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This paper assesses differences in life satisfaction along the urban-rural continuum in 111 countries across the globe. It combines survey data with a consistent definition of settlements to maximize international comparability. Once controlled for observed individual characteristics, differences in life satisfaction between people living in cities and in rural areas change with development levels. We found a positive difference at low development levels, which disappears or reverts for high-income countries. Among the factors associated with such differences are city-rural gaps in reported health problems, in physical infrastructure (built-up area), in expectations for future economic conditions, as well as in perceived housing affordability. We also show that life satisfaction varies by city size. Globally, large cities between one and five million inhabitants drive the observed city-premium, with stark heterogeneity across income levels. More specifically, residents in large metropolises over five million inhabitants report the highest and lowest life satisfaction in low- and high- income countries, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of worldwide biodiversity and wild bee decline, it is increasingly important to better understand the effect of land-use changes on wild bee communities at a global scale. To do so, we studied the effect of city area and urban green spaces layout on wild bee species richness and community composition, as well as on wild bee species with an unfavorable UICN conservation status. This study was based on a large European dataset encompassing 20 cities from France, Belgium and Switzerland. We found a mean wild bee species richness in cities of 96 ± 48 (SD), showing that this species richness was highly variable among cities. The main factor positively influencing wild bee species richness in cities was the area of the city. Conversely, species richness was not significantly related to the total area of urban green spaces in a given city, measured as the spatial extent of urban parks, wastelands and other semi-natural habitats, excluding urban private gardens. Species with conservation status were quite scarce in urban environments, especially when compared to the European Red List of Bees, and we could not link their presence to either city or urban green space area. Dissimilarities in wild bee species community compositions were not associated with any of the studied characteristics of cities. We found that the dissimilarity of wild bee community composition among cities was mainly driven by the rarest species, as the most common ones were found in a majority of the cities sampled. Overall, these results emphasize that larger cities host more wild bee species, but are no refuge for the ones with concerning conservation status. Thus, stakeholders are encouraged to design their cities in favor of biodiversity to better support wild bee communities, and perhaps mitigate the established effect of the urban ecological filter.

In the context of worldwide biodiversity and wild bee decline, it is increasingly important to better understand the effect of land-use changes on wild bee communities at a global scale. To do so, we studied the effect of city area and urban green spaces layout on wild bee species richness and community composition, as well as on wild bee species with an unfavorable UICN conservation status. This study was based on a large European dataset encompassing 20 cities from France, Belgium and Switzerland. We found a mean wild bee species richness in cities of 96 ± 48 (SD), showing that this species richness was highly variable among cities. The main factor positively influencing wild bee species richness in cities was the area of the city. Conversely, species richness was not significantly related to the total area of urban green spaces in a given city, measured as the spatial extent of urban parks, wastelands and other semi-natural habitats, excluding urban private gardens. Species with conservation status were quite scarce in urban environments, especially when compared to the European Red List of Bees, and we could not link their presence to either city or urban green space area. Dissimilarities in wild bee species community compositions were not associated with any of the studied characteristics of cities. We found that the dissimilarity of wild bee community composition among cities was mainly driven by the rarest species, as the most common ones were found in a majority of the cities sampled. Overall, these results emphasize that larger cities host more wild bee species, but are no refuge for the ones with concerning conservation status. Thus, stakeholders are encouraged to design their cities in favor of biodiversity to better support wild bee communities, and perhaps mitigate the established effect of the urban ecological filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Remote Sensing is the property of Editorial Office of Journal of Remote Sensing & Science Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study investigates the effects of city size and administrative rank on rural–urban migration in China and examines the factors that influence the city size effect. We focus on unemployed while job-seeking migrants. Using data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey for 2016 and 2017, we find that city size and administrative rank positively influence the destination of rural–urban migrants. Furthermore, we conclude that individual characteristics and home province features influence the city size effect. Young, unmarried, educated, and first-time migrants tend to choose big cities. Migrants from provinces without a primate city tend to move across provincial boundaries, implying that big cities are destinations. Moreover, the city size effect positively correlates with urban concentration and urbanization. Finally, we noted that first-time migrants tend to select a big city to migrate.

