Search

Employing a time‐varying difference‐in‐differences model and a data set collected from 2,735 counties in China from 2003 to 2017, this study examines the causal relationship between Chinese government transfer payments to resource‐exhausted cities (TPREC) and carbon emissions for the first time. Our results show that TPREC could significantly reduce carbon emissions of resource‐exhausted cities in China. A variety of robustness tests supports our findings. Our further mechanism analysis shows that TPREC mainly affects carbon emissions through the following three channels: (a) promoting technological progress and industrial upgrades; (b) increasing vegetation carbon sequestration; (c) strengthening government environmental regulations. Finally, this paper analyzes the spatial heterogeneity of the carbon emission reduction effect of TPREC and finds that the most significant reduction effect of TPREC is in the western region and coal‐exhausted cities. This paper provides new empirical evidence for the role of transfer payments in promoting low‐carbon development using a unique set of data. Our findings provide new insights for decision‐makers to facilitate the low‐carbon development of resource‐exhausted cities. Plain Language Summary: By employing a time‐varying difference‐in‐differences model, we examine the causal relationship between central government transfer payments to resource‐exhausted cities and carbon emissions for the first time. We find China's TPREC can significantly reduce carbon emissions by promoting technological progress and industrial upgrades, increasing vegetation carbon sequestration, and strengthening government environmental regulations. Key Points: China's transfer payments to resource‐exhausted cities (TPREC) could significantly reduce carbon emissions, and this conclusion has also been supported by multiple robustness testsThe TPREC could achieve carbon emission reduction by promoting technological progress, industrial upgrading, and economic efficiencyThe most significant carbon emission reduction effect of TPREC is in the western region and coal‐exhausted cities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In transitioning from hierarchal corporate governance to platform governance mechanisms, smart cities need to develop new models for managing the dynamics of platform governance between city divisions. By conceptualizing smart cities as a platform of platforms, this paper uses the business model approach to develop a platform governance framework in the smart city context. The contribution of this paper is to illustrate how the business model approach can enhance better communication between different layers of smart cities and thus improve smart city development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual acceleration of modernization, metro projects have been opened for the development and construction of urban areas. How to ensure the smooth operation of subway project in public service has become the focus of urban public safety service research. In view of this content, this paper studies the subway field of urban rail transit operation and improves the public safety of urban rail transit operation. Firstly, the factors affecting the track traction power supply are analyzed, the anti-interference technology of ring array electromagnetic sensor is added, and the research scheme is formulated according to the track potential research standard to ensure the operation of the power supply system. Then, the electromagnetic sensor traction algorithm is used to detect the subway track power supply signal, and the working characteristics and advantages of single electromagnetic induction and double electromagnetic induction are analyzed. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional electromagnetic sensor power supply signal detection algorithm, the content of this paper can judge whether the power supply is normal according to electromagnetic induction, detect whether the subway traffic deviates from the track traction coordinates, and understand the size of the deviation from the track. It improves the efficiency of traction power supply detection, stabilizes the running track of subway traffic, and is conducive to the protection and development of urban public safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the behavioral patterns of city residents is of great value in formulating and adjusting urban planning strategies, such as urban road planning, urban commercial development, and urban pedestrian flow control. Based on the high penetration rate of cell phones, it is possible to indirectly understand the behavior of city residents based on the call records of users. However, the behavioral patterns of large-scale users over a long period of time can present characteristics such as large dispersion, difficult to discover patterns, and difficult to explain behavioral patterns. In this paper, we design and implement a human behavior pattern analysis system based on massive mobile communication data based on serial data modeling method and visual analysis technology. For the problem that it is difficult to capture the behavioral patterns of residents in cities in call records, this paper constructs base station trajectories based on users' cell phone call records and uses users' long-time base station trajectories to mine users' potential behavioral patterns. Since users with similar activity characteristics will exhibit similar base station trajectories, this paper focuses on the similarity between text sequences and base station trajectory sequences and combines the word embedding method in natural language processing to build a Cell2vec model to identify the semantics of base stations in cities. In order to obtain the group behavior patterns of users from the base station trajectories of group users, a user clustering method based on users' regional mobile preferences is proposed, and the results are projected using the Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) algorithm to expose the clustering features of large-scale cell phone users in the low-dimensional space. To address the problem that user behavior patterns are difficult to interpret, a visual analysis model with group as well as regional semantics is designed for the spatial and temporal characteristics of user behavior. Among them, the clustering model uses the distance between scatter points to map the similarity between users, which helps analysts to explore the behavioral characteristics of group users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, with the development of the times and the advancement of science and technology, informatization has gradually become an important standard for measuring the state of national development in the course of national development. The artificial intelligence multimedia technology has been developed under the background of informationization and has gradually become an important means to achieve national development and regional economic progress. The impact often depends not only on the economic attributes of the industry but also on the economic attributes of urban planning. Countries and regions with high levels of regional integration and industrial economic development have begun to inject economic knowledge and methods into regional integration and industrial economic processes, which are used to solve or alleviate problems and contradictions in the process of urban and rural construction and development. It can be seen that industrial economy and regional integration are not only a spatial phenomenon but also an economic phenomenon. Based on the needs of the development of urban planning discipline theory and the era of national industrial economic integration, this paper puts forward the research methods and ideas of this paper and combines current multimedia backgrounds and their development trends to analyze key innovations and research frameworks, incorporating the main theoretical research elements into the concept of "combination" of traditional Chinese philosophy, aiming at the main problems and contradictions in the process of China's industrial economic development, respectively, the cultural economy and industrial economy, and the integration of public economy and environmental economy, land economy, and housing economy, a new urbanization development strategy of population economy and regional economic competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal spaces are shaped by human activity. Approaching their urban spaces allows us to analyse the concepts of structure, growth, and management. Highlighting the problems associated with these concepts can lead to intensive scientific analysis and provide solid research methods. This paper focuses on the study of how the process of territorial occupation