Quality Of Urban Development Research Articles

Cross-Sectoral and Multilevel Dimensions of Risk and Resilience Management in Urban Areas Enabled by Geospatial Data Processing

The growing complexity of cities and the unprecedented pace of urbanisation create exposure and vulnerabilities to extreme events and crises that are difficult to manage and plan for as widely acknowledged by the existing literature. In this paper, three main challenges to be tackled are identified based on the selected literature according to the interpretation of the authors based on extended research in the field. Those challenges relate to the multi-risk environment characterising many contemporary cities, the need to overcome sectoral approaches towards increased alignment of emergency and spatial planning at different scales, and the opportunities that derive from integrated risk and resilience management. Such challenges are evidenced in the Pozzuoli case study, a densely inhabited municipality of the metropolitan city of Naples, placed into a volcanic caldera, that has been analysed in the light of the above challenges for an extended period of time of about fifty years. The in-depth assessment of the quality of urban development has been enabled by geospatial data management. Advanced geospatial information systems are not only instrumental in depicting the history of urban development in the period of consideration but also as an enabler to tackle the above-mentioned challenges. In fact, such systems permit a much more dynamic and updatable assessment of multirisk conditions and provide the basis for shared knowledge among the large number of stakeholders that are responsible for different sectoral and comprehensive urban and risk-related plans.

NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS' IMPACT ON URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: A CASE STUDY OF AIN BEIDA CITY, ALGERIA

The city of Ain Beida struggles with a complex interplay of natural and technical characteristics that significantly influence its urban development, environmental quality, and overall sustainability. The city's natural components present both opportunities and challenges for urban planning and development. This paper explores the impacts of these factors on urban development and environmental quality. Additionally, it delves into the consequences of natural characteristics on urban development policies, addressing the dilemma between preserving green spaces and the imperative for urban expansion. Artificial obstacles pose challenges to urban expansion and impact security, as well as overall environmental health. Furthermore, the paper discusses the risks associated with natural and technological elements emphasising the importance of safety measures and emergency response protocols. The urban development policies of Ain Beida have undergone a shift primarily driven by limited land availability. Urban densification, aimed at optimizing land use, has been adopted, but it comes with environmental trade-offs. Considering the challenges and opportunities identified, the paper concludes with a set of recommendations.

Short-termism in urban development: The commercial determinants of planetary health

This article focuses on how short-termism impacts on the quality of urban development and, in turn, both population and planetary health. The first section of the paper clarifies key terms - short-termism, health, urban development and upstream - then summarises the context of urban development in the United Kingdom, and the evidence linking urban environments to population and planetary health. The main analysis section draws on data from interviews with 132 participants carried out between May and September 2021. Using the Commercial Determinants of Health framework, six thematic areas are identified: Policy & Political Economy; Legislation and Regulation; Commercial Actors; Underlying Drivers (Power); Externalities; and Partnership. Analysis suggests 16 key messages, the majority of which point to the need for stronger government intervention, a position supported by private sector, if fairly enacted.

The impact of border reorganization within cities on misallocation: Empirical evidence from firm-level data

The government of China merged or disintegrated several municipal districts on a large scale during 2000s. Employing a difference-in-difference approach and the benchmarking data envelopment analysis method, we show that border reorganization within cities significantly improves enterprise resource allocation efficiency. The primary mechanism is that modifying internal city boundaries enables geographically clustered enterprises to achieve agglomeration and specialization within administrative units and help mitigate market segmentation. This implies that borders within cities are important and enable use of border reorganizations as an effective tool in optimizing the quality of urban development.

Impact of Urban Village Redevelopment on the Migration Patterns of Rural Workers in China: A Policy Study

In China, to improve the quality of urbanization development, the government has carried out a series of urban village renovation programs, to achieve sustainable urban development. However, the renovation of urban villages has also caused new social problems, one of them is that many rural migrant workers may choose to return to their hometowns due to the displacement or unaffordable housing and living costs in urban areas. Considering the factors affecting the stay and departure of rural migrant workers, this study will focus on urban housing security policies. By analyzing the different urban village renovation policies and residential housing security policies in Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou, it can be concluded that the policy reasons leading to the loss of rural migrant workers as mainly as follows: inadequate housing security policies with low coverage, policies not reflecting migrant workers' needs, and insufficient government-subsidized housing supply, making affordable urban housing scarce for these workers. Therefore, completing the housing security policy for rural migrant workers and providing them with suitable housing is the key to preventing a larger scale of rural migrant workers leaving urban areas.