The premise of our research paper is that large (by the size of the population) municipalities are more complex to govern and manage, and this, in turn, calls for a more professional and apolitical local government. Using data from the largest European survey of mayors, we analyzed the influence of mayors and chief administrative officers in Europe and checked for correlations with the size of the local government. We present empirical evidence to support that the perceived influence of mayors varies with the size of the municipality regardless of the institutional configuration of power relationships. We found that very large municipalities (80,000 or more inhabitants) had weaker mayors. The presumption that a larger, more complex local (urban) environment calls for more professional leadership has been addressed in numerous publications; however, the answer was usually beyond the reach of the empirical tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between urban compactness and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the road transport sector in South Korea, focusing on 84 cities, particularly 27 metropolitan areas with populations of approximately 500,000. We developed an urban compactness index (UCI) using Moran's I, entropy, and the Gini coefficient, integrating city size into the analysis. Cities were categorized into five groups based on their size to analyze GHG emissions and regional variations in compactness comparatively. Our results revealed a significant inverse relationship between UCI and per capita road transport GHG emissions, which was more pronounced in larger cities. Specifically, cities with a population over 1 million displayed reduced per capita road transport GHG emissions in compact urban structures. In conclusion, these findings suggest that larger cities can effectively reduce per capita road transport GHG emissions through urban planning for compact development. Additionally, planners need to consider city size when analyzing the UCI and formulating urban planning strategies aimed at achieving carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban scaling is a framework that describes how city-level characteristics scale with variations in city size. This scoping review mapped the existing evidence on the urban scaling of health outcomes to identify gaps and inform future research. Using a structured search strategy, we identified and reviewed a total of 102 studies, a majority set in high-income countries using diverse city definitions. We found several historical studies that examined the dynamic relationships between city size and mortality occurring during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In more recent years, we documented heterogeneity in the relation between city size and health. Measles and influenza are influenced by city size in conjunction with other factors like geographic proximity, while STIs, HIV, and dengue tend to occur more frequently in larger cities. NCDs showed a heterogeneous pattern that depends on the specific outcome and context. Homicides and other crimes are more common in larger cities, suicides are more common in smaller cities, and traffic-related injuries show a less clear pattern that differs by context and type of injury. Future research should aim to understand the consequences of urban growth on health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, capitalize on longitudinal designs, systematically adjust for covariates, and examine the implications of using different city definitions.

In recent years, the degree of motorization and transport work have been expanding, while the development of infrastructure, road and street networks, has not followed their growth. Such an approach leads to an increasingly frequent imbalance of traffic demand and capacity, that is, to a state of the traffic system in which the existing network is not able to respond to all requests made by users. The paper analyzes the influence of the size of the city on start-up lost time at signalized intersections. Investigations were conducted for traffic lanes right at two signalized intersections, in Smederevska Palanka and Belgrade. The research results indicate that the loss values are higher by 2.78 seconds in Smederevska Palanka.

Considering various challenges and complexity in sustainable development, there is a need to enhance our understanding of the multidimensionality of spatial inequality (SI). This study proposed a multidimensional equality development index and empirically examined this using a case study of China. The dominant mode of SI has gradually changed from coastal–inland inequality to core–marginal inequality. The five dimensions of SI—economic vitality, innovation capacity, green growth capacity, social amenities, and inclusion and natural amenity—are correlated, and inequality in innovation capacity and economic vitality are major contributors to overall SI in China. A catching‐up effect in development exists across cities. The multidimensional inequalities are rooted in a geographical context and related to size, leading to differentiated evolutionary paths and trends. The proposed multidimensional assessment framework can be applied to other countries to reveal the complexity of inequality and enable the identification and management of barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between city size and resilience is crucial for informed decisions on preparedness and interventions in building resilient cities. This study addresses this issue by dividing urban resilience into four components: stability, redundancy, resourcefulness, and connectivity. Using the above evaluation framework, we assessed the spatial–temporal variations in the relationship between city size and resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2005 