Spatio‐Temporal Evolution of Urban Structure in Shanghai

Abstract

As global cities are important centers for economic growth and population concentration, a deep understanding of the evolution of coupled human-environment systems in global cities has significant implications for assessing the vulnerability of global cities to climate hazards and designing adaptation and mitigation strategies. Most related studies have treated cities as homogenous units and rarely have they delved under the city level and investigated its subunits, which have distinct social, economic, institutional, and political structures, mainly due to the limitation of data. Urban socio-spatial differentiation – the arrangement of individuals into divisions of power and wealth occupying locations in different geographic space within a city – is a relatively nascent phenomenon in China. Historically, most large cities in China did not show any marked trend for socio-spatial differentiation as the urban form was characterized by mixed social areas built upon different land uses. However, during the period of economic reform, along with rapid urban expansion, the internal structures of Chinese cities experienced tremendous transformation. Socio-spatial differentiation emerged and became pronounced between different areaswithin cities, due to relocation of residents and factories, infrastructure provision, and improvement of the urban environment, enabled by local governments and triggered by China’s urban land and housing reforms. Will Chinese