Spatio-temporal Evolution and Coordinated Development of Compactness with Carbon Emission Intensity in the Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration

Studies on the spatio-temporal variation and coordinated development level of compactness with carbon emission intensity in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration is of great significance to achieve green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of society. The spatial-temporal differentiation, coupling coordination, and driving factors of the compactness and carbon emission intensity of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2020 were analyzed by using the methods of comprehensive evaluation, carbon emission identical equality, coupling coordination, and the Geo-detector model. The results showed that:① The compactness of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration continued to rise from 0.18 in 2010 to 0.22 in 2020, with an overall increase of 22.22 %, in which the contribution rate of economic compactness to urban compactness increased yearly. There were significant regional differences in the compactness of cities. The high-value areas were concentrated in Chengdu, Deyang, and Mianyang in the northwest and Zigong, Neijiang, and Luzhou in the southwest, whereas the low-value areas were distributed in the middle. Ya'an was always the area with the lowest compactness of urban agglomeration. ② The carbon emission intensity of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration was decreasing yearly, with a decrease rate of 39.57 % during the study period. The carbon emission intensity in the southern part of the urban agglomeration was higher than that in other regions as a whole, whereas Chengdu and Chongqing were low-value areas all the year round, and the regional differences of carbon emission intensity were gradually narrowing. ③ The coupling degree between urban compactness and carbon emission intensity changed from the antagonistic stage to the running-in stage; the coupling coordination degree increased notably, from 0.21 in 2010 to 0.69 in 2020; and the two systems gradually moved towards benign and coordinated development. The coupling coordination between the northwest of the urban agglomeration (Chengdu, Deyang, and Mianyang) and the south of Sichuan (Zigong and Luzhou) was generally high. Industrial structure, scientific and technological innovation, urbanization level, government intervention, and environmental livability all had significant effects on the coupling and coordination of the two systems. ④ Optimizing industrial structure, strengthening scientific and technological support, improving the quality of urbanization development, implementing active policy guidance, and building green barriers were effective ways to promote the coordinated development of compactness and low carbon in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration.

Can E-commerce development policies promote the high-quality development of agriculture?-A quasi-natural experiment based on a China's E-commerce demonstration city.

As a new business model, E-commerce brings new changes to the global economy and society. So, can E-commerce development policies promote high-quality agricultural development? This article regards the pilot construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities as a quasi-natural experiment for the development of e-commerce. Based on the E-commerce pilot and economic and social development data of national prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2018, the agricultural total factor productivity calculated by the Fare-Primont index method is used as the characterization of the quality of urban agricultural development, and an empirical model is constructed under the progressive Differences-in-Differences framework. This paper empirically tests the overall impact of E-commerce development on the high-quality development of agriculture and its sources, analyzes the heterogeneity and dynamics of the impact, and investigates the possible impact mechanism. The result shows that from the overall impact and its sources, the development of E-commerce in cities has a positive impact on the high-quality development of agriculture, and the impact is mainly due to its role in promoting technological innovation and economies of scale. From the perspective of heterogeneity, the larger the population size of a city, the more significant the level of e-conomic development or Internet development. From the perspective of the dynamic impact, the positive impact of e-commerce development becomes more significant over time. With the passage of time, the impact of E-commerce on high-quality agricultural development policies shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Overall, this study provides empirical evidence for the rationality and effectiveness of policies and measures related to E-commerce to promote the high-quality development of agriculture.

Research on Green Space Ecosystem Services under the Guidance of Healthy City Orientation

Research on Green Space Ecosystem Services under the Guidance of Healthy City Orientation

The vulnerability assessment and obstacle factor analysis of urban agglomeration along the Yellow River in China from the perspective of production-living-ecological space.

