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This study revealed the non-linear impact of the internet on the spatial structure of intracity employment and how transportation infrastructure moderates this non-linear impact. Using data from 22.47 million enterprises from the China Economic Census of 2004, 2008 and 2013, we found that (1) on average, the internet promotes urban employment agglomeration, but this agglomeration effect diminishes marginally as internet penetration increases; (2) the internet promotes the secondary sector to agglomerate first and then disperse, while it only has an agglomeration effect on the tertiary sector; and (3) improvements in the transportation infrastructure diminish the internet's agglomeration effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the net effect of agglomeration on entrepreneurship depends on the trade-off between positive and negative effects, urban agglomeration can either promote or discourage entrepreneurial activity in theory. However, there is an unexpected shortage of empirical confirmations on this potential cause-and-effect relationship. Our study strives to fill this empirical gap by providing credible evidence whether agglomeration, measured by the urban density or population, increases the probability of individuals being self-employed. Based on the China Labor-Force Dynamic Survey of 2012, 2014, and 2016, we find that big cities fail to facilitate individuals to start or run their own businesses. Further analyses illustrate that the entrepreneurs in large cities can be easily tempted by a wider range of salaried opportunities and are generally exposed to high fixed costs and intense competition. In contrast, entrepreneurship in large cities is of high reward. These results serve as direct evidence of the co-existence of agglomeration diseconomies and economies. This also suggests the direction of government policy in large cities, which is to alleviate, as much as possible, the negative impact on entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycentric planning strategies have often failed to achieve the expected effects. The ensuing uncertainty associated with the desirability of polycentric strategies is also reflected in the early literature which offers no clear conclusion about whether the polycentricity affects economic performance and how. This paper aims at offering a clear conclusion about it, especially its dependence on city size. Against this backdrop, we conceptualize polycentricity as a process of reclustering after decentralization to reevaluate its impact on performance. To this end, we use the city proper level Chinese Economic Census (2004, 2008, and 2013) and apply a fixed-effects panel model, the results of which show that the dependence of the urban economy on spatial structure is contingent on city size. More specifically, both decentralization and clustering (and therefore the polycentric structure) facilitate economic performance only when cities reach a certain size. We use our findings as the basis for outlining an emergent research agenda for urban polycentricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the "information age" ushered in renewed expectations of systematic urban spatial structure transformation. However, few studies have quantitatively assessed these changes, especially the decentralisation of manufacturing employment. This paper tests hypotheses regarding the decentralisation–centralisation effect of information and communication technology (ICT) on manufacturing. Further, the work employs an IV‐GMM estimation technique to estimate the models, to alleviate potential bias brought by endogeneity. The results suggest that the adoption of ICT is highly related to the decentralisation of manufacturing employment on the city‐proper scale in China. The conclusion drawn is that ICT has shaped the manufacturing decentralisation of cities in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing driving among young adults is an important topic because their travel behavior is shaping future travel trends. However, previous studies have paid less attention to the influence of compactness at both residences and workplaces on young adults' commuting behavior in the Chinese context. Moreover, few studies have examined the influential pathways from compactness to young adults' commuting behavior. To fill these gaps, based on a post-'80s (people born between 1980 and 1989) survey conducted in Shanghai in 2013, this study employed a generalized structural equation model to examine whether both compact residences and workplaces affect young adults' choices of commuting mode and, if so, whether or not car ownership and commuting distance are mediators. Results show that compactness at both residences and workplaces is associated with young adults' commuting behavior, but that the compactness at residences has a higher influence. Moreover, we identify that both car ownership and commuting distance are mediators in the relationship between compact residences and commuting behavior, but not in the relationship between compact workplaces and commuting behavior. This study concludes that applying the compact land-use policy at both residences and workplaces could reduce young adults' driving behavior in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the literature often suggests that the economic prowess of 'polycentric urban regions' partly results from the ability of their constituent cities to promote functional spillovers through 'borrowed size', the empirical evidence remains scarce. This paper finds that polycentricity boosts the positive functional spillovers of producer service sector of city clusters beyond their boundaries only when city clusters have larger population and better urban infrastructure connectivity. And consequently, functional spillovers increase urban labour productivity. The labour division among cities could be the essential mechanism