Development Of Chinese Cities Research Articles

Challenges and Future of Sustainable Development in Chinese Cities from the Perspective of Urban Poverty Alleviation

In today's world, facing various global challenges such as climate change, poverty, inequality, and environmental degradation, the United Nations proposed a global action plan in 2015 - the Sustainable Development Goals, with SDG1 aiming to eradicate all forms of poverty. The rapid pace of global urbanization in the 21st century is bringing new challenges. Among them, poverty is a major issue with serious implications for sustainable urban development. In China, poverty has always been a focal point of government and societal attention. By the end of 2020, absolute poverty in rural areas of China had been effectively eliminated, but urban poverty has increasingly become prominent, affecting the sustainable development of Chinese cities. The purpose of this research is to collect information from literature, identify research hotspots and trends in urban poverty alleviation in China, and analyze the challenges faced by sustainable development in Chinese cities and how to address these issues. This study analyzes the research hotspots and trends in urban poverty alleviation in China through the use of CiteSpace software and bibliometrics in order to promote sustainable urban development in China.

Future pathways for green hydrogen: Analyzing the nexus of renewable energy consumption and hydrogen development in Chinese cities

Hydrogen energy offers a promising pathway for achieving zero-carbon urban energy consumption. This study quantitatively analyzes the patterns of hydrogen energy development and its linked to electricity consumption in China's urban areas. It investigates the spatial relationships between hydrogen energy expansion, the potential for green hydrogen production, and overall energy use. Utilizing a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model, the research explores the dynamic interactions between urban hydrogen energy development and the transition to renewable energy sources. In line with Chinese government policy, the study also conducts a scenario analysis of green hydrogen production by 2030, proposing a consumption strategy that balances environmental sustainability with economic growth. The key conclusions are as follows: (1) There is a spatial mismatch between the locations where hydrogen energy is being developed and where the potential for green hydrogen production is greatest. Cities with higher electricity consumption demonstrate stronger synergies in the coordinated development of hydrogen and renewable energy. (2) The development of hydrogen energy significantly accelerates the transition to renewable energy consumption in urban areas, with this impact being more substantial than that of the utilization capacity alone. (3) Hydrogen production in the Plan Scenario is significantly higher than in the Pessimistic Scenario, underscoring the critical importance of implementing renewable hydrogen projects in provinces with high production potential. Future trends in green hydrogen consumption at the provincial level indicate that addressing the challenges of efficient inter-provincial transportation of hydrogen energy remains essential.

Research on the Influencing Factors of Digital Economy Development in Chinese Cities

In today's context, digital economy has become a key engine of economic growth worldwide, and China, as a developing country with a high population density and a fast pace of technological development, has attracted global attention to the development process of digital economy. In the urban digital economy, the quality of its development is often affected by many factors, such as policy environment, market size, technological innovation and network security, etc. In this paper, we will take this as the background to elaborate, and hope to be able to provide reference for the relevant people.

Environmental shadows in the age of progress: The toll of economic globalization on China's climate

This study investigates the impact of economic globalization on China's climate using city-level data from 2005 to 2019. This study employs the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between globalization and climate impact, with carbon emissions initially increasing due to scale and composition effects. Surprisingly, the technology effect has limited effectiveness, particularly in second and third-tier cities. Another significant finding of this study is the observed positive correlation between carbon emissions in the previous and current periods. However, this trend leads to lower carbon emissions in neighbouring regions. The results of this study call for technology-focused policies and international collaborations to promote sustainable development in Chinese cities.

