Administrative Boundaries Research Articles

What qualitative systems mapping is and what it could be: integrating and visualizing diverse knowledge of complex problems

AbstractResearchers in sustainability science deal with increasingly complex problems that cross administrative, geographical, disciplinary, and sectoral boundaries, and are characterized by high stakes and deep uncertainties. This in turn creates methodological challenges to frame, structure, and solve complex problems in science and practice. There is a long tradition in visualizing systems as diagrams, and concept and cognitive maps, but there is insufficient differentiation and comparison between these methods and no clear umbrella term has yet been established. Against this background, we systematically review three foundational methods from different academic disciplines—causal diagrams, concept mapping, and cognitive mapping. Comparing and contrasting them, we facilitate a coherent understanding of qualitative systems mapping (QSM) as an umbrella term. We then proceed to explore the evident intersections between these methods to showcase some of the inter- and transdisciplinary opportunities and challenges crystallizing in integrated QSM approaches. Finally, we share case study insights from the food–water–biodiversity nexus in Austria and elaborate on some of the methodological nuances to data integration in QSM. Overall, with this overview paper, we lay the groundwork for a systematic, transparent, and yet flexible development and application of QSM methods to support mixed-methods research design and clear case study documentation, as well as fostering effective inter- and transdisciplinary communication in sustainability science. Further research needs to explore these QSM applications in depth across alternative sustainability science contexts, particularly with respect to efficient and rigorous protocols for knowledge and data integration vis-a-vis complex problems and transdisciplinary research processes.

The Cosmology of Menoreh Customary Tradition in Indigenous People Perspective

The concept of indigenous peoples is a global concern in local development including by international institutions such as the International Labour Organization. One indicator of indigenous peoples is cosmological knowledge which often incorporates deep connections between the material, spiritual realms and emphasizes the connective interconnectedness between humans and nature. Its development later became an international convention to protect the existence of indigenous peoples. This research uses ethnographic methods to explore the cosmology and memorial story of Menoreh indigenous people who do not recognize the administrative boundaries of the district so that they can perform traditional ceremonies from an indigenous perspective. Menoreh’s landscape illustrates the cosmological relationship between the local market, the Baritan ceremony, and the conservation of spring sacralization, which is a sustainable customary praxis. The ritual element of the cosmological axis of social interaction leads to two concepts. First, the relationship between Menoreh (caretakers as indigenous actors) and pilgrims' actions as visitors becomes an elementary social interaction. Second, the tradition of offerings and memorial of spirits (petilasan) becomes an elementary symbolic form.

Do environmental regulation policies increase urban boundary pollution? Micro evidence from Chinese industrial enterprises

Industrial organizations frequently opt to relocate their activities to regions bordering administrative boundaries, where regulatory oversight is comparatively lax, to hinder adherence to environmental regulations, which leads to boundary pollution concerns. Using a staggered DID model to Assess the influence of governmental environmental regulations on pollution at administrative boundaries using microdata obtained from Chinese industrial enterprises, this research employs the low-carbon city pilot policy as a quasi-experiment. The following are the study's findings: (1) The low-carbon city pilot policy increase boundary pollution levels by 1.3 % at the industrial enterprise level, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. A series of robustness tests, including boundary enterprise identification and boundary distance calculations, are used to validate this result. (2) The low-carbon city pilot policy's boundary pollution effect has a fluctuating, wave-like spatial pattern. The pollution effect is most noticeable at about 10 km from the administrative boundary. (3) There is no evidence that the low-carbon city pilot policy's impact on industrial enterprises is consistent with the Porter hypothesis. (4) Environmental regulations are like a two-edged sword. According to data obtained from the branches of financial institutions, environmental regulations not only contribute to boundary pollution but also influence the development of the boundary area to some degree. This research provides original empirical findings from the standpoint of micro-level enterprises, substantiating the presence of boundary pollution as a result of environmental regulation evasion, providing policy recommendations for the development of environmental regulatory policies and the management of urban boundary pollution.