for the linkage between polycentricity and regional functional spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the evolution of the urban spatial structure is of great significance for clarifying the stage and trajectory of urban development and formulating future urban development plans. Given that previous studies have marginally explored the long-term evolution of the urban employment spatial structure, this paper proposes a theoretical model hypothesizing five sequential stages of a complete evolution cycle from the perspective of mono- and polycentricity: mono-centralization, main-centralization, multi-centralization, de-centralization and re-centralization. Further empirical results based on 292 prefecture-level cities in China from 1997 to 2017 support the model and demonstrate that most cities present an evolution in line with the hypothesis, except a few cities experiencing short-term fluctuations, and approximately 60 % of cities are in the stage of multi-centralization, where subcenters have a growth advantage, and the main center has a scale advantage. Additionally, this paper reveals two characteristics of the evolution of the urban employment spatial structure in China: spatiotemporal compression and government intervention. • Propose a theoretical evolutionary model of urban employment spatial structure. • Empirically test the theoretical model based on a sample of 292 prefecture-level cities in China from 1997-2017. • The evolution of the urban employment spatial structure in China gradually tends to be polycentric. • Spatiotemporal compression and government intervention are features of China's urban employment spatial structure evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It remains unclear whether a polycentric city can support more and higher-order consumer amenities. This paper presents new evidence from shopping malls in China and includes the effect of urban spatial structure on the order of consumer amenities and the moderating effect of transportation infrastructure, both of which have been neglected in previous empirical studies. We find that a monocentric city can provide a greater number and higher order of shopping malls than a polycentric city. Additionally, better transportation infrastructure can compensate for the disadvantage of polycentricity in the provision of low-order shopping malls, while it reinforces the merit of monocentricity in higher-order shopping malls. The findings advance the understanding of the relationship between polycentricity and the quantity and quality of consumer amenities and provide insights into polycentric structure policies. • We utilize exploratory spatial data analysis and night-time light to identify urban polycentricity. • A monocentric city tends to support a greater number and higher order of shopping malls. • Improved transportation infrastructure can mitigate the drawbacks of polycentricity in providing low-order shopping malls. • Better transportation infrastructure strengthens the advantages of monocentricity in providing higher-order shopping malls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the role of commute duration in subjective well-being (SWB) has paid little attention to developing countries and the possible pathways determining the relationship between them. In this study, we construct a conceptual framework, identifying the possible pathways through which commute duration may affect SWB. Next, we empirically analyse some of these pathways in the context of urban China. We find that although the direct effects of commute duration on life satisfaction and emotional well-being are insignificant, prolonged commute duration has significant and negative indirect effects on life satisfaction and emotional well-being through lowering health, job satisfaction, and community-based social capital. In addition, compared with people who commute by public transport, those who use private cars are more satisfied with their lives. Urban policymakers should give more consideration to reducing traffic congestion, to promoting the housing and labour market, as well as public transport, to reduce the negative influences of commute duration on SWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have found that the built environment affects commute duration. However, they have paid little attention to the moderating effects of the surrounding built environment, and few have focused on the built environment at different levels simultaneously. Based on a sample of 3453 individuals across China in 2014, our study examined the impacts of the built environment at both the neighbourhood and city levels on commute duration as well as the moderating effects of the city-level built environment on the neighbourhood-level built environment using a multilevel linear regression model. The results show that built environment elements at both levels affect commute duration: city population size, population density at both levels, and the quadratic term for population density at the city level are positively associated with commute duration, while jobs–housing balance and short distance to business centres and transit stations are negatively related. City population size can strengthen the time-shortening effects of the jobs–housing balance and of proximity to transit stations on commute duration. City population density decreases the time-shortening effect of business centre proximity. This study has important implications for future research and policies regarding reducing traffic congestion and commute duration in Chinese cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the effect of metropolitan government fragmentation on urban economic growth in China. Spatially decentralised governance under centralised political control plays an important role in China's post-reform economic development, although evidence has focused on the growth-inducing effect of political completion at the provincial