to 2020. The findings shows that, overall, resilience increased in the cities, with larger populations and spatial scales showing greater resilience, but both megacities and small cities experienced a decline in resilience. In terms of the four components of resilience, most of the region's cities have roughly equal connectivity and stability, but redundancy and resourcefulness vary by city size and location. Specifically, downstream and larger cities demonstrated better crisis resolution and innovation. The dominant coupling coordination states showed antagonism between population and resilience. Upstream areas experienced a mismatch between "low resilience" and "large population", while a moderate coordination existed between spatial scale and resilience. Further, it was found that factors hindering urban resilience varied according to city size. Cities with a population of <3 million faced low connectivity and limited transformation capacity. Those with a population of 3–5 million had moderate connectivity limitations, while cities with a population >5 million faced energy and aging population challenges. This study contributes to urban resilience discourse by providing a conceptual understanding and empirical analysis of the impact of city size on resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the impact of specialization and diversity on economic growth of tourist cities. Industrial diversity is decomposed into two parts, related and unrelated diversity (UV). The paper constructs a panel threshold model with city size as the threshold variable, and empirically tests the nonlinear effects of specialization and diversity on economic growth of tourist cities from the perspective of city size. The results show that: First, tourism specialization has a positive impact on economic growth of tourist cities, and there is a double threshold effect based on city size. When the city size exceeds two thresholds, tourism specialization plays a significant role in promoting economic growth of tourist cities. Second, related diversity (RV) has a positive impact on economic growth of tourist cities, and there is no threshold effect based on city size. Third, the impact of unrelated diversity on economic growth of tourist cities has a single threshold effect based on city size. Specifically, when the city size is lower than the threshold value, unrelated diversity inhibits economic growth of tourist cities. Otherwise, unrelated diversity will promote economic growth of tourist cities. The conclusions are still valid after a series of robustness tests. The paper highlights that local governments of tourist cities should not pursue absolute tourism specialization or industrial diversity, but should design and adjust industrial structure reasonably according to the city size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundExploring the value orientation of city development from the perspective of people’s well-being is key to clarifying the current debate on city size strategies.MethodsBased on the survey data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in two phases, and by using the unbalanced panel-ordered logit model, stepwise analysis method, and KHB method, among others, we discuss the impact of city size on the disability rate of older adults.ResultsThe study finds that city size significantly and positively affects the activities of daily living (ADL) of older adults, with odd ratios of 1.3286 (95% CI = [1.082243, 1.631089]), and exhibits significant group heterogeneity in terms of age, registered residence, income, and education level. City size has indeed played an mediation role through the health improvement effect, disease mitigation effect, emotional effect, and employment structure optimization effect, with a cumulative contribution rate of the mediation effect of 35.17%. In addition, the urban sprawl index has a significant moderation role.DiscussionRobust urban sprawl is conducive to promoting the improvement of the regional health environment, the improvement of the medical security policy, the optimization of the family support policy, and the employment structure, thus helping to reduce the disability rate of older adults.

In the past 20 years, Political Science research has increasingly focused on urban and local politics. We systematically review this literature and find that smaller cities are disproportionally underrepresented, particularly outside the United States. Smaller cities exhibit economic, social, and political patterns that differ from those in large metropolitan areas. Using administrative data and existing research, we show how cities of different sizes vary in their demographic characteristics; citizens' preferences; resources and capacity; intergovernmental relationships; and electoral politics. These patterns indicate the potential to update existing theories in Political Science, including those about gender and political participation, second-order elections, and intergovernmental relationships. We suggest that scholars consider how smaller cities might differ from larger cities and include smaller municipalities in their case study research. We also highlight political issues unique to small cities as new areas of inquiry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the relationship between city size and environmental efficiency and found sequential growth of environmental efficiency in 282 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019 and also tested the mechanism of industrial transfer. The empirical results show that as the period advances, the relationship between the environmental efficiency of cities and the city size changes from an upward-sloping straight line to a "U-shaped" structure, indicating that the urbanization advantages of megacities are shifting to large or