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The digital revolution has swept the world, but the construction industry, the backbone of the global economy, has lagged. Government policy is expected to promote the development of digital technologies centered around building information modeling (BIM) in the construction industry. However, how digital technology–related policies diffuse within a country and influence innovation regionally remains unknown. Using 2011–2019 panel data from 31 provinces in mainland China, we found that BIM policy diffuses not only vertically among national and regional governments, but also horizontally among neighboring regional governments, both of which accelerate the adoption of BIM policy in various regions across the country. We also found that there is a causal relationship between regional BIM policies and related BIM innovation. Further, the positive influence of policies on innovation is more significant in regions with low economic development and high openness levels. This study not only contributes to understanding the impact of policy diffusion on BIM innovation, but also offers insights into the research on policies and innovation of digital technology in the construction industry from a macro perspective. The empirical evidence provides a practical reference for policymakers to accelerate the adoption of digital technology policy within the country and promote technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have been accused of importing practices and norms from the private sector that could conflict with core public values (e.g., accountability, transparency, responsiveness, responsibility, and quality). Some scholars believe that PPP renegotiations can enhance public values through ex post adaptation, interference, and monitoring, while others emphasize that PPP renegotiations incentivize opportunistic behaviors on the part of governments and other stakeholders. Focusing on China's PPPs, this study investigates how the renegotiation of PPP projects impacts public values in infrastructure service delivery through a Delphi survey. Two rounds of Delphi survey questionnaires were conducted with 14 PPP experts in China. The result shows that, in general, renegotiations can safeguard or even strengthen public values in PPPs, although sometimes at the expense of managerial values. Government-led renegotiations are more likely to increase public values than contractor-led renegotiations. This study contributes to the extant literature on PPPs by shifting research concerns from managerial values to public values, and from ex ante planning to ex post renegotiation. Practitioners can derive benefits from renegotiations by paying attention to their positive impact on public values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the low degree of informatization in the construction industry chain is one of the prominent problems impeding the application efficiency of prefabrication. To break through the bottleneck of information integration and interaction in the construction process of prefabricated buildings, this paper proposes a conceptual framework of an Intelligent Construction System for Prefabricated Buildings based on the Internet of Things (ICSPB-IoT) according to the needs of government supervision departments, contractors and owners. Then this paper describes the formation of the "information network" from "information flow", based on which the operating mechanism of the ICSPB-IoT is discussed using the method of system engineering analysis. Finally, the proposed ICSPB-IoT is graded into different implementation levels according to the degree of intelligence of the Internet of Things information, and the implementation path is proposed for construction enterprises with different levels of digitalization. The results show that the ICSPB-IoT provides cross-phase, cross-organizational information interaction for government supervision departments, contractors and owners to improve the efficiency of communication and collaboration between them. This paper also provides decision-making support for the design, layout and implementation of the Internet of Things for prefabrication construction enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megaprojects carry high risks and many uncertainties, are difficult to coordinate, and involve many stakeholders. Traditional project management concepts and strategies have been proven to be less-than-efficient for modern megaprojects. To a certain extent, project governance could effectively resolve some limitations that traditional project management shows, including the clarification of responsibilities, privileges, and benefits between participating stakeholders. This study contributes to the development of a comprehensive conceptual governance model, specifically for megaprojects, that quantifies governance status over the period of megaproject development and delivery. A megaproject case study in China was used to demonstrate the way this model could facilitate a dynamic governance research approach. We also found project governance status and project performance to be positively correlated. Adjusting governance strategies properly and in a timely manner could help improve the overall project development, and as a result, lead to successful project delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization is a major trend in global population migration. There is growing debate about whether this urban-rural disparity exacerbate depression at the individual level. This study aims to investigate how urban living has a beneficial impact on individual mental health. Based on the data of 15,764 participants in the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we perform analysis of variance to identify the gap in depression levels between urban and rural areas. Extensive comparisons and detailed statistical analyses are carried out to demonstrate the differences in social participation between urban and rural residents. Finally, we conduct a series of mediation and moderation analyses to reveal the underlying mechanisms of depressive disorder benefits of cities. The results indicate that those who lived in urban areas were less likely to suffer from depression (β = −1.461, 95 % CI = [−1.691, −1.235], p < 0.001). Social engagement is found to mediate the relationship between residence type (β = 0.164, 95 % CI = [0.136, 0.193], p < 0.001) and individual depression (β = −0.462, 95 % CI = [−0.587, −0.337], p < 