takes place and the urban forms it generates on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It is based on the consideration that the process of territorial occupation is deficient in its territorial adequacy. To analyse this, a methodology is proposed that addresses processes of analysis at different scales: dynamics of changes in land use, the study of the morphologies of urban development with spatial analysis tools, and the adaptation of urban processes to the characteristics of the spaces that support them with multi-criteria evaluation techniques and GIS (Geographical Information Systems). The results are specified in five degrees of suitability of the occupation of the territory. Two conclusions can be observed: first, urban planning gives rise to forms of occupation that follow a similar pattern in the twenty areas studied, and second, the suitability of the urban process is not governed by planning based on precepts of suitability and environmental logic but by a weakness of the adapted planning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New territorial units resulting from urban sprawl processes constitute a major challenge for territorial planning. The aim of this paper is to analyze periurban spaces, focusing on the delimitation and characterization of the urban units arising from urban sprawl processes. The delimitation derives from fractal analysis, where urbanized space is used to detect the limits of the units. The characterization starts with the calculation of eight different indicators, using Geographic Information Systems tools. PCA is used to obtain different dimensions of the urban sprawl phenomenon. Finally, a cluster analysis has been applied to establish a typology of territorial units and facilitate the comparative analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, the metropolitan area of Valencia. Results show six groups of urbanized spaces, which present different types of urban sprawl structures with different necessities. This applied research can be useful for the spatial planning of the periurban spaces, insofar as it allows the identification of supra-municipal or infra-municipal areas, where it will be possible to improve infrastructures, facilities, or green infrastructure, to empower secondary urban nuclei and to create new inter-municipal cooperation and governance formulas. In addition, the results can constitute a non-administrative territorial basis for the calculation of land occupation indicators that are often used as thresholds for the creation of new residential spaces in regulatory planning documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the analysis of different geographic scales for studying the spatial patterning of crime has profoundly deepened our theoretical grasp of crime dynamics. However, a similar investigation is lacking when it comes to the patterning of offender residences, despite there being clear theoretical and empirical reasons for doing so, among them, the close relationship between where offenders live and where their corresponding crimes are committed. This paper delves into the concentration and variance of offender residences across different levels of spatial aggregation. The data used contains the locations of residence for known offenders in Birmingham between the years 2006 and 2016. Resident locations are aggregated to Output Areas (OA), nested within Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA), further nested within Middle Super Output Areas (MSOA). Descriptive and model-based statistics are deployed to quantify concentration and variation at each spatial scale. Results suggest that most variance (48%) in offender residence concentrations is attributable to the largest spatial scale (MSOA level). Output Areas capture approximately 38% of the variance. Findings open up discussions on the role of urban development in determining the appropriateness of spatial scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a unit hydrograph method widely used in engineering practice, the synthetic unit hydrograph of Guangdong is obtained from the analysis and synthesis of rain and flood data before 1983, which reflects the production-confluence relationship before urbanization in Guangdong Province. However, there are few studies on the evaluation and modification of its applicability in urbanized areas. Taking Jing-tian Watershed of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province as an example, based on the rainstorm and flood records of Jingtian Hydrology Station from 2011 to 2019, this paper evaluates the applicability of the comprehensive unit line in Guangdong Province by using evaluation indexes such as Nash efficiency coefficient, identification index and correlation coefficient, and conducts a sensitivity analysis of important parameters by Spearman rank correlation coefficient method. Based on Latin hypercube sampling method and constrained least square method, the comprehensive unit line method of Guangdong Province is modified. The results show that the Jingtian Basin has experienced rapid urban expansion since the 1980s, and the proportion of impervious surface has exceeded 90%. The comprehensive unit line method in Guangdong Province has obvious shortcomings in describing the storm-flood process in this basin. The two schemes proposed in this paper can improve the simulation effect of the model by determining important parameters and modifying the unit line. Among them, the cross-validation parameter optimization method based on grid search and the unit line correction method based on constrained least square method proposed for small samples show a good simulation performance, and the indexes such as Nash efficiency coefficient, identification index and correlation coefficient are significantly improved, which better reflects the characteristics of production and convergence in Jingtian Basin. Compared with the recommended unit line of the integrated unit line method in Guangdong Province, the modified unit hydrograph method shows the characteristics of larger peak discharge, earlier peak time and smaller total duration, which is more in line with the law of production and confluence of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH 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 research paper investigates the influence of rental activities on the preservation of heritage buildings in As-Salt City, Jordan. Though rental activities can offer financial support for heritage building preservation, they also pose possible dangers to their long-term sustainability. This study aims to recognize key challenges and opportunities related to the preservation of heritage buildings. The study provides treasured recommendations for policymakers, urban planners, and other stakeholders involved in heritage preservation and urban development. These recommendations aim to strike a balance between encouraging rental activities and the preservation of the cultural heritage of As-Salt City. By taking into consideration the perspectives of experts, stakeholders, and residents, the research offers practical insights into handling rental activities in a way that respects and enhances the preservation of heritage buildings. The findings of this study contribute to the existing literature on heritage building preservation and rental activities. They shed light on the specific challenges and opportunities faced by cities like As-Salt, providing a valuable reference for other urban centers contending with similar issues. Examining the case of As-Salt City, this investigation deepens our comprehension of the intricate interaction between leasing activities and the preservation of historic structures, as well as establishing a framework for eco-friendly urban growth that safeguards the cultural legacy of the city for foreseeable generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International authorities such as the European Commission and the United Nations pay special attention to sustainable urban development, for this purpose, strategies such as the European Green Deal or the Sustainable Development Strategy 2030 agenda, SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities are developed. Urban development represents a fundamental direction in the transition process towards the green economy, a sustainable economic model. The paper aims to identify the degree of efficiency of economic development in the context of sustainable development for 41 cities in Romania, Germany, Japan, United States of America and Australia. To achieve this objective, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used, with the aim of identifying the gaps regarding the sustainability of the analyzed cities. Data Envelopment Analysis allows the evaluation of the efficiency of urban settlements in the