medium-sized cities. This shift is the result of the industrial transfer. The government should refrain from excessive market interventions in industrial shifts. Simultaneously, it should facilitate population mobility in large cities and enhance public services for medium-sized cities. Small cities undergoing population decline should not be hindered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the time–space contraction effect from the high-speed railway (HSR) network in China has been beneficial in breaking down regional divisions, thus facilitating the circulation of resources and optimizing resource distribution and production efficiency. However, research has not adequately addressed the city disparities of the HSR network and their effects on city innovation. Through the heterogeneity perspective of 'New' new economic geography, this study employs the 2008–2019 panel data at the city level in China and builds a spatial Durbin model based on continuous spatial difference in differences to investigate the mechanism of the HSR network on city innovation and to analyze its agglomeration and diffusion effect of innovative factors under different city sizes and spatial perspectives. This study revealed that the HSR network could significantly increase the innovation of local cities and neighboring cities, yet there is a certain threshold of city size that affects city innovation. Large cities covered by HSRs can take advantage of gathering talent, financial capital, and industry from nearby regions, thus constructing a new spatial pattern of innovative development. This study also found that the innovation accelerative effect gradually decreases as the distance from the city covered by HSRs increases and completely disappears at the distance of 400 km. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the HSR network and increase the mobility and agglomeration of innovative elements between cities, thus deepening the collaboration between cities through differentiated strategies. This will enhance the spatial spillover effect of innovation, thus ultimately achieving a balanced spatial pattern of city innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) on the employment rate on the periphery of HSR-connected cities. Using the Chinese municipal-level data sets of 2001 to 2017s, we have found that HSR could improve the average employment in peripheral cities on the route. However, HSR negatively affects employment in small and medium-sized peripheral cities while the large-sized peripheral cities benefit from its operation. Our evidence shows that the "siphon effect" on employment of large-sized peripheral cities on smaller neighbors happened specifically in the manufacturing sectors. This study provides important policy implications for HSR cities with different sizes and characteristics. Small- and medium-sized periphery HSR cities could appropriately response to HSR operation by readjusting the structure of manufacturing sectors, in order to avoiding employment loss. Plain Language Summary: The impact of highspeed rail on the empolyment in the less-developed cities. This study aims to fill the research gap related to the impact of HSR on employment in peripheral cities. Using the Chinese municipal-level data sets of 2001 to 2017s and a difference-in-difference (DID) model, we found that the Beijing–Shanghai HSR line has positively contributed to the overall employment level in the peripheral cities along the route, which we attribute to the siphon effect of large-scale peripheral cities on smaller neighboring cities after the opening of the HSR. Additionally, improved accessibility has accelerated the spillover effect of the core cities on less developed cities. Due to the heterogeneity of different industries' dependence on the transportation of goods and people, the Beijing–Shanghai HSR line mainly promotes the employment levels of secondary and tertiary sectors in peripheral cities along the route. Beyond that, according to our findings, when analyzed separately by city size, the HSR has a significantly negative overall employment level (−0.250) for small and medium-sized peripheral cities compared to that of large-scale peripheral cities and specifically has the most significant negative impact on the secondary sector. A possible explanation for this finding is that peripheral cities with small and medium-sized markets are more vulnerable to the negative distributional effects of the HSR. This study provides important policy implications for HSR cities with different sizes and characteristics: Small- and medium-sized periphery HSR cities could appropriately response to HSR operation by readjusting the structure of manufacturing sectors, in order to avoiding employment loss. However, the data source of this study may also be limited in some terms. This study uses the tracking data of some peripheral cities along the Beijing-Shanghai HSR, which means the results may not apply to all regions and countries. It is better to use richer data for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical literature examining the determinants of city size almost exclusively uses the closed city version of the Mills–Muth model, in which population is exogenous. The closed city approach is particularly useful in that it yields a single equation empirical framework easily estimated with ordinary least squares (OLS). The general theory, however, offers the open city as an alternative, where population and possibly income are endogenous. The open city, in contrast to the closed version, yields a system of equations that should be estimated with seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). This paper finds that population and income are endogenous for broad samples of small and large American urbanized areas and explores the extent to which the empirically preferred open city SUR approach yields empirical results that resemble the closed city OLS model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This present study aimed to verify the impact of birthplace and birthdate on the identification and development of talented Brazilian female players. The sample comprised 876 players from the Brazilian Serie A1 Championship between 2003 and 2020. Players' birthdate and birthplace data from their hometowns were collected. The birthplace's variables used were city size and Human Development Index (HDI). Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Pearson correlation tests were performed. Results indicated that the players who were born in small cities (up to 100,000 inhabitants) and large urban centres (> 6,000,000 inhabitants), also with high HDI (> 0.701), have a greater chance to play in the most important tournament of the country. Results did not indicate significant differences in the frequencies of players born in each quartile according to players' positional roles. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that the environmental conditions of birthplace are essential to promote initial conditions for the training processes related to soccer. They bring a relevant contribution to facilitate the pathway to high-level performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies investigating urban sprawl and the determinants of city size with the Mills-Muth framework have struggled to find a reliable and ubiquitous proxy for the theoretical commuting costs variable. This study is the first to apply the Davidson-McKinnon non-nested specification test to address the long-standing issue in the literature of determining the best proxy measure for commuting costs. We employ this specification test to evaluate the three most widely available commuting costs measures from the literature: vehicle availability, public transit usage, and commuting speed. For a sample of all urbanized areas in 2000 and 2010, our results provide a degree of resolution. While we find for a pooled sample of all urbanized areas that commuting speed is the preferred proxy, subsample analysis reveals the prior result may be driven by larger urbanized areas spanning more than one county; commuting speed dominates the other proxies for these larger cities. Conversely, the sizes of single-county urbanized areas are explained by vehicle availability and transit usage, though neither of those proxy measures emerge as dominant, suggesting some unspecified measure may be better for these smaller cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populations are affected by shocks of different kinds, and wars, a priori, may be among the most prominent. This article studies the effect of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) shock on the distribution of population, especially on cities. One of the main contributions of this study is that it underlines the importance of distinguishing between winning and losing sides, an aspect which until now has been largely overlooked. While previous research on war shocks has also tended to be concerned with inter‐state wars, this paper concentrates on a civil war. We take advantage of a new, long‐term, annual data set. Our results show that, overall, the Spanish Civil War did not have a significant effect on city growth. However, we also find a significant and negative effect in the growth of cities that aligned themselves with the losing side. These results are robust to heterogeneity in the effect of the war shock, measured as war severity and duration. Although short lived, the temporary effect on growth results in a permanent effect on the size of cities on the losing side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Soochow University Philosophy & Social Sciences Edition is the property of Soochow University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Surface urban heat island (SUHI) can considerably influence the urban environment and the quality of life. It is vital to examine how underlying surface properties impact seasonal and diurnal SUHIs. However, the influence of three-dimensional (3D) urban morphological parameters (UMPs) on SUHIs has not been thoroughly studied under varying climatic settings. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study investigated seasonal and diurnal changes in SUHI intensities (ΔT) in 208 cities in China from 2014 to 2016 using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature products. In addition, the influence of potential factors in urban surface energy balance, including two-dimensional (2D) and 3D UMPs, socio-economic indices, urban greening, and surface albedo, on seasonal and diurnal ΔT were assessed under different climatic settings and with different city sizes using the method of Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR). Results show that negative summer daytime ΔT was observed in some cities under dry climates. Generally, in summer, the ΔT during daytime was higher than at nighttime. The 3D UMPs (i.e. building height and volume) yielded more decisive influences on ΔT than 2D UMP (i.e. building coverage). This is particularly true for the summer diurnal cycle and under dry climatic settings. Building height was found to be negatively correlated with surface temperatures, while building volume was positively correlated. Additionally, the 3D UMPs yielded more influences on winter ΔT than summer ΔT. The capability of vegetation to regulate ΔT was more potent in dry climates than in wet climates and in small cities than in large cities. Varying climates and city sizes can modify the significance of the 2D and 3D UMPs on the urban surface energy balance, suggesting that urban thermal mitigation should consider climate background and population size.