Sages of the street: violence management and neighborhood conflict among crime- and violence-exposed young males in southwest Houston

ABSTRACT This study presents efforts to mitigate the likelihood of violent victimization among a network of young males with varying degrees of criminal involvement and previous victimization. Already inhabiting an environment in which poverty, institutional segregation, drugs, guns, and gangs are prevalent, the young males’ risk of victimization is heightened by their volatile relationships, presence in crime-prone places and connection to illegal activities. Findings from ethnographic observations of violence management practices show that the young males’ interactions and whereabouts in the neighborhood are guided by knowledge of their neighborhood’s physical and administrative boundaries, built environment, and markers of place – all of which are used to demarcate places of belonging and relative safety. Broadening the conception of neighborhood conflict and violence management beyond their relation to identity performance and defended territory, this study articulates violence management as a contextually-informed skill set.

Evolution of the city borders of st. Petersburg – Leningrad (END OF 19th – 20th centuries): causes and consequences

The article is devoted to determining the causes and results of changes in the urban boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad from the late 1870s to the early 1990s. Object of study: spatial and administrative boundaries of St. Petersburg-Leningrad, formed during this period. Purpose of the article: to determine the reasons for changes in the city boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad since the late 1870s. – the period of development of local self-government, until the early 1990s. – the end of the Soviet period and analysis of the results of these changes. Objectives of the article: 1) identification of problems and proposals for establishing the city boundaries of St. Petersburg - Petrograd from the 1870s to 1917; 2) consideration and analysis of the General Plans of Leningrad of the 1920s – 1930s. to determine the causes and consequences of changes in city boundaries during this period; 3) analysis of changes in city boundaries in the post-war General Plans of Leningrad in 1948 and 1966. in connection with the new direction of development of the city “Towards the Bay”; 4) determining the reasons for the stabilization of the city borders of Leningrad by the beginning of the 1990s. – the end of the Soviet period of city development. Scientific novelty of the article: it consists in determining the causes, consequences and analysis of the results of the evolution of the urban boundaries of St. Petersburg - Leningrad from the 1870s to the early 1990s. influenced by the socio-economic and political conditions of this period.

Geographic drivers more important than landscape composition in predicting bee beta diversity and community structure

AbstractThe importance of microhabitat traits such as floral availability is well known; however, forest bee spatial dynamics have been variably studied across local to broad geographic scales. Past literature suggests that landscape factors from proximate to distal are important in determining forest bee community metrics, including richness, abundance, and taxonomic composition. Leveraging the interest and assistance of citizen science volunteers, we employed standard bee bowl trap transects across Maryland, Delaware, northern Virginia, and the District of Columbia and identified correlations between bee community composition, local and regional land cover, and broader geospatial patterns. We also identified the partial contributions of both specific species and sampling sites to total beta diversity. Various land cover metrics were significantly related to bee community structure, with bee abundance positively and negatively correlated with forest and wetland cover, respectively. In general, land cover metrics within 1000‐m buffer exhibited stronger correlations with bee communities; however, broader geographic variation, using Cartesian coordinates north and east as indices, was most significantly correlated with the bee community. Specifically, bee communities were less rich in the east and south of the study area. We also identified similar correlations with the bee community as categorized by both trophic and nesting behaviors, with both geographic northing and easting proving to be most strongly correlated with the forest bee community. Results of beta diversity and cluster analyses showed that the most species‐depauperate sites exhibited the highest contributions to beta diversity and that species‐poor sites consisted of a reduced subset of the greater community. Our results show that successful bee conservation must consider, beyond local‐scale resource availability, broad geospatial considerations and forest habitat connectivity across political and administrative boundaries.

A novel approach to identify priority areas for optimal nutrient management in mixed land-use watersheds through nutrient budget assessment

Excessive nutrient supply in agricultural regions has led to various environmental issues, thereby requiring concentrated management owing to its persistent upward trend. Nutrient budgets (NBs), a vital agricultural environmental indicator, are employed for nutrient management in agricultural areas, using data surveyed by administrative agencies. However, the spatial extent of nutrient data for nutrient budgeting is limited by administrative boundaries according to the surveying organization, posing challenges in interpreting spatial patterns at the watershed level. In this study, a novel approach was developed to identify priority nutrient management areas by applying hot spot spatial analysis to watershed-level NBs, considering hydrological characteristics. This method was applied to approximately 850 subwatersheds across the Republic of Korea, where land cover characteristics are complex. Reassessing nutrient budgets at the watershed scale, accounting for overlapping administrative boundary areas and crop cultivation ratios, indicated similar levels between the two methods. Hot spot analysis revealed that watersheds with elevated NBs mirrored the spatial patterns of livestock excreta and cropland. The spatial distribution characteristics of watersheds with high nutrient levels in rivers corresponded with the concentration characteristics of industrial and commercial areas. Therefore, applying watershed-level NBs based on land cover ratios that consider nutrient input characteristics in agricultural regions is deemed appropriate for selecting priority nutrient management areas. Collectively, this study presents a method for selecting nutrient management priority areas by simultaneously considering the spatial characteristics of various environmental factors, such as land cover, livestock excreta, river water quality, and land area-based watershed-specific NBs. The proposed approach, considering mixed land cover characteristics, is anticipated to be valuable for selecting priority management areas in watersheds with diverse pollution sources. Future research is needed to explore nutrient budgets within watersheds, the influence of land use on pollution sources, and their correlation with water quality.

