Development Of Chinese Cities Research Articles

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.

Enhancing urban ecological resilience through integrated green technology progress: evidence from Chinese cities.

The effective resolution of environmental pollution caused by carbon haze through coordinated progress in green technology and urban ecological resilience is a crucial approach towards promoting sustainable development in Chinese cities. In this study, panel data from 281 cities in China from 2007 to 2019 were analyzed using the entropy method and the coupling coordination degree model to determine the coupling coordination degree between green technology progress and urban ecological resilience. The coordinated influence model and threshold model were applied to investigate coupled coordination types and influencing factors. Results indicate that green technology progress levels have shown an upward trend with increasing volatility from east to west and decreasing volatility with urban scale expansion. Ecological resilience levels have also steadily increased, albeit at a reduced rate. The coupling coordination degree of green technology progress and urban ecological resilience has evolved overall from low to high levels; however, the coupling coordination type has regressed to some extent, with most regions exhibiting lagging green technological progress. Pressure resilience has a positive impact on the coupling coordination degree, while state resilience and response resilience have a negative impact. Green technology progress has a dual threshold effect on the coupling coordination degree. By exploring the coupling and coordination mechanism between green technology progress and urban ecological resilience, this study not only facilitates collaborative management of pollutants and greenhouse gases in cities but also provides a comprehensive reference for the construction of an institutional system for collaborative carbon and haze management.

How Does Smart City Construction Affect Urban–Rural Collaborative Development? A Quasi-Natural Experiment from Chinese Cities

In recent years, smart city construction has brought significant social and economic impacts to emerging economies, especially in narrowing the urban–rural gap. However, there is relatively little empirical research on this aspect. We take China as an example for research. This study uses a Spatial Multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach to investigate the relationship between smart city construction and urban–rural collaborative development in Chinese cities, taking digital infrastructure as the mechanism variable. Our findings reveal that smart city construction significantly promotes urban–rural collaborative development and exhibits positive spatial externalities. These results remain robust after parallel trend tests, placebo checks, and controlling for other policy interferences. Further analysis suggests that this effect operates largely through the reinforcement of digital infrastructure, whereby the smart city initiatives enhance connectivity and interaction between urban and rural areas, fostering collaborative development. Moreover, the efficacy of smart city policies is found to be particularly prominent in cities with strong economic development, weak levels of urban–rural collaborative development, and high degrees of digitization. By illuminating the role of smart city construction in propelling urban–rural collaborative development, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers.

How does heterogeneous green technology innovation affect air quality and economic development in Chinese cities? Spatial and nonlinear perspective analysis

This study considers spatial and nonlinear perspectives to examine the heterogeneous role of green technology innovation in the economic development and air quality of Chinese cities. We find that green inventive technology innovation benefits economic development and air quality improvement, which have significant spatial spillover effects. Conversely, green improved technology innovation has no significant spatial spillover effect on air quality. The results show that urban heterogeneity exists in the effects of green technology innovation on the economy and air quality. From a regional perspective, green technology innovation in the central region improves air quality in neighboring cities; however, no effective spatial synergy mechanism has been established within other regions. From an administrative perspective, green technology innovation in municipalities and provincial capitals can effectively drive the win–win development of the urban economy and environment. Moreover, this study verifies the nonlinear effect of economic development; the single-threshold result indicates that an increase in the level of regional economic development facilitates the effect of green technology innovation to improve air quality. Furthermore, we elucidate the mediating role of economic development. This findings of this study offer decision-making guidance to drive economic and environmental win–win development through green technology innovation and achieve synergistic regional green development.

Greening through digitalisation? Evidence from cities in China

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of the digital economy on urban carbon emissions in terms of digital industrialisation, industrial digitalisation and digital governance. The results indicate that digital development in Chinese cities reduces urban carbon emissions, and this result is robust. Further investigation shows that the digitalisation of industries and digital governance underpin the carbon reduction effects. Finally, there is significant regional heterogeneity in the impact of China’s digital development on urban carbon emissions, with greater potential for digital emissions reduction in less developed regions, and carbon trading policy helping to exploit the digital emissions reduction potential in developed regions.

The Impact of Urban Digital Economy Development on Manufacturing Innovation Efficiency: Evidence from Chinese Listed Manufacturing Firms

As we enter the digital era, the digital economy provides an opportunity for China’s manufacturing industry to achieve ‘smart manufacturing’ and provides important support for China to move from a ‘big manufacturing country’ to a ‘strong manufacturing country’. This paper constructs an indicator system for the level of digital economy development in Chinese cities by determining the connotation of China’s digital economy based on the characteristics of its digital economy development. Based on the application of entropy value method to measure the level of digital economy development of cities, we empirically investigate the impact of the level of digital economy development of cities on the innovation efficiency of manufacturing industry using mixed panel data of listed Chinese A-share manufacturing companies and cities from 2011 to 2019. The empirical study finds that the level of urban digital economy development is conducive to improving the overall innovation efficiency, innovation quality efficiency and innovation quantity efficiency of enterprises, and overall, the digital economy has a significant contribution to the innovation efficiency of manufacturing industry. There is regional, firm size and industry heterogeneity in the impact of urban digital economy development level on manufacturing innovation efficiency, and this heterogeneity is further manifested in the types of manufacturing innovation efficiency. For example, the urban digital economy enhances the innovation efficiency of small-scale firms mainly through the quantity of innovation rather than the quality of innovation.

Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation Policy and Green Ecological City Development: Spatial and Mechanism Assessment.

Green ecological development has become an inevitable choice to achieve sustainable urban development and carbon neutrality. This paper evaluates the level of green ecological city development in the Xin'an watershed as measured by green total factor productivity (GTFP), analyzes the direct and spatial effects of the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy on GTFP, and further examines the moderating effect of the Research and Development (R&D) incentives, industrial structure, and income gap. This paper conducts difference-in-differences (DID) and spatial regression analysis on 27 cities from 2007 to 2019. The results show that GTFP progresses to varying degrees across cities over time, especially in the pilot cities. Crucially, the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy significantly improved GTFP, although the effect was slight. Interestingly, the increase in GTFP in pilot cities that implemented the policy spatially suppressed the increase in GTFP in cities that did not implement the policy. Our evidence also shows that the positive effect of the policy is higher in regions with higher R&D incentives and industrial structure upgrading, which indicates that R&D incentives and industrial upgrading are crucial. In comparison, the income gap has not made the expected negative adjustment effect under the Chinese government's poverty alleviation policy. However, the positive policy effect is heterogeneous in the downstream and upstream pilot cities. The "forcing effect" of the policy on the downstream cities is more favorable than the "compensating effect" on the upstream cities. Therefore, policymakers should pay more attention to ensuring the effectiveness of the Watershed Horizontal Ecological Compensation policy in enhancing GTFP as a long-term strategy to guarantee the sustainability of green ecological development in Chinese cities.