Urban agglomerations are sophisticated territorial systems at the mature stage of city development that are concentrated areas of production and economic activity. Therefore, the study of vulnerability from the perspective of production-living-ecological space is crucial for the sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin and global urban agglomerations. The relationship between productivity, living conditions, and ecological spatial quality is fully considered in this research. By constructing a vulnerability evaluation index system based on the perspectives of production, ecology, and living space, and adopting the entropy value method, comprehensive vulnerability index model, and obstacle factor diagnostic model, the study comprehensively assesses the vulnerability of the urban agglomerations along the Yellow River from 2001 to 2020. The results reveal that the spatial differentiation characteristics of urban agglomeration vulnerability are significant. A clear three-level gradient distribution of high, medium, and low degrees is seen in the overall vulnerability; these correspond to the lower, middle, and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin, respectively. The percentage of cities with higher and moderate levels of vulnerability did not vary from 2001 to 2020, while the percentage of cities with high levels of vulnerability did. The four dimensions of economic development, leisure and tourism, resource availability, and ecological pressure are the primary determinants of the urban agglomeration's vulnerability along the Yellow River. And the vulnerability factors of various urban agglomerations showed a significant evolutionary trend; the obstacle degree values have declined, and the importance of tourism and leisure functions has gradually increased. Based on the above conclusions, we propose several suggestions to enhance the quality of urban development along the Yellow River urban agglomeration. Including formulating a three-level development strategy, paying attention to ecological and environmental protection, developing domestic and foreign trade, and properly planning and managing the tourism industry.

Government Intervention and the Quality of Urban Agglomeration Development: Analysis Based on Market Perspective

Government Intervention and the Quality of Urban Agglomeration Development: Analysis Based on Market Perspective

Low carbon cities pilot, executive environmental cognition, and enterprise green technology innovation

AbstractThe potential of the low carbon city pilot (LCCP) to foster enterprise green technology innovation (EGTI) is contingent upon enhancing the quality of urban development, improving the ecological environment, and ultimately achieving the objective of “double carbon” reduction. Due to this, this article uses data from Chinese A‐share listed businesses in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2009 to 2021 to investigate the effect of LCCP on EGTI. It is found that LCCP significantly contributes to EGTI, and a number of robustness tests later, this finding remains valid. The mechanism analysis confirms that LCCP promotes EGTI by weakening economic policy uncertainty and increasing firms' R&D investment. Through the heterogeneity analysis, this paper explores that optimizing corporate staff structure, increasing media attention, and increasing government subsidies are effective paths to promote EGTI development with LCCP. The moderating effect confirms that executives' environmental cognition plays a positive moderating role between LCCP and EGTI. This paper enriches the related research on the evaluation of the effect of low‐carbon pilots and provides important policy insights for promoting the development of corporate green transformation.

The world’s first “Smart Nation” vision: the case of Singapore

“Smartization” is the policy that Singapore as a city-state with a small geographical territory, limited natural resources, increasing urban density and aging population but determined to become an exceptional city-state has adopted to overcome various national challenges, improve the quality, efficiency and performance of urban services, sustainable development and overall improvement of citizens’ lives. In this regard, the Smart Nation initiative, which has been undertaken in late 2014 is considered a turning point that aims to make Singapore the first smart nation or the first smart country (mega-smart city) in the world. This paper is dedicated to the study of Singapore’s digitization process, especially the initiative of Smart Nation, which is an upgraded version of the smart city. In the framework of this article, the factors of Singapore’s transition to the digitization process, especially the Smart Nation initiative, are discussed, the plans and programs related to this process and the country’s achievements in this direction are explained. Meanwhile, along with all the achievements, the challenges, limitations and problems of the initiative of forming the Smart Nation have been pointed out.

Can the Carbon Emissions Trading Pilot Policy Improve the Ecological Well-Being Performance of Cities in China?