and cross-city levels. Our study suggests that economic growth increases with the number of urban districts only up to two districts, controlling for the potential endogeneity in the number of urban districts, the proxy of metropolitan government fragmentation. This result, while suggestive and in need of further validation, has important policy implications for the rapid urbanisation in China, where municipal administrative structure design does not seem to factor in the effects of government fragmentation on urban growth. More broadly, evidence from China's cities contributes to the ongoing evaluation of fragmented metropolitan governance across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of spatial structure, as measured on the monocentricity–polycentricity dimension, on labour productivity at the prefectural level in China. Using pooled cross-sectional and instrumental variable techniques, we find that, all else being equal, prefectures with a more monocentric spatial structure have a higher labour productivity, robust to different specifications. Furthermore, large agglomeration economies may fuel the beneficial effects of monocentricity. We conclude that, in terms of economic performance, monocentric-oriented spatial strategy could be a better choice for Chinese prefecture-scale regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the reliance on car-based transportation is a common goal of academics and policy makers, one element of which is car-ownership. This paper contributes to our understanding of the links between socio-economic attributes, the built environment and car ownership. Based on a sample of 3480 individuals across China in 2012, this study examines the impacts of the built environment at both neighborhood and city levels on car ownership and its moderating effects on household income. The results indicate that built environment elements at both levels affect car ownership significantly, and while some elements mitigate the effects of household income on car ownership, others strengthen them. Thus, urban transportation policy should focus on the built environment at both the neighborhood and city levels and promote compact development for the sake of restraining car ownership and encouraging more sustainable modes of travel. Moreover, policy should not ignore the interaction effects between individual socio-economic attributes and the built environment, as their directions are heterogeneous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Using data from 161 Chinese cities, this paper investigates the effects of various dimensions of urban spatial structure on the ownership and commute mode split of automobile. Results confirm the positive effects of city size on auto ownership and mode split and the negative effect of density on auto ownership. Echoing a small number of studies, this research discovers the seemingly counterintuitive effect of jobs-housing balance on the use of automobiles, probably due to the potential advantage of public transit relative to driving in dense and congested Chinese cities. Cities should emphasize public transit and maintain density in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban traffic is embedded in and fundamentally shaped by the spatial pattern of urban land use, such as city size, density, extent of polycentricity, and the relationship between employment and residential locations. Previous evidence, mainly from European and American cities, suggests that the duration of commute trips increases with city size and the spatial separation between jobs and housing. On the other hand, the influences of density and polycentricity are less clear. Using data from 164 cities in China, this study empirically analyzes the relationship between city average commute duration and multiple dimensions of urban spatial structure. Controlling for economic, demographic, and infrastructure characteristics, we find that commute duration correlates positively with city size and jobs–housing separation but negatively with density and polycentricity. As one of the earliest studies on commute cost in the rapidly urbanizing and motorizing Chinese cities, this study can help Chinese decision makers improve urban economic and environmental efficiency through spatial planning and policy making. Specifically, compact, mixed-use, and polycentric spatial development may ease the burden of commute, and thus substitute for unnecessary infrastructure investment and energy consumption during a period of rapid urban expansion in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing people's life satisfaction is the ultimate goal of efforts to build happy cities. Urban planners thus aim to optimize the environment to improve life satisfaction. We use structural equation models to explore the relationship of life satisfaction with perceived environmental elements in residential and workplace neighborhoods mediated by domain satisfaction based on a sample comprising 1058 respondents in Shanghai in 2018. The results suggest that the residential environment contributes more to life satisfaction than the workplace environment does. In residential neighborhoods, perceived environmental quality and social capital are important to life satisfaction, while in workplace neighborhoods, perceived accessibility is the most critical element, followed by perceived environmental quality. Moreover, perceived environmental elements can influence life satisfaction by affecting commute satisfaction and residential neighborhood satisfaction and/or workplace neighborhood satisfaction. These findings suggest that optimizing the environment in both residential and workplace neighborhoods helps improve people's satisfaction with specific domains and overall life. • Perceived residential and workplace environments are important for life satisfaction. • Residential environments play a more important role in life satisfaction. • Residential environmental