Assessing the impact of China Railway Express operations on the development of Chinese cities: China-Europe freight routes evolution and city development analysis

The operation of the China Railway Express (CRE) has diversified freight transportation between China and Europe, expanding the international freight channels in Chinese cities where CRE operates. However, the relationship between the evolution of China-Europe freight routes and the development of Chinese cities remains unclear. Therefore, we propose a potential model to assess the evolution of CRE routes and develop an indicator system to measure city sustainability. We employ a coupled coordination degree model (CCDM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the impact of CRE on the development of these cities. Findings reveal several key insights. Firstly, CRE has facilitated the expansion of China-Europe freight routes in Chinese cities, significantly enhancing the accessibility of China-Europe integrated inland transportation. Secondly, the growth of freight routes between China and Europe has exerted a substantial influence on the long-term development of Chinese cities, particularly inland cities. The positive relationship between route evolution and city development has strengthened over time. Lastly, the expansion of China-Europe freight routes indirectly contributes to the development of inland cities, primarily through stimulating innovation, industry scale, financial growth, and international trade. In contrast, coastal cities mainly benefit from the direct promotion of the international trade levels.

Variegated Platform Urbanism: Social Credit and the City

The development of a digital social credit system in China has sparked debates around urban governance and citizenship performance. Although China’s social credit system is portrayed as a single technical system, the article offers a new perspective on digital social credit focused on geographical variegation. We analyze how variegation is manifested through use of multiple data streams and a diverse range of aims operationalized in various social credit systems at the municipal level. Social credit can be seen as part of algorithmic urban governance and an instrument of urban citizenship performance through scoring, ranking, incentives, and punishments. Analysis of social credit systems’ development in Chinese cities contributes to debates around the role of the urban Global East and evolution of digital and algorithmic governance in and beyond China.

How can low-carbon help high-quality urban development?-Empirical evidence from low-carbon city pilot policies.

High-quality development is the paramount task for comprehensively building a socialist modernized country. The low-carbon city pilot policy, with cities as the unit of action, provides new opportunities for high-quality economic transformation. Based on panel data from 261 cities between 2005 and 2018, this study calculates the level of high-quality economic development in Chinese cities, constructs a multi-period difference-in-differences model, analyzes the impact of the low-carbon city pilot policy on high-quality economic development, and explores the policy's heterogeneous effects on high-quality development in different types of cities and its transmission mechanism. The research findings show that the low-carbon city pilot policy can significantly promote high-quality economic development in cities and has heterogeneous effects in terms of regional differences, city types, and city scale. The effects are relatively greater in the eastern region, non-resource-based cities, and mega-cities. The low-carbon city pilot policy promotes high-quality economic development through mechanisms such as technological progress effects, resource agglomeration effects, and government action improvement effects. Combining theoretical analysis with empirical results, this study proposes policy recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of the low-carbon city pilot policy in promoting high-quality development.

Redefining the boundaries of Chinese cities—Analysis based on multisource geographical big data

In the process of rapid urbanization in China, the development of Chinese cities is progressing rapidly and urgently needs a new method of city boundary division that can reflect the true boundaries of cities. This study uses national road intersection and points of interest (POIs) data from 2016, among other multisource big data, to define the true boundaries of Chinese cities in that year. The results show the following: first, the use of clustering algorithms resulted in 6789 preliminary natural cities in 2016. Second, the combination of POI data and the elimination of POIs with a value of zero or below a threshold resulted in 4905 natural cities in China in 2016. Third, the 4905 natural cities were divided into four groups, resulting in 1981 sprawling cities, 842 vibrant and nonexpanding cities, 1048 expanding and nonvibrant cities, and 1034 vibrant and expanding cities. Fourth, the number and distribution of “ghost cities” nationwide were determined, with 612 natural cities identified as “ghost cities.” Fifth, various big datasets were used to verify the scientificity and rationality of the classification in this study.

Evaluation and Innovation of Methods for Measuring the Development Level of Urban Digital Economy

With the continuous development of Internet technology, the digital economy has become a new engine of contemporary economic development. In particular, on March 12, 2021, China released the "14th Five Year Plan" and the Outline of Vision Goals for 2035, clearly proposing to "create new advantages of the digital economy". Based on this background, this article first analyzes and evaluates the mainstream methods for measuring the development level of the digital economy in China and foreign countries. It is found that the current measurement methods and indicator selection vary greatly, and the accuracy and credibility of the measurement are questionable. Therefore, this article proposes to use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method to measure the level of digital economy development in Chinese cities, and elaborates on its rationality.