sample based on representative variables, selected as input. So, the research is ready to give answer to question like "What are the efficient cities in terms of sustainability?" and "What are the relationships between the cities included in the sample?". The main results showed that there are cities that have a model of sustainable economic development, but certain cities present significant gaps from the point of view of efficient sustainable economic development. In addition, port cities seem to develop an association relationship, with inefficient port cities being associated with efficient port cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban sprawl is a universal phenomenon and can be seen as a city's low-density and haphazard development from the centre to suburban areas, and it has different adverse environmental effects at local and regional scales, including increasing the cost of infrastructure. Geospatial data and technology can be used to measure urban sprawl and predict urban expansion. This technology can shed light on the characteristics, causes, and consequences of urban expansion. Unlike other studies, the methodology proposed in this paper works on a regional level rather than an individual city. In this article, Land Use Land Cover changes and the magnitude and direction of city-region sprawl in the Isfahan Metropolitan area were modelled using a multi-temporal analysis of remote sensing imagery. Shannon's Entropy was used to quantify city-region dispersion during the last fifty years. A Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network and Markov Chain Analysis were then used to forecast future city-region sprawl based on past patterns and physical constraints. The results revealed that this region has been suffering from sprawl during this period in different directions. Moreover, it will continue in specific directions due to several economic, political, demographic, environmental, and (urban) planning factors. In addition, the size and speed of city-region sprawl were higher than core city sprawl. The proposed approach can be generalized for other city-regions with a similar spatial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that urban resilience is one of the core goals of urban development. As an important part of a city, the resilience level of urban human settlements directly affects the development trend of urban resilience. However, at present, research results on the resilience of urban human settlements are very rare, are mainly concentrated in the central region of China, and rarely take into account the economically backward northeastern region. Therefore, in order to better improve the anti-risk ability of the urban human settlement environment system in three provinces of Northeast China, fully implement the strategic goal of "Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China", and achieve high-quality urban development, this paper focuses on 34 prefecture-level cities in three provinces of Northeast China and proposes an urban human settlement resilience evaluation system with 36 indicators in five dimensions, namely, the natural system, human system, housing system, supporting system, and social system. Using the entropy weight method, the Dagum Gini coefficient, and a geographical probe model, the changes in the resilience level of each city from 2005 to 2020 were measured, and the urban living environment was assessed in terms of the adaptability and resilience of the development level in each subsystem based on the temporal and spatial evolution law and its influencing factors. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) The development level of urban human settlement resilience in the three provinces in Northeast China showed an N-shaped development trend from 2005 to 2020, but the regional differences were significant, and the overall spatial pattern was "high in the south and low in the north". (2) In terms of the overall difference, the overall difference in urban human settlement resilience in the three northeastern provinces of China was small: the inter-regional difference was the main source of the difference, and the intra-regional difference was the secondary source. The regional differences were in the order of Heilongjiang Province > Liaoning Province > Jilin Province, indicating that Jilin Province had the smallest difference and that the resilience level of urban human settlements does not show a balanced development trend. In terms of the average Gini coefficient between regions, the order of difference was Liaoning Province–Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province–Liaoning Province > Jilin Province–Heilongjiang Province, indicating that the difference between Liaoning Province and Heilongjiang Province was the most significant. (3) The "natural system", "human system", "living system", "supporting system", and "social system" had significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity and significantly affected the resilience level of urban human settlements in the three provinces in Northeast China. Among them, the "social system" has always been the main factor affecting the resilience level of urban human settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal objective of this review paper was to study the impact of gentrification phenomena in Thailand using a research methodology combining a review of the existing literature and a desk analysis of case studies, focusing on two main interconnected contributions to debates on gentrification. First, understanding gentrification phenomena by examining the existing literature required a perspective on not only gentrification but also its stages and consequences. Second, particular attention was paid to the desk analysis of case studies of gentrification phenomena in Thailand to provide an overview and critical analysis. The results of this research show that gentrification has accelerated across the globe to become a central engine of urban development. Gentrification is a complex process that has significant and multifaceted impacts on urban communities. Gentrification can have positive impacts, such as improving the urban scenery by revitalising the neighbourhood's blighted places and raising property values by making buildings more appealing and contemporary. However, gentrification can also have negative impacts due to critical issues that are neglected such as the displacement of original inhabitants, particularly vulnerable populations; the loss of tangible and intangible cultural heritage; social inequalities; environmental vulnerability; and inappropriate land consumption. All of these factors contribute to the fact that urban development in Thailand still runs into issues or roadblocks that keep it inefficient and unable to fully accomplish the intended objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, there has been a notable transformation in urban growth patterns in Kazakhstan's large cities, particularly in Almaty. While this can be traced back to marketoriented planning agendas, the increasing fragmentation of the public realm in cities can be linked to the recent residential development projects. The rise of these projects in post-Soviet neighbourhoods is often criticised due to their typology, as developers create them as gated communities. These patterns' socio and spatial fragmentation is associated with fewer opportunities for social interaction between Soviet neighbourhoods and the more recent exclusive communities. Therefore, this paper investigates the key issues present in the urban patterns of Almaty city that can hinder the creation of a more cohesive society. It presents a case study of other Soviet-developed neighbourhoods with similar development patterns. The study's methodology includes morphological mapping, observation of the use of the public realm and a survey of residents to support the findings. The investigation focuses on one of the typical urban patterns of mixed-use Soviet neighbourhoods and recent urban residential blocks, where an opportunity lies for perspective communities. The research reveals a lack of social cohesion between local communities due to monofunctional land use, poor permeability and accessibility that fragmented the city into closed neighbourhoods. The research dives into the core issues of Soviet and post-Soviet urban morphology's outcomes in the public realm and the impact on social life in these neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that the emotional wellbeing of urban populations is influenced by various aspects of urban development, such as social factors and the presence of walkable areas and green spaces. However, there is a lack of research that closely integrates urban design and cognition, particularly in the context of vertical and volumetric