quality and social capital are related to life satisfaction. • Workplace accessibility and environmental quality are related to life satisfaction. • Environmental elements affect life satisfaction by activity and place satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the mapping of urban networks based on inter- and intra-firm linkages has attracted extensive attention in the field of urban geography, analysing urban networks through specific lenses inevitably results in partial perspectives on how urban systems are organised. To further advance the research on understanding the pluralistic geographies of intercity connections, this paper unpacks the urban network as formed by client service relationships of law firms in China. Drawing on a network analysis of the interfirm service provision relationships between 24,441 law firms and their corporate clients in China, this paper presents a pilot study of what a law service provision network looks like and how its structure – especially the connectivities of cities and city-dyads – is shaped. The findings reveal that while the general patterns of the urban network formed by client service relationships of law firms is broadly in line with the underlying structure of China's economic and political landscapes, administrative factors, market and spatial distances have shaped the patterns of urban network in China in a unique and mixed manner, and that the ways in which these factors function are closely related to the characteristics of the network actors. • The geographies of intercity connections are pluralistic. • Administrative factors, market and spatial distance function together. • The characteristics of network actors shape the formation of urban networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City planners are increasingly drawn to the possibilities of transforming urban spatial structure as an important strategy for reducing air pollution. This paper addresses mixed findings in the existing literature through reliable methodology and heterogeneity tests. We examined the effects of spatial mono- and polycentricity on PM 2.5 concentrations using spatial econometric models based on a three-year panel of data for cities at, or above, the prefecture in China. We found that population density had a robust moderating effect. That is, all else being equal, PM 2.5 concentrations are lower when low-density cities have a strong-monocentric spatial structure and when high-density cities are polycentric. We estimated the population density threshold at which point the relationship between structure and density changes at about 160 persons/km.2 Our findings can serve as a possible criterion for differentiating low- and high-density cities in China and guide policymakers in planning optimal urban structures to mitigate air pollution. • The spatial centralization index and spatial concentration index are used together to quantify polycentricity. • PM 2.5 lower when low-density cities have strong-monocentric spatial structure. • Densely populated cities can reduce PM 2.5 concentrations using a polycentric structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Polycentric structure decreases the mean CO 2 concentrations of city regions. • Significant CO 2 reductions are observed in primary city centers. • Mild CO 2 increases are observed in city subcenters. • This reduction is affected by commuting, industry, and household emissions factors. • Polycentric spatial strategies should be implemented into urban planning practices. The environmental sustainability of polycentric spatial structures in urban planning must be evaluated to ensure the sustainable development of city regions. Given the mixed conclusions of previous studies, as well as the lack of information on reliable methods of assessment and quantifiable mechanisms, a three-year dataset for prefecture-level and above city regions in China and spatial econometric models were used to examine the relationship between regional polycentricity and CO 2 concentrations. After robust testing, we confirmed that polycentric structures decrease the mean CO 2 concentrations of city regions, significantly reducing CO 2 concentrations in primary city centers and mildly increasing those in city subcenters. Further quantitative analyses of the mechanisms underlying these patterns revealed that the CO 2 -reduction effect of polycentric structures is due to the balancing of reductions in commuting duration, transference of industrial CO 2 to neighboring areas, and an increase in household CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-density built environments contribute to obesity by reducing physical activity. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the relationship between population density and obesity in rural areas and the mediation effect of car ownership. Using 2004–2015 data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, we examine the association between population density and weight status in Chinese rural areas and identify whether car ownership mediates the association using fixed-effect models and a causal step approach. The results show that population density is positively associated with weight status in rural areas. A higher population density contributes to weight gain through increasing car ownership. However, the mediation effects of car ownership are statistically significant only for young adults. These findings highlight the rural–urban difference in the association between population density and weight status. Hence, policymakers should pay more attention to local contexts when they intervene in the built environment for obesity prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have explored the relationship between population density and obesity, but there is no consensus, particularly in dense Chinese cities. This study applied gradient boosting decision trees to 2014 national survey data to examine the non-linear or