Comparison of diverse machine learning algorithms for forest fire susceptibility mapping in Antalya, Türkiye

Antalya is one of the provinces with the highest number of forest fires in Türkiye. In 2021, 278 forest fires occurred within the administrative boundaries of Antalya Regional Directorate of Forestry. The main objective of this study is to produce forest fire susceptibility (FFS) maps of Antalya province using machine learning (ML) models. In addition to forest fire inventory data, 16 factors, including topographic, environmental, meteorological, and human-driven, were used in the study. Inventory data included 2166 fire ignition points from the General Directorate of Forestry. 70 % of the inventory dataset was used to train the ML models and 30 % to validate the models. Overall accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) approaches were considered as validation metrics. FFS maps of Antalya were produced using stand-alone ML algorithms, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Machines, as well as tree-based Conditional Inference Trees (CTREE), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study using the CTREE algorithm for forest fire susceptibility mapping. Therefore, this study is important for the related literature. The validation results revealed that the XGBoost model outperformed other models. It is thought that the FFS map produced using the XGBoost model will guide forest engineers, wildland firefighting teams, and firefighters to minimize damage and control forest fires.

Water quality aspects from Spanish sites to support managed aquifer recharge (MAR) guidelines not based on maximum allowable concentration standards

Most countries that have technical guidelines or regulations for artificial recharge or managed aquifer recharge (MAR), that include water quality aspects are based on the establishment of standards or Maximum Allowable Concentrations (MACs) to regulate the quality of the water percolated or injected into an aquifer. The number of parameters in these guidelines vary considerably (from 6 in Spain to 156 in the USA) and often apply to all aquifers within administrative boundaries (e.g., national territory), regardless of the nature of the receiving medium, the depth of the water table, and other key factors. Eleven MAR systems in Spain have been studied (eight operational and three experimental, with limited number of data from three sites), characterising both, the recharge water quality and the water resulting from the interaction processes recharge water-soil-unsaturated zone-saturated zone of the aquifer. In all cases, an improved effect on groundwater quality is observed, even though some parameters in the recharge water don’t comply with the standards employed in some European countries, where this article focuses. The article suggests that regulating water quality for MAR through MACs at national level gives room for another alternative approach specific for each site. It might be recommendable to establish local standards at the regional or aquifer-wide level to better reflect the diversity of groundwater occurrence. As per the article, sectoral water authorities could receive more decision-making power on granting permits for MAR based on the quality of the hydrogeological and risk studies for each request. This would help reduce the application of the precautionary principle when in granting permission.

The national distribution of lymphatic filariasis cases in Malawi using patient mapping and geostatistical modelling.

In 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Malawi had successfully eliminated lymphatic filariasis (LF) as a public health problem. Understanding clinical case distributions at a national and sub-national level is important, so essential care packages can be provided to individuals living with LF symptoms. This study aimed to develop a national database and map of LF clinical case numbers across Malawi using geostatistical modelling approaches, programme-identified clinical cases, antigenaemia prevalence and climate information. LF clinical cases identified through programme house-to-house surveys across 90 sub-district administrative boundaries (Traditional Authority (TA)) and antigenaemia prevalence from 57 sampled villages in Malawi were used in a two-step geostatistical modelling process to predict LF clinical cases across all TAs of the country. First, we modelled antigenaemia prevalence in relation to climate covariates to predict nationwide antigenaemia prevalence. Second, we modelled clinical cases for unmapped TAs based on our antigenaemia prevalence spatial estimates. The models estimated 20,938 (95% CrI 18,091 to 24,071) clinical cases in unmapped TAs (70.3%) in addition to the 8,856 (29.7%), programme-identified cases in mapped TAs. In total, the overall national number of LF clinical cases was estimated to be 29,794 (95% CrI 26,957 to 32,927). The antigenaemia prevalence and clinical case mapping and modelling found the highest burden of disease in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts in the Southern Region and Karonga district in the Northern Region of the country. The models presented in this study have facilitated the development of the first national LF clinical case database and map in Malawi, the first endemic country in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights the value of using existing LF antigenaemia prevalence and clinical case data together with modelling approaches to produce estimates that may be used for the WHO dossier requirements, to help target limited resources and implement long-term health strategies.