urbanism. This disconnect between design and science disciplines is evident when reviewing the limited research on emotional and spatial cognition in this specific urban context. This paper seeks to address that disconnect by proposing a comprehensive framework for the cognitive measurement and modelling of the built environment. This will involve exploring and measuring neural mechanisms, employing electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment to measure user responses in vertical and volumetric public spaces. The aim is to create a foundation for further studies in this field that is consistent and rigorous and can facilitate collaboration with cognitive neuroscientists by establishing a shared conceptual basis. The goal of this research is to develop a human-centric approach for urban design that is scientific and measurable, producing a set of urban design guidelines that incorporate cognitive measurement and modelling, with the broader intention to prioritize human needs and wellbeing within urban environments to make them more liveable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always following a rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal, Review Notes, is the expression of a continuous updating of emerging topics concerning relationships among urban planning, mobility and environment, through a collection of short scientific papers. The Review Notes are made of five parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of TeMA Journal. This section of the Review Notes deals with the new frontiers of urban development through the lenses of the European program NextGenerationEU. In particular, this contribution deepens the topic of adaptation to climate change in cities, analysing the interventions proposed within the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The paper takes into account the recent PNRR strategies, projects, and initiatives aimed at coping with global warming effects in urban environments and with the increasing vulnerability of cities to climate events. Also, this paper provides an overview of the proposed projects and interventions in different Italian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main research question of this paper focuses on the impact of contemporary interventions on the protection of architectural heritage and the transformation of the unique historic urban landscape of Sarajevo, which symbolizes social tolerance. This study examines the tendencies that have been destroying the essence of such a landscape since the beginning of the 21st century. This research primarily relies on the method of direct observation to analyze the ongoing transformation of the urban landscape over the past 25 years. Additionally, previous research findings and relevant documentation regarding the ongoing urban metamorphosis were considered. The historical urban landscape of Sarajevo is the result of complex urban development that began in the mid-15th century. This urban form, still partially recognizable today, reflected prevailing social relationships, particularly the inclusion of different groups instead of their exclusion, which demonstrated tolerance. However, this research shows the incompatibility of today's neoliberal concept with the preservation of an urban landscape that embodies tolerance and excludes social marginalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'religious tourism' refers to travel that is primarily inspired by spiritual beliefs (Smith, 2012). It serves as one of humanity's oldest religious practices as well as one of the earliest examples of tourism (Timothy, 2011). Due in the main to the numerous sacred places that are dispersed throughout its vast geographic area, India, which is known for its rich heritage and culture, has attracted attention from throughout the world (Eck, 2011; Singh, 2013). As a result, it has become a well-known location for religious tourism. During the past ten years, this specific type of tourism has seen a tremendous increase in growth rates, leading to considerable changes at important spiritual and religious places. Intense globalisation and rapid urbanisation have been prompted by the influx of tourists and pilgrims, profoundly altering the terrain (Harris, Griffin & Williams, 2002). This paper delves into this phenomenon through a case study of Vrindavan, a significant city situated on the banks of the Yamuna River in northern India, which has held great religious significance and serves as a prominent pilgrimage destination (Shinde, 2011). However, as part of a larger process of globalisation and ensuing urbanisation, and the entry of numerous transnational chains starting in the 1960s, there have been significant changes. The idea of a pilgrimage to Vrindavan has changed, moving away from its original meaning as a trek to the home of the gods and instead becoming more of a holiday and leisure destination. This change has produced exciting opportunities for investors and developers, prompting growing urbanisation and a notable break from the customary pilgrimage practices that were traditionally observed. The study examines the ways in which globalisation influences the establishment of new sacred places supported by various faith-based organisations by using a case study approach and a purposive survey method (Kothari, 2004). Considering the concomitant processes of religious commercialisation and spatial transformation, the article seeks to shed light on the consequent impact on the spiritual experience and the larger pilgrimage patterns throughout the city. The study ends by making suggestions for steps that can be taken to lessen the effect of globalisation on a city's spiritual essence and make sure that urban growth is in harmony with its history and sacred values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the future, as a result of global warming, it is possible that rainfall could become more intense and frequent. This could lead to more frequent triggering of damaging phenomena such as floods and landslides (named as a whole damaging hydrogeological events, DHE), and, consequently, to the increase of their impacts on territories, especially in regions where uncontrolled urban sprawl represents a factor that can exacerbate the problem. The analysis of a large quantity of information about both triggering rainfall and triggered phenomena can help to comprehend relationships between triggering precipitation and its related impacts. In this paper, to facilitate the investigation of the relationships between large and complex datasets concerning both rainfall and rainfall-related damage, we propose an index-based approach, illustrated by its application to the Calabria region (Southern Italy). In particular, this manuscript presents some results from a preliminary investigation aimed at assessing the "better" index to describe DHE. Five rainfall indices (RIs) were tested and five composite rainfall indices (CRIs), combinations of two or more RIs, are proposed. We calculated the RIs and the CRIs by means of 1,300,000 daily data registered in the observation period 1980–2020. The CRIs showed the best relationships with the data of damaging hydrogeological events (DHEs). Particularly, better results were obtained with landslides data than with floods data, perhaps due to the hydraulic characteristics of the Calabria rivers, affected by flash floods mainly influenced by very intense hourly rainfall events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Carolingian conquest of the Lombard Kingdom in 774, the Duchy of Benevento became an independent principality. Duke Arechis (758–787) proclaimed himself princeps gentis Langobardorum, thus opposing the political authority of the new King of the Lombards, Charlemagne. During the second half of the 8th century, Arechis refounded Salerno as the second capital city of Lombard Southern Italy by building a palace which stood as a marker of his political authority within the urban landscape. When the competition between two factions of the Beneventan aristocracy led to a civil war (839–849), Salerno became first a gathering place for members of the faction opposing Prince Radelchis and then the capital city of a new Lombard principality. By considering both written and archaeological sources, this paper focuses on the social and political aspects that led to the urban development of Salerno and challenged the role of Benevento during the 8th and 9th centuries. Some final considerations contextualise the rise of Capua as a third capital city in Lombard Southern Italy during the 9th and 10th centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH 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.)

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH 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.)