As a gathering place for human production activities, cities are the main places where energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions occur. How to accurately measure city size and test the impact mechanism of city size on carbon emissions of different city levels is still controversial. This study uses the global nighttime light data to identify urban bright areas and built-up areas, and accordingly constructs the city size index of 259 prefecture level cities in China from 2003 to 2019. It avoids the problem of only considering the single index of population size or space size, and makes the measurement of city size more reasonable. We use a dynamic panel model to study the impact of city size on urban carbon emissions per capita, and discuss the heterogeneity of various cities under different population levels and economic development levels. The empirical results indicate that in the scale of cities in China showed a fluctuating growth trend in recent years. The city size index of most cities is clustered at medium and high values. The city size index of cities with different economic development levels and different population-scale levels shows obvious gradient differences but maintains an upward trend. The expansion of supercities (with a population of more than 5 million) introduces a drastic increase in carbon emissions. The carbon emissions growth caused by the expansion of cities that are classified as third tier and below is the smallest, while that caused by the expansion of cities that are classified as first-tier is the largest. The findings suggest differentiated emissions reduction suggestions for cities with different sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilizing the digital economy’s contribution to green total factor productivity is a key strategy for accelerating China’s green growth, although more research is still needed to understand the mechanism of this influence. This study uses panel data from 282 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2019 to empirically assess the impact of the digital economy and city size on GTFP. First, GTFP overall exhibits an upward trend with excellent spatial correlation and minimal regional variation. Second, the findings demonstrate that, while surrounding locations’ GTFP is not affected by the digital economy, local productivity can be improved. Third, the heterogeneity study demonstrates that the digital economy contributes more to local GTFP in the eastern region compared to the central and western regions, with the central region making the largest contribution to GTFP in the surrounding regions; the first, second, and third tier cities have more contributions from the digital economy to local and neighboring GTFP than the fourth and fifth tier cities. Fourth, city size positively modifies the relationship between the green total factor productivity and the digital economy. The western region is where the positive moderating effect of city size expansion is greatest. Moreover, compared to first-, second-, and third-tier cities, the fourth- and fifth-tier cities have a stronger beneficial moderating effect of city size increase. In light of this, we should focus on the growth of the digital economy, optimize city scale, and fully exploit the scale effect produced by the concentration of the digital industries and the spillover effect produced by the spread of the digital technology.

Few studies have analyzed the mixed effects of city size and land factors at the macro level on migrant socio-economic integration. On the basis of survey data on migrants in the Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRDMR), this study developed a system of multidimensional indicators for analyzing the degree of migrant socio-economic integration and factors influencing it. This study demonstrated the following: (1) The overall degree of socio-economic integration of migrants in the PRDMR was low. Factors including city size, hometown landholding, year of birth, education level, gender, and migratory duration exerted effects of varying extents on the degree of the socio-economic integration of migrants. (2) Better job positions were offered and infrastructure was more developed in first-tier cities, so the degree of migrant economic integration was higher, and the sense of identity was stronger in first-tier cities. Given the low housing prices in second-tier cities, migrants therein were more likely to buy a house and achieve family integration, and the degree of their social integration was stronger. (3) In terms of source landholding factors, the degree of socio-economic integration was relatively low among the migrants who owned arable land and homesteads, and who were born outside Guangdong Province. The study tries to measure the socio-economic integration of immigrants more comprehensively and provide reference for the implementation of differentiated socio-economic integration policies and land transfer policies in the immigration and emigration areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Modern Economic Science is the property of Modern Economic Science Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Understanding the relationship between city size and resilience is crucial for informed decisions on preparedness and interventions in building resilient cities. This study addresses this issue by dividing urban resilience into four components: stability, redundancy, resourcefulness, and connectivity. Using the above evaluation framework, we assessed the spatial–temporal variations in the relationship between city size and resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2005 to 2020. The findings shows that, overall, resilience increased in the cities, with larger populations and spatial scales showing greater resilience, but both megacities and small cities experienced a decline in resilience. In terms of the four components of resilience, most of the region’s cities have roughly equal connectivity and stability, but redundancy and resourcefulness vary by city size and location. Specifically, downstream and larger cities demonstrated better crisis resolution and innovation. The dominant coupling coordination states showed antagonism between population and resilience. Upstream areas experienced a mismatch between “low resilience” and “large population”, while a moderate coordination existed between spatial scale and resilience. Further, it was found that factors hindering urban resilience varied according to city size. Cities with a population of 5 million faced energy and aging population challenges. This study contributes to urban resilience discourse by providing a conceptual understanding and empirical analysis of the impact of city size on resilience.