Adhering to ecological priorities and promoting environmental regulations is essential for improving ecological well-being performance (EWP); conversely, EWP is a crucial measure of social and economic sustainability. From the perspective of high-quality development, we see China’s cities’ adoption of the carbon emissions trading pilot (CETP) policy as a quasi-natural experiment, and we use the difference-in-differences (DID) approach to analyze how market-based carbon credits affect the urban EWP and its action mechanism. The findings of the empirical study show that: (1) The implementation of CETP can effectively improve the quality of urban development, with an increase of 29.1% in the EWP value, effectively contributing to the realization of the goal of high-quality development; (2) the urban EWP levels in China are higher in the east, lower in the west and lowest in the middle, but they all show a fluctuating upward trend; (3) according to the heterogeneity study, the implementation of CETP has a scale effect and significant urban locational differences, and its impact on EWP of cities is greater in “advanced cities” and central region cities; (4) the implementation of CETP can advance industrial structure upgrading, thereby promoting the EWP level, but the mediating effect of technological innovation is not significant. The possible innovations in this paper are as follows: (1) It broadens the existing research system on the effectiveness of CETP policies. (2) It reconstructs the index system of EWP from the perspective of high-quality development so that its measurement results can reflect the quality of urban development more comprehensively. (3) The research samples of CETP and EWP are enriched by using prefectural-level data.

Development of an Intensity of uses index to support design decision-making and improve urban development quality

Urban environments are considered as complex systems where various dimensions are overlapping. Partly as a consequence of this stratification, they are facing a multitude of challenges and issues which have an impact on the quality of spaces. Efficient, responsible and reflective design of urban spaces is essential to progress towards sustainable urbanism and to improve life quality and the response to users' needs. Especially with the increasing complexity of today's urban systems. For these different reasons, design, analysis and evaluation methods must be adapted and take into account all the layers constituting the urban system. Following this line of thinking, a new intensity of uses index is developed in order to provide a holistic approach and to support sustainable planning as well as design and decision process for the development and improvement of spaces. In this article we present an analysis and design method for this index and more particularly the characterization of one of the variables that we call “Uses Potential”, based on different criteria. We define the structure whereby we develop the Uses Potential, i.e., on the basis of three elements constituting the urban systems: the spatial environment, the proposed content in its built components and its relative population. Then we review the technical content of the components on which the Uses Potential is based. We also address the question of its evaluation by means of a City Information Model (CIM) in our research and its contribution to future urban analyses.

Does New Urbanization Promote Urban Metabolic Efficiency?

Existing studies have paid less attention to the impact of new urbanization (NU) on urban metabolic efficiency (UME). This paper empirically tests the mechanism and the effect of NU on UME based on China’s panel data from 2008 to 2020, using China’s NU pilot as a quasi-natural experiment. The study draws the following conclusions: (1) NU can significantly promote UME. (2) NU can promote UME for cities in neighboring regions. (3) The effect of NU on UME presents the heterogeneous characteristics of eastern region > central region > western region, non-urban agglomeration cities > urban agglomeration cities, and is greater in central cities than in non-central cities. (4) Mechanism analysis shows that NU can promote UME through six paths: promoting urban–rural integration and regional synergistic development, reducing urban sprawl and energy mismatch, strengthening urban–rural population mobility, and green innovation division of labor. The above results are not only conducive to incorporating UME into NU’s appraisal system but also to making UME, which can reflect the quality of urban development in a more comprehensive and systematic way, a performance measurement tool for NU.

Mechanism and empirical evidence on new-type urbanization to narrow the urban-rural income gap: Evidence from China's provincial data.

The main component of China's income gap is the urban-rural income gap, which is largely affected by urbanization. It is worth studying how new-type urbanization affects the income gap between urban and rural areas. Research mostly focuses on the urbanization rate as the core explanatory variable to explain the impact using one or two factors. This paper analyzes the mechanism of the effect using a comprehensive number of factors, with the quality of new-type urbanization development as the core explanatory variable. In terms of theoretical research, we believe that new-type urbanization affects the urban-rural income gap by promoting the transfer of labor, changing industrial structure, and policy tendency. Using both static and dynamic empirical analyses, we test the impact of new-type urbanization on the urban-rural income gap based on China's provincial data. We find that new-type urbanization is conducive to narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas. The transfer of labor significantly reduces the urban-rural income gap. However, the upgrading of industrial structure will enlarge the gap. The impact of China's policy orientation is negligible. Policy should focus on promoting urbanization and improving the marginal rate of return of agriculture, improve the level of human capital, reverse the mismatch between employment structure and industrial structure, increase support for rural areas, and make substantial progress in promoting common prosperity.