With increasing urbanisation, understanding the variety of historical experience with water in the urban context becomes all the more relevant. Apart from representing an economic and environmental necessity, the physical and sensory access to freshwater is universally understood as socially desirable, pleasing and valued. The history of the East African coast is especially relevant as water scarcity is not a modern phenomenon in the region—in fact, precolonial towns situated on the oceanfront flourished in relatively arid environments too. This paper presents the insights achieved with a 3D scanning survey of the preserved heritage in the now-deserted town of Jumba la Mtwana, located 20 km north of Mombasa, Kenya. Although all of the buildings are partially collapsed, various wells, cisterns and reservoirs have been documented. Considering this archaeological site and other examples of (pre)colonial Swahili towns, this paper adopts multidisciplinary perspectives in analysing and interpreting the distribution of constructed features associated with water, with particular focus on their design, density and spatial context, as well as social and sensory connotations. Its results highlight the socio-spatial role of the element of water in the precolonial built environment, which may be contrasted with later periods and potentially carry broader implications for current urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights  With their predominantly coastal geographies, rapidly growing populations, and emissions-intensive activities, cities are highly vulnerable and major contributors to climate change. Their role as cultural centers, and commerce and innovation hubs, means they are also promising sources of solutions. Taken together, these factors demand a closer examination of the progress and solutions that cities are making to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts. However, research on the extent and effectiveness of cities' implementation efforts is underdeveloped. There is a need to better understand if and how cities are rolling out effective implementation measures, what effects (intended and unintended) such measures are having, and whether their implementation efforts are achieving the transformational changes needed to realize a low carbon, climate-resilient future. This editorial introduces the special issue by exploring these issues and reflecting perspectives from a variety of disciplines both within and outside academia, and in relation to diverse cities in the Global North and South. To better understand the practical dimensions of implementation, and the various obstacles and opportunities faced by public and private sector actors in progressing climate action targets and goals, the editors invited submissions reflective of co-produced research. Though not all took this form, some did and helped to foreground the experiences of those actors who arguably have the most power and responsibility to advance implementation measures, and seed the very institutional arrangements needed for deeper, multisectoral climate action. Collectively, the content of the special issue points to a need for significant investment, policy change, social innovation, and cooperation across societal scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Ecological environment is the foundation of social and economic development, and the coordinated development of social economy and ecological environment is one of the hotspots in urban sustainable development research. Traditional ecological economic measurement methods usually have problems such as difficulty in data acquisition and difficulty in pasteurization. In recent years, with the rise of global remote sensing technology, remote sensing has also been used to observe human social and economic activities. Remote sensing data have been created for the limitations of traditional statistical data with the advantages of being independent in the field of ecological and economic measurement. Methodology. This paper uses luminous remote sensing technique to obtain the visible-near-infrared electromagnetic wave information emitted from the surface at night under cloudless conditions and MODIS data combined with urban RSEI theory to quantitatively invert the ecological environment quality of the study area in 2019 based on a remote sensing perspective, taking a certain urban agglomeration in China as the research area. And it is continuous in time and space. Therefore, the coordination degree of remote sensing data should be fully explored in quantitative research. For proper analysis, regression was used. Research Content and Results. 2019 MODIS data were used to retrieve the six vegetation-related ecological environment factors in the study area and combine the urban RSEI theory to construct the remote sensing ecological comprehensive index of the study area, and the vegetation ecological environment quality and spatial agglomeration characteristics were evaluated. The results showed that vegetation coverage, leaf area index, total primary productivity, and surface moisture make positive contributions to the ecosystem of the study area. Based on the theoretical basis of coupling coordination theory, ecological economic theory, and sustainable development, we measured the degree of coordinated development between the social economic system and the ecological environment system in the study area from 2018 to the future period and combined the research results with the study area. The actual situation explores the practice path of benign coupling of the ecological economy. Conclusion. This paper is completely based on the research ideas of remote sensing data to measure the socioeconomic level and ecological environment quality and proves that remote sensing data and urban RESI theory are efficient and reliable new tools for the coordinated development of ecological economics. The research results can provide a development plan for urban agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CityGML model-based is now a norm for smart city or digital twin city development for better planning, management, risk-related modelling and other applications. CityGML comes with five levels of details (LoD, in version 2.0) of buildings. The LoDs are also known as pre-defined multi-scale models requiring a large storage-memory-graphic consumption than a single scale model. LoD CityGML models are primarily constructed using point cloud measurements and images of multiple systems, resulting in a range of accuracies and detailed model representations. Additionally, it entails several software, procedures, and formats for the construction of the respective LoDs prior to the final result in the CityGML schema. Thus, this paper discusses several issues of accuracy and consistency, proposing several quality controls (QC) for multiple data acquisition systems (e.g. airborne laser systems and mobile laser systems), model construction techniques (e.g. LoD1, LoD2, and LoD3), software (interchange formats), and migration to a PostgreSQL database. Additionally, the paper recommends the importance of minimising implementation errors. A scale-specific unique identifier is introduced to link all associated LoDs, enabling cross-LoD information queries within a database. Proper model construction, accuracy control, and format interchange of LoD models in accordance with national and international standards will undoubtedly encourage and expedite data sharing among data owners, agencies, stakeholders, and public users. A summary of the work and accomplishments is included, as well as a plan for future research on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of the smart city has been created in response to the increasing numbers of people living in cities. Just as the development of technology has evolved rapidly, smart life has also emerged. The goal of the smart city is one day to enable all affairs of daily life to be completed with the single touch of a finger through cutting-edge technology. New and innovative information must be applied effectively to the industry. With the industrial revolution, propelled by the Internet of Things (IoT), big data and the cloud platform have birthed the “smart city,” integrating the IoT and the cloud through mobile devices and applying technology to fields like logistics, finance, healthcare, recreation, surveillance, and traffic transportation, thus providing people with greater well-being and convenience. Following the era of the big data knowledge economy, the IoT has become an important pillar of national economic development. The IoT is expected to provide substantial support for continued and sustainable development of the smart city. Therefore, effective use of the IoT has become an important topic in smart city development. The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework of service innovation, relying on the smart city case of Taiwan. Based on a literature review, in-depth interviews, and case interviews, the proposed conceptual framework of IoT is rooted in the market, policy, and technical aspects. It incorporates eight steps: composition of the project team, service idea generation, service idea screening, development