Copyright of América Latina Hoy is the property of Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article investigates the development of South African city sizes and dispersion over two decades. Knowledge concerning the size and their distributional development of cities is important to policymakers and leaders for planning and delivery of excellent public services and goods serving their constituencies. It is generally understood that across many countries the size distributions of cities are well approximated by power laws. Especially two types of probability distributions have emerged, one being the Pareto probability distribution (Zips Law) and the other being the log-normal probability distribution. Census and Community survey data are used covering the total city population size distribution of South Africa for the periods, 1996, 2001, 2011 and 2016. Various empirical techniques are utilised, for example, the Epanechnikov Kernel, the goodness of fit Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, a Nadaraya-Watson method, a double-log model regression and probability distribution fitting, order to approximate the best city size probability distribution. It is found that the log-normal distribution performs the best over the entire city-size range. However, given the introduction of several truncation points, it can be shown that the upper tail is Pareto and that Zip's Law holds. A combination of the Pareto and the log-normal probability distribution is therefore most likely the optimal type of probability distribution to describe the size distributions of cities in South Africa. This has both important theoretical and policy implications for example the issue of urbanisation and regional and town planning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities in China are expanding and evolving innovatively at an accelerated rate. In this context, the question of whether all communities and individuals may benefit equally from urbanization and innovation merits investigation. We develop a two-way fixed-effect model employing data from the China Family Panel Studies for 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 to investigate the roles of city size and technological innovation in urban income inequality. In addition, we adopt a model with a mediating effect to study the impact of city size on urban income inequality by technological innovation. The empirical results are as follows: 1) urban income inequality tends to increase with city size, technological innovation, and the effect of city size on urban income inequality by technological innovation. 2) According to a regional heterogeneity test, city size has a significant impact on income inequality in western provinces and in first- and second-tier cities. Likewise, the size of non-resource-based cities has a significant impact on income inequality. Considering the potential endogeneity of city size, we devise an instrumental variable using historical population. The outcomes of a robustness test validate these findings. From the vantage point of city size and technological advancement, this research provides policymakers with a reference for lowering income inequality in urban areas.

This paper examines the relationship between climate change and the spatial distribution of population in China. We establish a two-way fixed effects model to investigate the role of temperature difference in the spatial distribution of China's population. We find that the annual variation of temperature has an impact on city size in both large and small cities, and that city size tends to shrink as the temperature difference increases. Meanwhile, we also find that the population in the cities located south of Qinling-Huaihe Line and Aihui-Tengchong Line (Hu's Line) is more sensitive to temperature effects, and that the temperature difference has a significant negative effect on city size. Similarly, the same results are found for prefecture-level cities with low administrative levels. Considering the endogeneity between temperature change and city size, we adopt an instrumental variable using latitude to perform a more robust empirical analysis, the results of a series of robustness tests support these conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the relationship between city size and rural intergenerational mobility using prefecture‐level data in China. We find that intergenerational mobility in rural areas is positively related to urban population of the affiliated cities. This correlation is partially driven by better coverage of secondary and university education for the rural young who reside close to large cities. Moreover, our further investigation shows that the return to high school education is less dependent on parent incomes around larger cities for rural young people. [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]

Political discourse in many countries is significantly impacted by the existence of populations that live in urban centers and other populations that live in rural or peripheral places. Due to factors such as population density, economic activity, proximity to schools, retail and health facilities, attachment to religion, and access to diverse political opinions, people living in the peripheral areas tend to be relatively conservative and those in urban areas are relatively liberal. Thus we have two elements of the population that tend to live in silos, having little dialogue or even contact with the other. This results in a national political dialogue that is not at all productive or capable of generating policies that would benefit the population. In many countries of Europe and the Americas, the politically left and right parties or movements are, figuratively speaking, at war with each other. In spite of this, an examination of the reality of many areas of public policy reveals that there are, in fact, many areas of public policy that are of benefit to both urban and periphery dwellers such as, education, access to health care, management of water and waterways, funding of small businesses and banks and local governments, and infrastructure. I have recently compiled a set of 40 such policies that could be adopted because they are of direct benefit to dwellers in both silos (Kresl, 2021). Recognition of this mutual benefit could advance the discussion of public policy and even lead to implementation of some of these policies. Those living on the periphery and in the inner city could engage in a dialogue that would be of benefit to both of these groups, and peripherality would no longer be identified with exclusion from a beneficial political discourse.