Uneven infection and government capacity: evidence from Shanghai lockdown

ABSTRACT In April, 2022 the government of Shanghai initiated a severe lockdown in which the city’s 25 million residents were required to remain in their apartment buildings for 2 months. During the lockdown, sub-district (‘Jiedao’) governments were responsible for implementing COVID policies and allocating basic goods to the residents within their local administrative boundaries. This paper documents a strong negative correlation between new COVID-19 infections and the distance to the sub-district boundaries. Such correlation is intensified when the government expenditures and goods accessibility are low. We argue that this pattern results from insufficient local government capacity to serve the entire sub-district; individuals near the boundary may evade regulations and seek private connections to obtain goods or services, thereby increasing their risk of being infected. Our results provide insight into government management in the pandemic context and offer new evidence that geography affects the implementation of government policy even at small local levels.

Land Surface Temperature Changes in Different Urbanization Increments in China since 2000

In the rapidly urbanizing world, as one of the distinct anthropogenic alterations of global climate change, global warming has attracted rising concerns due to its negative effects on human well-being and biodiversity. However, existing studies mostly focused on the difference in temperature elevation among urbanized areas and non-urbanized areas, i.e., rural or suburban areas. The allometric urban warming at intra-urban scales was overlooked. This research aimed to expand our understanding of urbanization–temperature relationships by applying a concept of a “previous-new” dichotomy of urbanized areas. To quantify the land surface temperature (LST) dynamics of 340 cities in China, we analyzed the LST of different land use types through trend analysis and absolute change calculation models. The urban heat island (UHI) effect of two spatial units, i.e., newly expanded urbanized area (“new UA” hereinafter) during 2000–2015 and previously existing urbanized area (“previous UA” hereinafter) in 2000, were compared and discussed. Our findings reveal that urban growth in China coincided with an LST increase of approximately 0.68 °C across the entire administrative boundary, with higher increases observed in regions between the Yellow River and Yangtze River and lower increases in other areas. Moreover, the new UA exhibited significantly greater LST increases and urban heat island intensity (HUII) compared to the previous UA. The dynamics of LST corresponded to the speed and scale of urban growth, with cities experiencing higher growth rates and percentages exhibiting more pronounced LST increases. This study reveals the impact of the underlying surface on human settlements on a large scale.

The 2-month lockdown and commuting behavior transformation in Shanghai: A phone signal data-based analysis

Research on COVID-19's influence on urban mobility often compares pre-pandemic patterns with those during or post-pandemic, emphasizing the decline due to lockdowns and recovery after vaccinations. However, the pandemic's impact on urban mobility and commuting trends, extending beyond the virus's immediate presence, is multifaceted, particularly considering its three-year span and diverse lockdown policies. Our study delves deeper into the effects of Shanghai's 2-month lockdown in 2022, from early April to end of May. Leveraging granular phone signal data, we meticulously compared and analyzed the geospatial dynamics of commuting between May 2021 and July 2022. Our findings revealed a notable contraction in commuting distances. Regions previously characterized by extensive long-distance commuting lost their allure post-lockdown. Intriguingly, administrative boundaries emerged as new impediments to commuting, an outcome that cannot be solely attributed to COVID-19 apprehensions. The empirical evidence suggests the possibility of a structural change in the commuting behavior of people in Shanghai, which is unlikely to be a consequence of the virus itself and more a result of stringent and arguably excessive lockdown protocols.