0.001). City size plays a moderating role in the association between urban living and social engagement. The mechanism is conducted through cross-sectional data. Self-reported depression status is accessed in this study, which could lead to measurement error. This study demonstrates the beneficial effects of urban living on individual depression, and reveals the mechanism by which urbanization at different scales affects the prevalence of depression. • This study fueled the debate about depressive disorder from growing cities with a nationwide empirical analysis. • We identified the underlying mechanism by which urban living could protect residents from the obnoxious depression. • Our observation also revealed the contingency of the protective effect of cities against depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weak ties are becoming mainstream in daily relationships and play an essential role in the improvement of individuals' mental health. Despite growing concerns on depression, inclusion of weak ties is limited. To address the gap, this study empirically shed light on the role of weak ties on individual depression in the context of economic development. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) with a sample of 16,545 individuals. A moderated mediation model is constructed to evaluate the impact of economic development (GDP) on the degrees of depression, the mediating effect of weak ties, and the moderating effect of residents' residence types (living in urban or rural areas). Economic development exerts a significant direct impact on depression (β = − 1.027 , p <0.001). Weak ties are significantly negatively correlated with depression (β = − 0.574 , p <0.001), and act as a mediator between economic development and local individual depression. In addition, the residence type plays a moderating role between economic development and weak ties (β = 0.193 , p <0.001). That is, living in urban areas would introduce the higher the level of weak ties. Higher economic development is largely conducive to alleviating the degrees of depression, weak ties play a mediating role between economic development and depression, and residence types exert a positive moderating effect on the economic development and weak ties. • This study empirically shed light on the role of weak ties on individual depression based on 2018 CHARLS. • Economic development could significantly affect degrees of individual depression through the mediating effect of weak ties. • Residence types play a moderating role between economic development and weak ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have used complex network theory to examine the characteristics of China's High-Speed Rail (HSR). Nevertheless, little attention is paid to China's HSR network's dynamic evolution and the coevolution of node attributes and embedded structural characteristics. Our study builds China's HSR network using a complex network approach and spatial analysis technique to address this issue. Additionally, we employ a stochastic actor-oriented model (SAOM) to properly decompose the three types of effects on the generation of China's HSR network (i.e., network structure, attribute-based similarity, and exogenous control variables). This study discusses the underlying hypotheses and indicates that 3-cycles is a critical structural factor for the formation of China's HSR network. In terms of the effects of attribute-based similarity, cities with similar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and geographical proximity are essential nodal drivers for the evolution of the HSR network. Notably, the administrative rank of cities exhibits a significantly negative driving force and a alter effect. These findings shed light on the interactive process of urban regional development and the dynamic evolution of the HSR network, assisting the central and local governments in enacting and implementing appropriate HSR planning policies, ultimately achieving effective urban planning and management. • The 3-cycles has a positive effect on the formation of the HSR network. • Similar GDP and geographical proximity of cities are critical drivers for the HSR. • Urban rank exhibits a significantly negative driving force and a alter effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing new types of transportation is considered a key solution to meet the extreme demands placed on traditional transportation infrastructure due to the increasing flow of production factors for national urban growth, especially in emerging economies. Both city transportation networks and city economic networks reflect intercity relationships in urban systems from different aspects. Although HSR networks are being developed rapidly worldwide, we still lack a deep understanding on how HSR relates to the economic growth of urban agglomerations from a "double-network" perspective. In this research, we first built city HSR networks and city economic networks, respectively, before the QAP method was used to examine their relationship during 2010–2015. By analyzing comparatively the differences of the coupling relationship in various areas in China as a typical case, this study contributes to the understanding of the dynamic coupling relationship between new forms of transportation and regional economic development. We found a strong coupling relationship between HSR and economic growth, and HSR tends to play a more prominent role in promoting urban integration and development in areas with more developed economies (coefficients of more developed areas are all above 0.6, while that of less developed areas are below 0.4). Such correlated relationship is more obvious in smaller administrative scopes compared to cross-administrative regions. This study proposed a research framework for "double-network" analysis in exploring the relationship between the different networks. It could also provide policy implantation for balanced regional development in emerging economies. • A new approach is provided to study the relationship between city transportation and economy system. • Network comparative analysis of city high-speed rail network and city economic network in China • Urban spatial patterns highly correlate with regional economic structure. • A significant positive coupling relationship exists between high-speed rail and economic growth. • Positive relationship between new form of transportation and economic growth is more obvious in developed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]