The permanent settlement of rural migrants can greatly influence the city size distribution. Although there have been multiple theories about rural–urban migration, the different effects of determinants on the settlement intention of rural–urban migrants across different-sized cities lack studies and remain unclear. Based on the 2016 National Floating Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey Data of China, this study investigated the factors determining rural migrants' urban settlement intention and compared different-sized cities. It was found that the settlement intention of rural–urban migrants across different-sized cities showed a U-shaped curve, which was largest in supersized cities, followed by megacities, large cities, and Type-II small cities, and it was the smallest in medium-sized cities and Type-I small cities. After controlling the other determinants, the relationship between city size and settlement intention was also a U-shaped curve, which may be explained by the Rosen–Roback model. Moreover, although personal income and urban social insurance suggested similar effects on settlement intention across different-sized cities, the effects of educational attainment, the length of migration, occupation, marital status, housing conditions, and interprovincial migration on settlement intention differed significantly between different-sized cities. Based on these findings, it was suggested that the citizenization of rural migrants should be promoted through multiple kinds of policies including hukou reform, social insurance policy and housing policy, and different-sized cities adopt differentiated urbanization strategies, with a focus on small towns and within-provincial rural migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid urbanization, cities plays an increasingly key role in addressing CO2 emission-related issues. This study aims at analysing the spatial relation between city size and CO2 emissions in the case of Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) in China over the years from 2006 to 2016, making a contribution to the existing body of knowledge of the relationships between urban form and CO2 emissions. This paper identified the following main findings: (1) There is a U-shape relationship between population size and CO2 emissions in YRDUA; (2) There is a negative sublinear relationship between CO2 emissions and city density in YRDUA; (3) The ideal urban form for low CO2 performance in YRDUA is 2.716 million people living in high population density; (4) Increasing population size is an effective but not a long-term approach for CO2 emissions reduction, because for every marginal increase of city density, the marginal reduction of CO2 emission will decrease. (5) A demographic change in YRDUA from low-density cities to high-density cities would benefit CO2 emission performance. These findings confirm the important roles of population size and density for CO2 emissions reduction in urban agglomeration and so help shape current policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly educated workforce is an important driving factor for urban innovation and development. A better understanding of spatial patterns and location determinants of highly educated workers is valuable for designing policies to attract them. The existing literature has investigated the impacts of economic variables and urban amenities on the patterns of highly educated workers. However, the relationship between urban amenities and highly educated workers needs to be investigated further. Moreover, few studies have examined the impact of urban size on the agglomeration of highly educated workers. Thus, this study employed a spatial analysis method to examine the pattern of highly educated workers across 300 cities in China, based on 2010 census data. We used a negative binomial regression model to identify the determinants of highly educated workers' locations. The results are numerous. First, the size of highly educated workers varied greatly among cities of different ranks, and its rank-size distribution was consistent with power function characteristics. It was characterized by spatial convergence and zonal differentiation from East to West. Highly educated workers were distributed mostly across the eastern coastal area, the central-southern area of Liaoning peninsula, the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration, and in inland provincial capitals. Second, the share of highly educated workers in total employment in the resource-dependent cities of north China and eastern coastal urban agglomeration was significantly higher, while it was obviously low in central and southwest China. Comparing the rank-size distribution characteristics of highly educated workers along with their total employment, the cities with rich attractions for highly educated workers were mainly located in Inner Mongolia, Northeast China, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area, the Shandong Peninsula, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and inland provincial capitals. Third, the estimated results show that the spatial pattern of highly educated workers was affected by urban amenities, economic opportunities, and the agglomeration effect. At the national level, economic opportunities, city size, and housing prices dominated the spatial pattern of highly educated workers, while the cool summer climate, high quality education resources, and recreation and transportation resources also played important roles. Fourth, the distribution of highly educated labors was affected by both economic opportunities and amenities, but the role of amenities was quite different in different size-ranked cities. The main amenity factors for the disparities of highly educated workers in large cities were found to be those of temperature in January and July, high-quality early childhood education resources, recreation resources, and traffic conditions. For the medium-sized cities, the dominant amenities included high-quality primary and secondary education resources and cultural and artistic services. Regarding the disparities of highly educated workers among small cities, the main contributing amenity factors were high-quality preschool and middle-school education resources, high-quality medical resources, recreation resources, and air quality. This study supports previous opinion that the amenities contribute to attracting talent. It also reveals the role of the agglomeration effect in the spatial distribution of the highly educated labors, which enriches our understanding for the location choice of highly educated workers in economic geography. This study enlightens us in the sense that the policies to attract talent should not only take labor market into account but also work to improve the amenities that such people work in.