy has been important work in China. It aims to control the city's greenhouse gas emissions, find a "win-win" path of low-carbon and economy and drive the innovation and development of cities through low-carbon goals. In this context, we consider the low-carbon city pilot policy as the starting point. Based on the data of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2005 to 2015 in 285 prefecture-level cities, the OP and LP methods are used to calculate total factor productivity (TFP). In this paper, using PSM-DID and other methods, we empirically test whether and how the low-carbon city pilot policy affects enterprise TFP. The results indicate that the construction of low-carbon cities significantly promotes an increase in the TFP of local enterprises. In addition, improving technological innovation and optimizing the efficiency of resource allocation are two important transmission mechanisms. The above conclusions are robust to a series of tests. Therefore, the implementation of a low-carbon city pilot policy can help achieve the "win-win" goal of emission reduction and high-quality enterprise development. This study provides strong support for further expanding the scope of low-carbon city pilot policy projects and the scientific implementation of climate change policies, and it provides beneficial policy enlightenment for the scientific implementation of urban emission reduction control to win the battle against climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings are inconsistent in studies for impacts of outdoor air pollutants on airway health in childhood. In this paper, we collected data regarding airway and allergic symptoms in the past year before a survey in 13,335 preschoolers from a cross-sectional study. Daily averaged concentrations of ambient sulphur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM 10) in the past year before the survey were collected in the kindergarten-located district. We investigated associations of 12-month average concentrations of these pollutants with childhood airway and allergic symptoms. In the two-level (district-child) logistic regression analyses, exposure to higher level of NO 2 and of PM 10 increased odds of wheeze symptoms (adjusted OR, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.01–1.05 for per 3.0 μg/m3 increase in NO 2 ; 1.22, 1.09–1.39 for per 7.6 μg/m3 increase in PM 10), wheeze with a cold (1.03, 1.01–1.06; 1.22, 1.08–1.39), dry cough during night (1.05, 1.03–1.08; 1.23, 1.09–1.40), rhinitis symptoms (1.11, 1.08–1.13; 1.32, 1.07–1.63), rhinitis on pet (1.11, 1.05–1.18; 1.37, 0.95–1.98) and pollen (1.12, 1.03–1.21; 1.23, 0.84–1.82) exposure, eczema symptoms (1.09, 1.05–1.12; 1.22, 0.98–1.52), and lack of sleep due to eczema (1.12, 1.07–1.18; 1.58, 1.25–1.98). Exposures to NO 2 and PM 10 were also significantly and positively associated with the accumulative score of airway symptoms. Similar positive associations were found of NO 2 and of PM 10 with the individual symptoms and symptom scores among preschoolers from different kindergarten-located district. These results indicate that ambient NO 2 and PM 10 likely are risk factors for airway and allergic symptoms in childhood in Shanghai, China. • We surveyed 13,335 preschoolers from five districts of Shanghai, China. • We studied effects of ambient NO 2 , SO 2 and PM 10 on airway and allergic diseases. • Periods of pollutant exposures and disease appearances were same in one year. • NO 2 and PM 10 was associated with increased risks of most studied diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the fractal structure of China's stock market by calculating the multifractal singularity spectrum and comparing the scaling behavior of the bubble phase of eight abnormal volatilities with that of normal fluctuation on the timeline. We find robust evidence that the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index has multifractal features in the bubble and normal fluctuation periods, where the higher multifractality is associated with a bubble and more unstable market. The short-sighted administrative policies cause over-supply of intervention, which enhances the multifractality and increases the instability of the stock market. The multifractal parameter set (α 0 , Δ α , − B) might be used as a quantifier to characterize the status of the stock market. A policy aimed to improve the stability of the stock market should be devoted to optimizing the parameter set. • A multifractal process for the SSECI both in bubble and normal status are supported. • The parameter set (α 0 , Δ α , − B) distinguish the bubble from normal status well. • The marketization degree has a significant impact on the spectra of the SSECI bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenge of food waste in the foodservice sector of China is under-examined. This paper advances knowledge by exploring the food waste management practices adopted in a sample of Shanghai full-service restaurants. Through 22 in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior managers it establishes the significance of the food waste challenge and identifies Chinese food consumption habits as a major cause. Despite the pronounced role of consumers in food waste generation, restaurateurs largely fail to engage them in mitigation. To mitigate food waste occurring on customer plates, changes to the Chinese dining culture should be facilitated via nation-wide campaigns aiming to raise public awareness of food waste when eating out. The government of China should lead on the design of such campaigns, ideally involving celebrities for better consumer appeal and academics for the assessment of their effectiveness. The national government should also provide free-to-attend specialist training to restaurant managers and staff on how to mitigate food waste occurring in kitchens. • Explores food waste management in a sample of full-service restaurants in Shanghai. • Establishes the significant magnitude of food waste generation. • Pinpoints the Chinese dining culture as a major cause. • Highlights the mostly passive nature