concept selection, design and development, service testing, commercialization, and service quality, to generate new service value and thereby create customer satisfaction. In fact, the IoT is designed to support the smart city vision; thus, this paper describes the various innovation modes of the smart city. Furthermore, the paper presents and discusses the technical solutions and best-practice guidelines adopted in the Taiwan Smart City project. Finally, it discusses the meaning and future research direction of the smart city through the use of the IoT. With wave after wave of digital development civilizing the city's evolution and with the phenomenon of Internet access through mobile phones for each person, the smart city of human factors is clearly coming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines creative co-research with groups experiencing homelessness and the effects of rapid urban development. It draws upon two projects which combine social art practices and a feminist participatory action research (PAR) approach. The paper argues that bridging PAR and social arts practice, whilst underutilised and under theorised together, is an approach that offers some key opportunities as well as challenges. In highlighting these challenges, the paper acknowledges the role of power dynamics and broader issues associated with artists working in urban development contexts where relationships between local authorities, developers, the culture sector and residents are increasingly complex and entangled. In analysing the difficulties and risks within creative, participatory projects, the paper calls for an 'ethic of care' and a focus on collectively building knowledge about unequal political, economic and social structures with groups affected by rapid urban development and displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of smart cities, network security has become more and more important. In order to improve the safety of smart cities, a situation prediction method based on feature separation and dual attention mechanism is presented in this paper. Firstly, according to the fact that the intrusion activity is a time series event, recurrent neural network (RNN) or RNN variant is used to stack the model. Then, we propose a feature separation method, which can alleviate the overfitting problem and reduce cost of model training by keeping the dimension unchanged. Finally, limited attention is proposed according to global attention. We sum the outputs of the two attention modules to form a dual attention mechanism, which can improve feature representation. Experiments have proved that compared with other existing prediction algorithms, the method has higher accuracy in network security situation prediction. In other words, the technology can help smart cities predict network attacks more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a large body of research on urban forms. This review paper focuses on the urban sprawl using new and old approaches and new techniques from the subfield of urban Geography. There has been a debate among researchers about the definition of the sprawl, which makes it difficult to suggest a reliable model of the urban sprawl. This review is extremely selective. Numerous papers have focused on measuring the in terms of its physical cost or the environmental and transportation measures linked to this phenomenon. Several attempts have been made to improve the measurement of the sprawl using new approaches. Furthermore, this paper show that certain researchers did not attempt to explore new methods to investigate the urban sprawl in the past and present overlay layers for many years, researchers may use cartography techniques, for example, thereby collecting 20 years of data to match layers and show the differences in any metropolitan area. Several problems remain like differences in the understanding of the sprawl among planners and between other researchers interested in this issue. Also, it is problematic to find one measure, such as mixing different measures together to distinguish between car density and resident density. This study evaluated and reviewed old and recent studies to show that the most important issue in the urban sprawl relates to measurements. Incorporates inform and which measure is best. This article argues that urban spatial expansion reviews some of articles written on urban sprawl and showing the different approaches to studying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of devices and their communication with each other generates huge amounts of data. The efficiency of processing such large and heterogeneous data is crucial for extracting the reliable and consistent information that is needed for the effective management of smart cities within the field of transport. Data heterogeneity and volume as well as its integration and analytics are big challenges for decision-makers. The development of urban agglomerations is largely dependent on the proper management of such data. Therefore, this paper explores the role of these data repositories, their acquisition from different sources, and the ways to combine them. The main goal of this paper is to propose a concept of Smart City management based on Big Data Analytics and technology related to UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) which may reduce costs and resource consumption. The presented concept includes successive data generation and collection, data type identification, problem and requirement identification, filtering, classification, pre-processing, and data optimization, as well as decision support analysis. A key part of this analysis utilizes computer algorithms, such as Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and Thresholding and Blob detection, to develop a multi-camera image recognition system for freight transport management and logistics in smart cities. The objective is to design a system that optimizes the route planning and time of vehicle passage on selected road sections, ultimately leading to the reduction of emissions. During the study, data obtained from multiple sources were compared, and the analysis uncovered different results for the same assumptions. We discuss the reasons for these variances. Overall, the results obtained in the analysis indicated that it is necessary to correct the predictions of the multi-camera image recognition system with additional methods and algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations are becoming an increasingly important factor in advancing regional development and reshaping a new pattern of regional competition. However, few studies are focused on the impact of expanding urban agglomerations on reducing carbon emissions and its possible mechanism. Based on 285 city-level panel data from 2006 to 2017, this paper uses a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to explore the reduction effect and its possible mechanism of sustainable regional development policy, characterized by urban agglomeration expansion policy in the Yangtze River Delta, on carbon emissions with policy shocks in 2010 and 2013. The results are as follows: (1) The urban agglomeration expansion policy shows a significant marginal contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions, especially for the later joined (new) cities, and the reduction effect is particularly significant in the first and third years after the expansion, indicating that there are significant short-term and long-term reduction effects of the expansion policy. (2) The heterogeneities of reduction effect among three provinces are significant. Zhejiang Province enjoys the largest proportion carbon emission reduction effect, followed by Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. To be specific, urban agglomeration expansion in Zhejiang Province reduced carbon emissions and carbon emissions intensity in the overall, incumbent cities and new cities, while it only increased the total carbon emissions of the incumbent cities in Jiangsu province. (3) The heterogeneities of reduction effect brought by 2010 and 2013 are also significant. The urban agglomeration expansion policy in 2010 reduced carbon emissions on the whole cities and the incumbent cities with later joined cities excluded, while it had a significant reduction effect on the total, incumbent cities, and the new cities in 2013. (4) There are two possible mechanisms of this reduction effect. One is the strengthening of economic ties and enhanced environmental synergy between governments, called the market integration mechanism, which only has a significant effect on carbon emission reduction in the incumbent cities. Another is through the upgrade of the structure of regional industries, which has a significant effect in both the incumbent and new cities. These findings suggest that when formulating urban agglomerations polices, governments must take into account the carbon emissions effect, and advance the upgrading of industrial structure in the urban agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, medium-sized Indian cities have experienced accelerated urban growth due to the saturation of large cities. Such rapid urban growth combined with inadequate urban planning