Analyzing sustainable development in Chinese cities: A focus on land use efficiency in production-living-ecological aspects

Efficient utilization of land resources is fundamental for achieving sustainable urban development. Utilizing the urban land use efficiency (ULUE) framework for production-living-ecological (PLE) functions, this study establishes three key indicators to evaluate the sustainable development status of each dimension. The indicator system was applied to 433 Chinese cities to analyze the temporal and spatial changes in urban sustainable development from 2000 to 2020. Research findings reveal significant disparities in sustainable urban development levels across Chinese regions from 2000 to 2020, following a consistent trend: Eastern > Western > Central > Northeast. The ULUE for living and production functions in Chinese cities experienced an obvious decline from 2015 to 2020. This indicates that urban land expansion in most Chinese cities surpassed population growth, accompanied by a noticeable reduction in economic growth rates. Since 2010, the ULUE for ecological function has improved significantly in Eastern region, reflecting a shift in development priorities towards a green approach rooted in ecological conservation principles. However, the ULUE in Northeastern cities has declined, placing this region at a competitive disadvantage due to the dual challenges of declining population and economic recession. Since 2015, urban land expansion in Central Chinese cities has significantly outpaced other regions, resulting in extensive land use, posing challenges to resource planning and management. Smaller cities, in contrast to their larger counterparts, face a lower overall sustainability level and encounter more acute challenges related to population migration and economic transition. The analysis offers valuable insights and policy recommendations to enhance sustainability in developing regions.

Co-benefits of transport demand reductions from compact urban development in Chinese cities

Co-benefits of transport demand reductions from compact urban development in Chinese cities

Digital economy, industrial agglomeration and high-quality development

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of the digital economy on high-quality economic development in 283 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2020, focusing on manufacturing industry agglomeration. The results show that the digital economy significantly enhances economic efficiency, particularly in larger cities, while smaller cities see less pronounced effects. The research highlights a pathway from digital economy development to industrial agglomeration, underscoring the critical role of manufacturing industry agglomeration in promoting high-quality economic development in Chinese cities.

The Application of an Electrocoagulation Process to the Sustainable Treatment of Initial Rainwater and the Simulation of a Flow Pattern in an Experimental Device

The pollutant content in initial rainwater is very high, so the treatment and research of initial rainwater has become an engagement issue in controlling non-point source pollution and realizing sustainable development in Chinese cities. This study explores the best flow pattern suitable for treating initial rainwater by electrocoagulation (EC), and a pilot-scale experiment is conducted to analyze the effect of the EC process on the treatment of initial rainwater. The findings indicate that the latter enhances the turbulent flow effect and the EC process treatment effect better under the two flow modes of parallel perforation flow and dislocation perforation flow. For the dislocation perforated flow pattern, the removal rates of suspended matter (SS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and phosphorus (TP) are 94.00%, 81.95%, and 98.97%, respectively, which reach the expected treatment targets. Using the electrocoagulation–filtration (ECF) process to treat initial rainwater, the final effluent exhibits high quality and could be used as urban circulating cooling water. Specifically, SS, COD, and TP concentrations are 15.00 mg/L, 21.06 mg/L, and 0.11 mg/L, respectively. The hydraulic retention time of the process is short, only 30 min, and the energy consumption is low, 0.57 kWh. This study provides a reference for the sustainable treatment of early urban rainwater and the design of the flow pattern of the EC process.