of existing mitigation approaches. • Elaborates on the interventions required for more effective mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy (RE) is strategically important to achieve sustainability. Its development in China, however, is clearly imbalanced across regions. The uneven distribution of natural resources, financial resources and other factors across this country has brought serious challenges to the policymakers. It is thus important to give a comprehensive evaluation of China's regional RE development. To do so, this paper introduces a multidimensional approach and establishes a quantitative evaluation framework. Based on the existing literature, five dimensions of factors have been chosen for the framwork: economic foundation, institutions, technological development potential, energy security and environmental protection, and current status of the RE sector. A dynamic principal component analysis technique is applied to data from 29 provinces between 2008 and 2014. The results demonstrate large variations in RE development across provinces in China. More economically developed regions, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, have maintained a higher ranking and have clear advantages in almost all dimensions. Policy implications and recommendations for more balanced development across China are drawn from the empirical results. This approach can also be extended to investigate similar issues in other countries. • A five-dimensional index is proposed to quantify renewable energy (RE) development in China. • RE development performance in China has improved over time. • Disparities in RE development across regions have become smaller. • The institutional dimension is a challenging segment in RE development. • Beijing and Shanghai have the highest level of RE development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Community participation is key for sustainable cultural heritage management and urban development. • There are differences between Chinese and international practices on community participation within cultural heritage. • In general, Chinese cultural heritage management is a government-led process. • Chinese participatory governance for cultural heritage is still nascent and it has yet to find a firm foothold. Community participation is an essential issue in heritage management. The international heritage organisation ICCROM published a guidance document discussing people-centred approaches to heritage management in 2015. Cultural heritage management is recommended to be carried out through a community participation process. Despite the growing literature on community participation in cultural heritage management, little research has been done on comparing Chinese to international approaches. Although in China several pilot projects have conducted effective community participation and achieved excellent outcomes. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing an overview that compares and discusses the similarities and differences between Chinese and international approaches. A systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art was conducted to explore these differences based on four themes: engaged communities, participatory methods, degrees of participation and steps taken within cultural heritage management. This review concludes both Chinese and international practices seek to collaborate with and empower local communities in their approaches, with Chinese pilot cases, such as Tianzifang in Shanghai. However, in general, Chinese cultural heritage management is government-led, in which community participation is happening to a minimal degree. China is encouraged to learn from international practices when developing contextualised management approaches, to better face the challenges of rapid urbanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of high-speed rail (HSR) networks is of great significance to researchers in the fields of regional development, regional structure, and regional integration. Whilst a large number of studies have estimated the impacts of HSR networks on regional economic development, accessibility, and commuting behavior, how urban spatial structures evolution in the HSR era remain largely unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to explore how the urban structures (urban hierarchical structure and urban physical structure) of cities in the Yangtze River Delta evolution by employing a reverse gravity model and a gravity deviation model in the HSR era. Our findings indicate that in the HSR network, the traffic attractiveness of cities in Pan-Yangtze River Delta showed an obvious hierarchical distribution (taking on a spindle shape), and that the first-tier cities comprised of Shanghai and Nanjing. We further found that the impacts of introducing a HSR network on urban land growth were greater in non-HSR cities than in cities with HSR. In addition, the growth rate of urban land was found to be higher in areas surrounding HSR stations than in the city at large. This shows that the introduction of HSR significantly stimulated the development of the cities making up the study area. More importantly, after the opening of the HSR network, the center of gravity of the urban areas of 75% cities that were connected to the HSR network was found to deviate towards the HSR station. Differences in the pattern and degree of deviation were identified, thus indicating the presence of individual differences in the effects of HSR on urban growth in different cities. Image 1 • The impact of HSR networks on urban hierarchical and physical structure is explored. • A reverse gravity model and a gravity deviation model are utilized, taking 2008–2013 into consideration. • In the HSR network, the traffic attractiveness of cities showed an obvious hierarchical distribution. • The impacts of introducing a HSR network were greater in non-HSR cities than in cities with HSR. • The center of gravity of the urban areas of 75% cities was found to deviate towards the HSR station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]