has triggered urban sprawl in medium-sized Indian cities. In this context, the present study focuses on the geospatial measurement of urban sprawl in four rapidly expanding Indian medium-sized cities located in diverse physiographic regions, such as Lucknow urban agglomeration (UA), Bhubaneswar UA, Raipur UA, and Dehradun UA. Multi-temporal Landsat imageries from 1991 to 2021 were downloaded for land cover classification through the maximum likelihood classification tool in ArcGIS 10.3. Thereafter, spatiotemporal land cover change detection was performed based on the classified land cover maps. The presence of urban sprawl was detected using the relative entropy index while the urban expansion index quantified the urban sprawl typologies such as edge expansion, leapfrog development, and ribbon development. The results exhibited a rapid rise in built-up land cover from 1991 to 2021. The prevalence of urban sprawl was detected in all four cities as per the relative entropy index. Edge expansion typology of urban sprawl was dominant compared to leapfrog development and ribbon development. Such urban growth phenomenon creates a hindrance in promoting sustainable urban development in medium-sized Indian cities. The results obtained from this paper would assist urban planners and policymakers in developing strategies to encourage planned urban growth. This paper exhibits the potential of geoinformatics to monitor and analyze urban sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new coupled urban change and hazard consequence model that considers population growth, a changing built environment, natural hazard mitigation planning, and future acute hazards. Urban change is simulated as an agent‐based land market with six agent types and six land use types. Agents compete for parcels with successful bids leading to changes in both urban land use—affecting where agents are located—and structural properties of buildings—affecting the building's ability to resist damage to natural hazards. IN‐CORE, an open‐source community resilience model, is used to compute damages to the built environment. The coupled model operates under constraints imposed by planning policies defined at the start of a simulation. The model is applied to Seaside, Oregon, a coastal community in the North American Pacific Northwest subject to seismic‐tsunami hazards emanating from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Ten planning scenarios are considered including caps on the number of vacation homes, relocating community assets, limiting new development, and mandatory seismic retrofits. By applying this coupled model to the testbed community, we show that: (a) placing a cap on the number of vacation homes results in more visitors in damaged buildings, (b) that mandatory seismic retrofits do not reduce the number of people in damaged buildings when considering population growth, (c) polices diverge beyond year 10 in the model, indicating that many policies take time to realize their implications, and (d) the most effective policies were those that incorporated elements of both urban planning and enforced building codes. Plain Language Summary: Natural hazards negatively impact communities resulting in significant infrastructure damages. Natural hazard mitigation planning attempts to reduce these damages and modeling can be used to measure how effective different mitigation plans can be. A new modeling framework is presented that accounts for population growth, a changing built environment, natural hazard mitigation planning, and future hazards. The model is applied to a testbed community with a large tourist population that is exposed to earthquake and tsunami hazards. Using this model, we consider different combinations of policies such as limiting the number of vacation homes in the community, relocating community assets, limiting new development, and enforcing building codes. Interestingly, we show that while placing a cap on the number of vacation homes does free up housing for full time residents, this also results in more visitors in damaged buildings. It is also shown how even with building codes in place, population growth contributes to an increased number of people in damaged buildings. Lastly, we show how the most effective policies incorporate elements of both urban planning and building codes. Key Points: An urban change model is coupled with a hazard consequence model to consider future hazards, population growth, and planning policiesThe model is applied to a coastal community in the Pacific Northwest considering Cascadia Subduction Zone seismic‐tsunami hazardsPlacing a cap on the number of vacation homes in a community could result in more visitors in damaged buildings [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses age-specific migration exchange between municipal formations (MFs) in Russia based on the net migration and population density data covering the period 2012–2018. Unlike many other developed countries, Russia's population concentrates in only 2–5% of the country's territory—in large cities and their suburbs. We utilise population density as an alternative measure for distinguishing between urban and rural populations (which is a formal distinction in most cases) in the urban–rural continuum. The results indicate that internal migration pattern in Russia corresponds to the urbanisation stage of the urban development model and is observed across all age groups. Net migration across all age groups is higher in more densely populated MFs. Migration to more densely populated territories peaks in the 15–19 age group and seems to have no viable alternative directions. Besides the analysis of internal migration role in the urban development patterns in Russia, the paper also contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between age-specific migration and urban development in the Russian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saudi Arabia intends to reduce GHG emissions by 278 million tons of CO2eq annually by 2030 through Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to UNFCCC. Among many policies, mass transit system and transit-oriented development are being developed with the expectation to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions in Riyadh. To what extent such initiative can reduce energy consumption and GHG emission is an important question. In this paper, a methodology to systematically measure the impact of mass transit and transit-oriented development in Riyadh city on the energy demand has been developed. For Riyadh, a comprehensive travel demand model considering the impact of mass transit and transit-oriented development is still missing. To this end, this paper aims to fill the gap. This methodology considers the state-of-the-art in travel demand analysis and the local context by combining traditional four-step model and activity-based model for modal-shift. This paper describes the methodology and its application for Riyadh by analyzing modal-shift only between car and metro. The results suggest that metro can reduce energy consumption, but the reduction varies with varying accessibility, car, and metro situations. At high urban density and higher car travel cost, we may achieve as high as 13% reduction in fuel demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy and waste management sectors are considered important for the country's progress towards adopting sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. However, the rapid pace of urbanization, energy-intensive growth approaches, and generation of large quantities of waste have led to severe environmental degradation of cities in India. While the government has taken several initiatives for increasing resource efficiency, limited research has been done in an Indian context to explore the policy and institutional factors. The paper focuses on challenges relating to policy enablers within the energy management in buildings and construction and demolition waste sectors; 28 semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders associated with both these sectors. The findings indicate that though India has been integrating climate change measures into its national policies and enhancing the domestic market's readiness for a circular economy, successful implementation of policy framework(s) urgently requires lifestyle and behavioural changes in the society. The study further identified the role of key stakeholders including government, businesses, and consumers, for transition to a low-carbon economy for both these sectors. This paper presents a bottom-up approach to understand the changes required in the enabling environment for the uptake of SCP practices that can be adapted by other emerging economies in the Asia Pacific region for building resource efficiency. The importance of soft factors relating to institutional capacities and governance structure is raised by the analysis in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Geographer is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH 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.)

Copyright of Raumforschung und Raumordnung is the property of Oekom Verlag GmbH 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.)