Local Government Environmental Attention and Urban Land Green Use Efficiency in China: The Intermediary Role of Industrial Restructuring

Local governments in China have decision-making authority over urban land use, and their level of environmental attention influences the green use of urban land. However, the impact of local government environmental attention on urban land green use efficiency and its mechanisms remain unclear. This study utilizes panel data from 284 cities from 2003 to 2020 in China and employs fixed effects models and mediation analysis to investigate the pathways through which local government environmental attention affects urban land green use efficiency. The main results are as follows: (1) Through a series of significance tests, local government environmental attention has a significant positive influence on urban land green use efficiency in cities. (2) Further research suggests that both the quantity and quality of industrial structure upgrading act as intermediaries between local government environmental attention and urban land green use efficiency, while the rationalization of industrial structure plays a partial masking role rather than acting as an intermediary. (3) Furthermore, a regional heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of local government environmental attention on urban land green use efficiency is significant in the central region but not in the eastern and western regions. Based on these research findings, this study provides valuable policy insights aimed at contributing to green land use and sustainable development in Chinese cities.

From the perspective of big data knowledge ecosystem to demonstrate the ‘SRDI’ high-quality development of Chinese cities

ABSTRACT In China’s fast-paced economic development, the current focus is cultivating ‘Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative’ (SRDI) enterprises. This paper aims to advance high-quality SRDI development in Chinese cities through the lens of the big data knowledge ecosystem. By constructing a framework for this ecosystem, the article explores how its elements collectively contribute to SRDI development in major Chinese cities. Utilizing a combined research approach, incorporating Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), the study, based on data from 38 Chinese cities, innovatively designs variables for a configurational analysis framework. The findings reveal four pathways for promoting SRDI development, each with unique core driving conditions and a substitution relationship between antecedent conditions. This research’s contribution lies in the creative construction of an empirical analysis framework examining how the various elements of the big data ecosystem impact SRDI development levels in cities. It addresses existing research gaps in SRDI development and the study of the big data knowledge ecosystem. The paper uncovers how various elements of the big data knowledge ecosystem enhance overall SRDI development in Chinese cities and provides scientific research support for understanding the facilitation of SRDI development by the big data knowledge ecosystem.

Measurement and spatial-temporal convergence analysis of high-quality development of service industry: new city-level evidence in China

This research constructs an index system to measure the level of high-quality development of service industry in Chinese cities at the prefecture-level, and uses the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method to measure it. The spatial convergence model is also used to analyze the spatial and temporal convergence of service industries in urban agglomerations, and to analyze their regional differences and spatial and temporal convergence characteristics. It is found that there are regional differences in the level of service industry development in Chinese cities, showing conditional beta convergence characteristics. Further, the convergence of high-quality development of service industry is decomposed in the dimension of five intrinsic factors of high-quality industrial development. It is concluded that the spatial-temporal convergence presented by the high-quality development of service industry mainly comes from industrial restructuring, industrial synergy development and industrial environment optimization. The results show that the institutional factors of “active government” and “efficient market” significantly contribute to the improvement of the quality development of urban services, after add the institutional factors of fiscal decentralization and marketization. And the research based on spatial spillover effects find that the convergence of service development among cities is mainly based on the “Yardstick Competition” of convergence. These results contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the level of quality development of China’s urban service industry, also provide a reference for policy formulation for coordinated regional development and the construction of a unified national market.

State-market dynamics of central business district (CBD) development in Chinese cities – An anchor-firm perspective

Unlike their Western counterparts, central business districts (CBDs) built in post-reformed China are often situated in remote locations without pre-existing advantages. Neither market-centered nor state-centered mechanisms can sufficiently explain their emergence and growth. Using the lens of state–market dynamics and perspective of anchor firm, this study examines the spatiality and growth of two recently established CBDs in Guangzhou. Important processes are captured. (1) Empowered by soft-budget constraints, the local government can launch ambitious CBD projects in peripheral locations. (2) Owing to its relationship with state-owned enterprises and its capability in manipulating the land market, the local government has adopted an anchor-firm strategy to engender positive externalities that attract additional investments and industries. This strategy has played a crucial role in expediting the launch of a new CBD. (3) Although state initiatives are pivotal in initiating the growth of Chinese CBDs, their effectiveness is subject to the locational attributes of producer services, the central CBD activities. The findings highlight the intrinsic relationship between the state and the market, which is fundamental in theorizing the nature and dynamics of new urban space production in China.