Combining vector and raster data in regionalization: A unified framework for delineating spatial unit boundaries for socio-environmental systems analyses

Regionalization has emerged as a crucial research area for the past 50 years, including aggregating smaller areas into larger, contiguous, and/or homogeneous regions. Spatial optimization techniques are advantageous for solving regionalization problems, yet their nondeterministic polynomial-time (NP) hard nature leads to computational complexity and time consumption, especially with extensive datasets. Although regionalization studies play a pivotal role in defining boundaries for multi-scalar analysis and modeling complex socio-environmental systems (SES), current approaches lack integrated consideration of raster and vector data. We introduce a unified, structured framework integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), image segmentation, and regionalization to identify and characterize socio-environmental units accounting for various data models and types. We use a public geodatabase of the Rio Grande/Bravo basin, an SES covering diverse cultures, ecosystems, and economies, to demonstrate the functionality of our newly developed method, which effectively identifies spatial units for subsequent SES analysis and modeling. The delineation process accounts for various factors, including administrative boundaries, estimated total quantities, compactness, spatial contiguity, and similarity in socio-environmental characteristics. To make this work reproducible, replicable, and expandable, we developed the approach entirely based on open-source Python packages. Our method is easily transferable to other research using various data formats and spatial scales to delineate spatial unit boundaries effectively and efficiently.

Delineation of Vulnerable Areas Affected by the Eruption of Mount Agung, Bali

Vulnerability is a condition of a community or society that causes the inability to face the threat of disaster. Geographic information systems (GIS) have become essential tools in evaluating natural hazards and risks which is an aspect to define vulnerability of the volcano eruption-affected area. Based on activity of volcano, it is necessary to delineate the vulnerability of areas affected by the eruption of Mount Agung by integrating the Mount Agung Area Network Map and Geological Map with physical vulnerability data and social vulnerability. This research using processing methods and spatial analysis of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing methods. Geographic Information System (GIS) is used to create vulnerability maps using scoring, weighting, and overlay methods. The data used for making the vulnerability map include administrative boundaries, DEM (Digital Elevation Model), secondary data from the BPS 2020 Karangasem Regencyt in Figures, geological maps, settlement data and land cover maps. The results based on these data show the number of areas affected by the eruption of Mount Agung, the data states that the data area with low vulnerability has an area of 0.001490 Ha. Medium vulnerability data has an eruption affected area of 47.024493897 Ha. While the high vulnerability has an affected area of 36.878843877 Ha. Differences in the level of vulnerability are influenced by social vulnerability, physical vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability.Keywords: Delineation, Eruption, GIS, Mount Agung, Vulnerability

Do rural migrant parents intend to settle in cities? Impacts of childcare strategies, split households, migration duration, and distance

IntroductionThe current transnational and internal migration involve more and more circular and temporary residences in the host communities. However, few studies have examined the settlement intention of circular and temporary migrant parents with children under 18 years old, which has made inclusive planning for these migrants' needs difficult. This paper aimed to examine whether rural migrant parents intended to settle in cities, with specific discussion about the impacts of childcare strategies, split households, and migration duration and distance.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study design. The data was sourced from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey.ResultsThrough analysis of a sample of 4,247 rural migrant parents in the Pearl River Delta, this study found that 56% of rural migrant parents intended to become urban settlers. Higher levels of education and income and longer migration durations yielded the parents' increased intention to become urban settlers. The birthplaces and primary caregivers of migrants' children were also significant factors. Moreover, split households, especially households in which the youngest child did not live with the parents in cities, decreased parents' intention to settle permanently. Instead of geographic distance, administrative provincial boundaries were found to be a critical factor in inter-provincial migrant parents' decreased intention to settle in cities.DiscussionThis study provides insights into understanding urbanization in China and contributes to future policy studies regarding internal migration, social integration and population growth, especially in a low fertility and rapid aging contest.

Green digital finance and technology diffusion

Technology diffusion is essential for sustainable development. However, traditional financing faces structural problems in supporting technological innovation and diffusion. Fortunately, greening and digitalisation have become important directions for the financial development. It’s well worth examining whether green digital finance would promote the diffusion of technology among regions. Therefore, this study explores the causal relationship between green digital finance and technology diffusion using the panel data of 35,532 ‘citing city-cited city’ pair observations from 2002 to 2015. Considering different spatial spillover effects of administrative boundaries and geographic distances, it applies and extends the classic spatial Dubin model with a dual-weighted boundary and distance. The main findings of this study are as follows. First, green digital finance shows significant and considerable spatial stimulus effects, particularly in terms of spatial diffusion across cities. A slight cumulative phenomenon is revealed for different technology diffusion durations. Green digital credit, investment, and support have better stimulating effects on technology diffusion. Second, digital economy and market integration are effective mechanism pathways during this stimulating process of green digital finance on technology diffusion. Digitalisation innovation has a better mechanism effect than others. Third, considering the direction of technology diffusion, the diffusion effect from the east-region cities was better than that from the central-west-region cities.