Research on Air Quality in the Pearl River Delta Region Based on Grey Relational Analysis

Based on the air quality monitoring data of the Pearl River Delta, the correlation between the impact of urban economic development and air quality influencing factors was explored through grey correlation analysis. The results showed that the main pollutants of air quality in the Pearl River Delta region are SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO and O3. The main influencing factors of SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and CO are forest coverage, permanent population, and industrial smoke and dust emissions. The influencing factors of CO and O3 are similar, mainly including gross domestic product, gross industrial output, and the number of motor vehicles.

Effects of Urban Green Space's Physical Features on the Usability of Investment Housing Projects in Erbil City

In the quest to improve urban quality of life, creating functional and visually appealing urban green spaces plays a pivotal role. This study investigates the influence of five key physical characteristics—availability, maintenance, facilities, environment, and design—on the usability of urban green spaces in three case studies in Erbil: Italian City 2, Hewa City, and Ashti City 2 neighborhoods. The research aims to understand how urban green spaces impact investment housing projects, analyze the relationship between physical factors and urban design usability and explore individuals' perceptions regarding the influence of these factors on urban green space design. Through systematic observation and visual analysis of residential areas, the study reveals that these five physical qualities of green spaces consistently scored above 90%, indicating a strong alignment with usability elements. This suggests that these physical attributes significantly enhance the usability of urban green spaces, which, in turn, supports broader urban design goals. This research highlights the importance of integrating these physical characteristics when planning and designing urban green spaces, particularly within the context of investment housing projects in Erbil's case study neighborhoods. Such enhancements can positively impact urban development and residents' quality of life. Future research should delve into the long-term socio-economic effects of these green space improvments.

Post-Growth, Degrowth, the Doughnut, and Circular Economy: A Short Guide for Policymakers

Cities are searching for policy strategies able to meet climate and social targets while reducing their material footprint. To this end, post-growth approaches to urban sustainability have been rapidly gaining momentum. Rejecting the idea of green growth, the notion of post-growth includes a variety of agendas and approaches—for example, wellbeing economy, circular economy, degrowth, and Doughnut Economics. City officials, urban agencies, and policymakers recognize these terms as part of a same policy trend, one that focuses on the socio-ecological quality of urban development rather than its size. Yet, they often use them interchangeably and, in so doing, they risk making policy scenarios seem less incisive and inconsistent to the public. This commentary gives a guideline to the use of these terms in policy. It compares the terms of post-growth, degrowth, circular economy, and Doughnut Economics. It argues that post-growth is an approach, the doughnut is a tool, degrowth is an agenda, and circular economy is a business model. The article concludes with a manifesto for a post-growth city, a set of principles that can be used to build an urban post-growth policy strategy.

Research on the Evaluation of Urban Quality in Yunnan Province Based on Principal Component Analysis Approach

Urban quality represents the spiritual taste and development quality of a city, and is the unity of the two. The level of urban quality reflects the level of the whole process of a city's planning, construction and management, and also directly affects the convenience and comfort of citizens' life, as well as relates to the agglomeration and attraction of various resource elements such as talents and industries. In other words, it is a comprehensive reflection of a city's strength, directly reflecting a city's economic development strength, urban social and cultural conditions, the beauty of the ecological environment, the level of public services and the living conditions of residents. China's economic development has entered a new period, has shifted from the stage of high-speed growth to the stage of high-quality development, and a clear understanding of the quality of the city is of great significance to high-quality development. This paper uses principal component analysis to conduct a comprehensive evaluation study of urban quality in 16 cities and towns in Yunnan Province from five dimensions: quality of urban economic development, social and cultural quality, quality of ecological environment, quality of public services, and quality of life of residents, using empirical data for the period of 2017-2021 as a sample of 16 cities and towns in Yunnan Province. The study found that although the comprehensive index of urban quality of each state and city in Yunnan Province has been steadily increasing year by year, the gap between the states and cities has not been significantly reduced. The development level of city sub-quality in each state and city in Yunnan Province is not balanced, and there are geographical differences, with a few cities, such as Kunming, having higher quality, while the quality of the majority of cities needs to be improved. The comprehensive scores of these city qualities are affected by indicators of economic development, social progress and environmental protection, and also show their own characteristics and advantages. In order to improve the quality of cities in Yunnan Province, it is recommended that policy guidance be strengthened, coordinated development among cities be promoted, investment in environmental protection be increased, and the development of social programs be advanced.