Saidpur is one of the oldest villages in Pakistan, its origin dates back five hundred years ago. Along with its scenic landscape, it has centuries-old historic importance as well. From the Mughal dynasty to subcontinent partitioning, this village has witnessed evolution of diverse eras. It displays architectural art and heritage of three cultures: Sikhism, Hinduism, and Islam, concentrated on one node in this place. Pakistan does not have any reliable system for recording, managing, and preserving heritage or platforms for recognition of heritage sites. As many other sites, the heritage of Saidpur is in demise and subject to vandalism today. It is important to bring forward the historic and architectural importance of this village globally. Before Saidpur's historical vernacular construction styles are completely lost, it is essential to record its authentic and onsite information so that history can be preserved, and further actions could be taken on its protection and preservation. The case analysis of heritage buildings can also provide inspiration and learning for the future. Hence, this paper shall record and discuss Saidpur's architectural and urban growth with time, its current situation, and analysis of its heritage architecture. This paper intends to collect and preserve both current and old accounts of Saidpur's urban growth and architecture by research through interviews, surveys, and onsite data collection, and present them through images, drawings, records and mapping, survey infographics, tables, and analysis diagrams. The aim of this paper is to collect, generate, and record information on the evolution, history, vernacular architecture style, and heritage architecture of Saidpur and, promote and present data for further heritage conservation and protection work in Saidpur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual improvement of urban construction, more and more experts and the public realized that the speed of urban development be reasonable, which caused urban regeneration to turn to a new-minded "urban micro-regeneration". "Micro-regeneration" is an extension of the concept to the direction of urban construction. The concept of micro-regeneration was first applied to the regeneration of individual buildings in the old city. The research on the intervention of public art in urban micro-regeneration is still in its infancy in China. Based on practice, this paper explores the possibility of public art's intervention in urban micro-regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always following a rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal, Review Notes, is the expression of a continuous updating of emerging topics concerning relationships among urban planning, mobility and environment, through a collection of short scientific papers. The Review Notes are made of four parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of TeMA Journal. In particular, the Economy, business and land use section aims at presenting recent advancements on relevant topics that underlie socio-economic relationships between firms and territories. The present note aims at highlighting the costs associated to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The hight investment costs and the gap that still divides cities from the achievement of the sustainable targets shed lights on the need to incentivize both public and private investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the spatial heterogeneity of internal migration in China and to discuss the influence of economic, social and environmental characteristics on this demographic process. The overall results suggest that migration in China occurred from inland to coastal areas and from rural areas to urban areas. By stepwise regression, we identified that 9 out of 15 factors with potential influence on internal migration were retained, and the multicollinearity among them was reduced. In addition, we used the OLS and GWR regression analysis to discuss the global and local effects of relevant factors on internal migration. Economic scale (GDP), population concentration (population density) and demographic dividend (labour force proportion) were the three main driving forces of internal migration. In turn, internal migration further widened the gap of economic scale, population agglomeration and demographic dividend between counties and cities. Internal migration in southern coastal areas of China was most affected by economic aspects and demographic dividend. In the central China, the population was more concentrated in high-density cities, while in the eastern regions, areas with high level of education were conducive to immigration, thus forming talent reserve highlands. In the west, areas with highly educated level faced out-migration, which might cause brain drain and widen further the gap in talent reserves between the east and the west in China. From the perspective of location, the net immigration of the provincial capital was accompanied by the net immigration of the surrounding area, which was conducive to the formation of city clusters or urban sprawl. On the other side, the net immigration in prefecture-level cities often meant the net out-migration in surrounding areas. The correlation is particularly strong in eastern coastal provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of land use functions and structures in ecologically fragile watersheds have a direct impact on regional food security and sustainable ecological service supply. Previous studies that quantify and simulate land degradation in ecologically fragile areas from the perspective of long-term time series and the spatial structure of watersheds are rare. This paper takes the Huangshui Basin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China as a case study and proposes a long-time series evolution and scenario simulation method for land use function using the Google Earth Engine platform, which realizes the simulation of land use function and structure in ecologically fragile areas by space–time cube segmentation and integrated forest-based prediction. This allows the analysis of land degradation in terms of food security and ecological service degradation. The results show that: (1) the land use function and structure evolution of the Huangshui watershed from 1990 to 2020 have a significant temporospatial variation. In the midstream region, the construction land expanded 151.84% from 1990 to 2004, driven by urbanization and western development policy; in the middle and downstream region, the loss of farmland was nearly 12.68% from 1995 to 2005 due to the combined influence of the policy of returning farmland to forest and urban expansion. (2) By 2035, the construction land in the watershed will be further expanded by 28.47%, and the expansion intensity will be close to the threshold in the upstream and midstream areas and will continue to increase by 33.53% over 2020 in downstream areas. (3) The evolution of land use function and structure will further induce land degradation, causing a 15.30% loss of farmland and 114.20 km2 of occupation of ecologically vulnerable areas, seriously threatening food security and ecological protection. Accordingly, this paper proposes policy suggestions to strengthen the spatial regulation for land degradation areas and the coordination of upstream, midstream, and downstream development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urbanization process has entered a period of rapid development, and cities have become key to driving regional economic development. This paper uses data from 286 cities in China in the period 2005–2018 to construct an urban economic growth quality index system and examine the influence of spatial factors on the convergence trend of China's urban economic growth quality. It is found that there is a β absolute convergence trend of economic growth quality in Chinese cities across the whole country. After controlling for the initial conditions of individual economies, spatial factors strengthen the spatial convergence trend of urban economic growth quality and significantly increase the corresponding convergence rate. Among the areas studied, the western region has the fastest convergence rate, followed by the central and eastern regions, and the convergence rates of both the central and western regions are higher than the national average. Agglomeration economies and fiscal policy tools are important for the promotion of the urban economic growth quality. The agglomeration of productive service industries significantly improves the spatial convergence rate of urban economic growth quality. This effect is mainly due to the spatial spillover of industrial agglomeration. The expansion of government fiscal expenditure also contributes to the spatial convergence trend of urban economic growth quality. Local economic growth quality is also affected by government fiscal expenditure in neighboring cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalating challenges of global climate change have made the development of low-carbon cities -- urban areas committed to reducing carbon emissions through sustainable energy use, enhanced building efficiency, and low-carbon transport solutions -- a critical area of study. However, there remains a significant gap in the systematic review of the thematic evolution and emerging frontiers within this field. This study addresses this gap by analyzing data from the Web of Science database, initially retrieving 1,743 articles and review articles. Following the PRISMA systematic review guidelines, we refined this selection to 1,648 high-quality publications. Using tools such as CiteSpace and VOSviewer, we conducted an in-depth analysis to identify core authors, prolific countries/ regions, leading institutions, and key journals. Our thematic analysis revealed three evolutionary stages in the research on international low-carbon city development. Additionally, we identified seven predominant topics in recent studies: land use, carbon emissions, ecological environment quality, ecosystem services, human health, energy consumption, and economic costs. These findings contribute to a clearer and more comprehensive framework for the development of low-carbon cities, serving as a valuable reference for scholars and practitioners involved in both theoretical and practical aspects of this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of EURE is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile 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.)