Dynamic Evolution and Regional Differences in the Efficiency of Compact Urban Development in Chinese Cities—Based on the Perspective of Compact Land Use

Modern cities require urban compact development to be sustainable. The evaluation of urban compact development may help create more accurate and realistic policies. The spatio-temporal dynamic evolution of urban compact development efficiency and its regional differences in China are examined in this study. This paper analysis uses 282 cities from 2005 to 2021. The unexpected output super-efficiency SBM model measures urban compact development efficiency. In this study, the urban compact development efficiency’s spatial and temporal patterns are also examined using kernel density estimation (KDE) and the Theil index (TI). The average efficiency of urban compact development in China has decreased slightly. However, compact efficiency disparities are decreasing. Eastern cities have a relatively stable compact efficiency, while central and western cities vary more. The compact efficiency polarisation has not changed fundamentally. The compact city growth model’s spatial agglomeration is poor, limiting its spatial spillover impact. Thus, compact urban development is necessary to speed up planning, facilitate inter-city production factor movement by creating a comprehensive transport network, and maximise co-location benefits with the regional integration strategy. This method will gradually reduce regional urban development disparities and push Chinese cities towards more refined and sustainable compact development.

Urban Economic Efficiency, Environmental Factors, and Digital Finance: Impacts on Sustainable Development in Chinese Cities

This study investigates the potential of digital finance to mitigate the environmental impact of economic development. Utilizing panel data from 290 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2019, we employ a two-way fixed effects model to control for unobservable city characteristics and time-invariant macro factors. Our findings reveal that cities with higher proportions of value-added tax and secondary industries (mainly for manufacturing) tend to experience increased air pollution. Conversely, cities characterized by higher economic efficiency exhibit better air quality, underscoring the significance of prioritizing technology-intensive sectors during economic development. Pollution control technologies, such as centralized wastewater treatment systems and harmless treatment systems for household waste, also play positive roles. Moreover, technological and educational investments correlate with increased urban green coverage and lower air pollution, highlighting the pivotal role of technology development and residents’ literacy in fostering sustainable practices. Although we initially observed a positive association between the index of digital financial technology and air pollution, which could be attributed to the influence of economic growth, our study employs instrumental variable regression to unveil their true correlation. The results suggest the application of digital financial technology may enhance environmental awareness, contributing to the mitigation of air pollution.

The driving mechanism and path selection of green development in Chinese cities

Green is the background color of high-quality development of Chinese cities. By constructing a theoretical model of the driving force and driving mechanism of China’s urban green development, this paper simulates the green development path of Chinese cities based on the panel data of Chinese cities from 2010 to 2020. The empirical results show that, firstly, the driven force formed by scientific and technological in novation, the action force formed by structural adjustment and the driven force formed by environmental regulation can drive Chinese cities to achieve green development. Secondly, the pressure of different paths on the ecological environment showed a gradual downward trend, the ecological environment pressure under the baseline scenario was the highest, and the ecological environment pressure driven by single factors may be lower than that driven by two factors. Finally, the comprehensive driven path formed by the combination of innovation driven, structure driven and environment a driven is a better path for China’s urban green development. Therefore, the green development of Chinese cities requires policy intervention, different cities need to formulate green development plans according to local conditions, and should consider the combination of policies. In the future, Chinese cities need to increase investment in science and technology, guide all entities to develop in the direction of resource conservation and pollution reduction, adjust the industrial structure, promote their development in the direction of cleanliness, increase environmental protection investment, standardize the development of all entities in the direction of environmental protection, and give full play to the synergy of the three major policies to achieve green development.