threshold effects of population density at both local and regional levels on waist-hip ratio (WHR), controlling for other built environment elements and socio-demographics. Built environment elements collectively have a stronger predictive power than socio-demographics (56.6% vs. 43.4%). Within a certain range, regional population density is negatively associated with WHR, but its marginal effect diminishes beyond the upper threshold. Local population density has a U-shaped relationship with WHR. These results suggest that urban planners can alleviate the risk of obesity through population densification, but over-densification tends to be inefficient, and sometimes counterproductive. • Neighborhood population density has a U-shaped association with waist-hip ratio. • Regional population density has a threshold effect on waist-hip ratio. • Built environment variables are more important predictors of waist-hip ratio than socio-demographics. • Neighborhood population density is the second most important predictor, following the built area of a region. • Household income is the most important predictor among socio-demographics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a global public health threat. Although studies have suggested that the built environment is related to obesity, scholars have paid less attention to the pathways from the built environment to young adults' obesity. To bridge this gap, we employed path analysis to examine whether food intake, exercise, and active travel mediate the association between the campus-based built environment and body mass index (BMI), based on a nationwide sample of 15,503 Chinese undergraduates mostly aged 18–23 years old. Our results showed that unhealthy food intake mediated the association. A higher number of points of interest, more green space, and fewer restaurants were negatively related to body mass index by inhibiting unhealthy food intake. Neither the duration of exercise nor active travel distance mediated the built environment-BMI association, although both were directly associated with the campus-based built environment. These findings suggest that improving the campus-based environment could contribute to a reduction in obesity risk among undergraduates by improving their diets. • We explored how the built environment was related to undergraduates' obesity. • Unhealthy food intake was a mediator of the built environment-BMI association. • Exercise and active travel did not mediate the built environment-BMI association. • The built environment was associated with exercise and active travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City planners are increasingly captivated by the possibilities of transforming urban spatial structures as an important strategy for reducing heat island intensity. This study addresses the mixed findings of polycentric urban spatial structures on surface urban heat island intensity, using a multiple regression method and pathway analysis for the city region and city proper in China. We found that the polycentric spatial structure can reduce the surface urban heat island intensity at the scale of both the city region and city proper, although the reduction was economically insignificant at the city region scale. Path analysis explained the reduction in surface urban heat island intensity in the city proper: polycentric structures disperse industrial firms to the "rural" areas and centralizes green spaces in the "urban" areas. Our findings may serve as references for policymakers when optimizing urban spatial structures to improve the thermal environment. • The polycentric structure can reduce the surface urban heat island intensity. • The polycentric structure disperses industrial firms to the suburbs. • The polycentric structure centralizes green spaces into the downtown area. • The polycentric city proper has a lower surface urban heat island intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have investigated relative contributions of the built and natural environments to and their nonlinear associations with leisure physical activity (PA) in different spatial contexts. Applying gradient boosting decision tree models to data comprising 1049 adults collected in Shanghai, we investigated the associations between built and natural environments and leisure PA in residential and workplace neighborhoods. Results show that the built environment is more important than the natural environment to leisure PA in both residences and workplaces. Environmental attributes have nonlinear and threshold effects. Within certain ranges, land use mix and population density have opposite associations with leisure PA in residences and workplaces, whereas the distance to the city center and the area of water are associated with leisure PA in residences and workplaces with the same direction. These findings help urban planners design context-specific environmental interventions for supporting leisure PA., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to identify the non-linear association between population density and obesity in China and to provide empirical evidence for the public health orientated guideline of urban planning. By conducting a longitudinal study with data collected from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) between 2004 and 2011, we applied fixed-effect models to assess the non-linear association between the compact built environment and waist-hip ratio (WHR), controlling for sex, age, nationality, education, employment status, marital status, household size, household income, and residents' attitudes. Our findings reveal that the built environment is one of the key determinants of obesity. The U-shaped influence of population density on WHR was observed. Moreover, influence differs according to sex and weight status. Our findings indicate healthy city planning has the potential to improve the built environment to reduce obesity risk and promote public health.