Transformations of the Beirut River: Between Temporary and Permanent Liminality

This article presents the case of the Beirut River corridor in Lebanon, which defines the administrative border between the capital Beirut, its eastern and south-eastern suburbs. The Beirut River has undergone several transformations from being a lotic environment to becoming complex urban infrastructure. This is often unnoticeable due to the scarcity of its running water and its walled existence at the edge of administrative boundaries. The separation from its riverbanks, disconnection from the urban fabric, and continuous pollution have contributed to its liminality, being simultaneously neither present nor absent. To understand this in-betweenness, the river’s spatial, temporal, and social liminality are analysed by identifying major events, actors, and key urban planning interventions that impacted the river at the national, city region, and local scales. The article explores the development of the river corridor both in terms of urbanisation and population dynamics; its distinct positionality in different periods that corresponded to major events and decisions made; and the contrasting river experiences and perceptions across generations, which vary between reminiscence and aversion. By examining the various transformative processes, collective practices, perceptions, and diverse actors, the article highlights the contextual implications of this obdurate liminality, but also Beirut River’s potential alternative future positionality amidst present and imminent urban challenges.

A Global Estimate of the Size and Location of Informal Settlements

Slums are a structural feature of urbanization, and shifting urbanization trends underline their significance for the cities of tomorrow. Despite their importance, data and knowledge on slums are very limited. In consideration of the current data landscape, it is not possible to answer one of the most essential questions: Where are slums located? The goal of this study is to provide a more nuanced understanding of the geography of slums and their growth trajectories. The methods rely on the combination of different datasets (city-level slum maps, world cities, global human settlements layer, Atlas of Informality). Slum data from city-level maps form the backbone of this research and are made compatible by differentiating between the municipal area, the urbanized area, and the area beyond. This study quantifies the location of slums in 30 cities, and our findings show that only half of all slums are located within the administrative borders of cities. Spatial growth has also shifted outwards. However, this phenomenon is very different in different regions of the world; the municipality captures less than half of all slums in Africa and the Middle East but almost two-thirds of all slums in cities of South Asia. These insights are used to estimate land requirements within the Sustainable Development Goals time frame. In 2015, almost one billion slum residents occupied a land area as large as twice the size of the country of Portugal. The estimated 380 million residents to be added up to 2030 will need land equivalent to the size of the country of Egypt. This land will be added to cities mainly outside their administrative borders. Insights are provided on how this land demand differs within cities and between world regions. Such novel insights are highly relevant to the policy actions needed to achieve Target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (“by 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, and upgrade slums”) as interventions targeted at slums or informal settlements are strongly linked to political and administrative boundaries. More research is needed to draw attention to the urban expansion of cities and the role of slums and informal settlements.

Constructing ‘Local’ and ‘Sustainable’: A critical analysis of place-based public food procurement

Public food procurement, involving public sector entities purchasing and distributing food for government-run programs or facilities, is gaining traction as a strategy to counter the dominance of global corporations in food systems. This paper examines the potential and challenges of a place-based procurement model that links urban and rural areas through direct supply chains to promote local, environmentally sustainable food production and consumption, drawing on an in-depth analysis of South Korea’s Urban-rural Coexistence Public Meal Program. The findings of this study highlight that program agendas focused on locality and sustainability may misalign, limiting transformative potential, especially when ‘place’ is narrowly defined within territorial or administrative boundaries. The paper advocates for a comprehensive understanding of ‘place’ that transcends spatial limits, as a key to rebuild regional supply chains, acknowledging its multi-scalar nature and socio-ecological connections between urban and rural spheres. Evidence from South Korea informs the design of place-based food systems, emphasizing the importance of aligning local realities, coordinating different food systems agendas, and exchanging context-specific knowledge. This study contributes to the theoretical elaboration of place-based approaches and the envisioning of urban policies that support food system sustainability and localization.