Research

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15 pages, 8742 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Planning and Sustainable Storm Water Management: Gaps and Potential for Integration for Climate Adaptation Strategies

by Antonio Leone, Laura Grassini and Pasquale Balena

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16870; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416870 - 15 Dec 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1486

Abstract

While climate change urges cities to define appropriate strategies for climate adaptation, urban planning practices are still unable to encompass a broader understanding of hydraulic hazards and to exploit the mitigation potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) for stormwater management. This inability is particularly [...] Read more.

While climate change urges cities to define appropriate strategies for climate adaptation, urban planning practices are still unable to encompass a broader understanding of hydraulic hazards and to exploit the mitigation potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) for stormwater management. This inability is particularly deep in the Italian context, where the integration of climate adaptation strategies within urban planning is very limited; thus, one of the planner’s overriding needs is to determine where NBS can be most effective. The objective of this paper is to identify key drivers and tools for the introduction of hydrological resilience assessments and sustainable storm water management in urban planning practices, as a contribution to climate adaptation strategies. Through a case study in the city of Bari, the paper proposes a method for identifying the most suitable urban areas for implementing NBS, i.e., areas where NBS are able to intercept runoff. On the other hand, the same approach allows one to evaluate in advance the impact of urban planning choices, or rather of the planned land use change. Finally, the planning tools that may favor the adoption of a NBS approach in urban planning are analyzed, with particular reference to the territorial landscape plan of the Apulia region and urban regeneration plans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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13 pages, 3166 KiB

Open AccessArticle

City Corporation Activities for Creating Sustainable Population Development in the Opinion of University Students in Gdansk (Poland)

by Grażyna Chaberek and Julia Ziółkowska

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11781; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811781 - 19 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1341

Abstract

Nowadays, urban areas very often attract the poor and the unemployed, leading to the creation of neighbourhoods of poverty (slums) and other economic and social problems. All over the world, cities include sustainable goals in their development strategies, but the question is, do [...] Read more.

Nowadays, urban areas very often attract the poor and the unemployed, leading to the creation of neighbourhoods of poverty (slums) and other economic and social problems. All over the world, cities include sustainable goals in their development strategies, but the question is, do these city development strategies also foresee activities devoted to human capital growth? The purpose of the study was an analysis of city corporation activities and of students’ perception of a city corporation’s activities that aim to encourage educated young people to study and settle in their city, using the example of Gdansk, Poland. The study was conducted in 2021–2022, based on desk research and an Internet survey. The research group comprised students at the University of Gdansk (Poland). The main conclusions from the study are: (1) cities’ sustainable policies are slightly integrated with actions meant to encourage highly educated people to settle within; (2) Gdansk students’ decisions to settle are not correlated with city corporation activities, and (3) from Gdansk students’ perspective, preferential accommodation costs are the most expected city corporation actions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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22 pages, 3281 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Residential Buildings’ Real Estate Values Linked to Summer Surface Thermal Anomaly Patterns and Urban Features: A Florence (Italy) Case Study

by Giulia Guerri, Alfonso Crisci, Irene Cresci, Luca Congedo, Michele Munafò and Marco Morabito

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8412; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148412 - 08 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2410

Abstract

Climate-change-related extreme events impact ecosystems, people, economy, and infrastructures, with important consequences on the real estate market as well. This study aims to investigate the variation of residential buildings’ real estate values in a historic Italian city in relation to the summer surface [...] Read more.

Climate-change-related extreme events impact ecosystems, people, economy, and infrastructures, with important consequences on the real estate market as well. This study aims to investigate the variation of residential buildings’ real estate values in a historic Italian city in relation to the summer surface thermal anomaly pattern and urban features surrounding buildings. Open data from remote sensing products and the national database of the Revenue Agency of Italy were used. Real estate values of residential buildings were spatially analyzed in four urban belts, and the association with daytime summer surface hot- and cool-spot zones was studied through odds ratio (OR) statistic. Urban features (impervious area, tree cover, grassland area, and water body) surrounding residential buildings with different real estate values were also analyzed. Considering the whole Florentine municipality, 13.0% of residential buildings fell into hot-spot zones (only 0.6% into cool-spot ones), characterized by very low tree cover surfaces (generally <1%), most of which were in the central belt (37% of all buildings in central belt). Almost 10% of these buildings belonged to the highest market value class revealing a positive association (OR = 1.53) with hot-spot zones. This study provides useful information to plan targeted building interventions to avoid a probable decrease of the value of residential properties in high heat-related risk areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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16 pages, 3153 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Spatial Differentiation and Development Optimization of Towns’ Livable Quality in Aksu, China

by Yiming Wei, Hongwei Wang, Bo Tan, Mengqi Xue and Yucong Yin

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7728; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137728 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1277

Abstract

With the proposal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), how to effectively improve the quality of human settlements has become a hot spot. Governments and scholars around the world pay attention to reasonable improvement of livability, which is conducive to improving [...] Read more.

With the proposal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), how to effectively improve the quality of human settlements has become a hot spot. Governments and scholars around the world pay attention to reasonable improvement of livability, which is conducive to improving the happiness level of residents and is closely related to human well-being. Due to the lack of rural statistical data in Xinjiang, this study established a new comprehensive evaluation system, which selected 21 indicators from the natural and humanistic aspects. The results show that the overall ecological security of Aksu prefecture is good, and Kuche city has the best humanistic livability performance. In terms of the livable quality of towns, Kuche Urban Area performs best. The towns with excellent and good livable quality are concentrated, but their spatial connections are weak. Based on the analysis and survey results, we put forward zoning optimization suggestions for the livable quality in Aksu prefecture. The results of this study would provide directional guidance for the improvement of livable quality in Aksu prefecture. At the same time, we expect that it can provide a methodological supplement for the relevant evaluation in other similar regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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18 pages, 2594 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of a City on Its Environment: The Prism of Demography and Selected Environmental and Technical Aspects Based on the Case of Major Lower Silesian Cities

by Alina Kulczyk-Dynowska and Agnieszka Stacherzak

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6393; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116393 - 24 May 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1064

Abstract

This article discusses the problem of the impact exerted by cities on the surrounding space. As an example, the Lower Silesia region was selected, characterized by agricultural, industrial and natural areas present in its close proximity. Four major cities and the surrounding municipalities [...] Read more.

This article discusses the problem of the impact exerted by cities on the surrounding space. As an example, the Lower Silesia region was selected, characterized by agricultural, industrial and natural areas present in its close proximity. Four major cities and the surrounding municipalities (30 objects in total) were covered by the observation. The research was carried out in the period of 1995–2020 and was based on the data provided by Statistics Poland—Local Date Bank. Statistical tools were used which allowed for obtaining the results, enabling inference and the formulation of recommendations. An analytical method was applied which included the linear ordering method and synthetic development of measures. This resulted in preparing rankings of the analyzed objects (municipalities) and making the respective comparisons. The obtained results indicate that a continuously deepening imbalance in the distribution of the demographic potential is observed in the analyzed region. Although the capital city maintained the number of residents at a constant level, the population of the other analyzed cities decreased. Depopulation affected almost half of the 30 analyzed municipalities, and it is a serious problem in striving for the sustainable development of the region. The problem was exacerbated by the absence of a correlation between the demographic potential growth and the increase in the synthetic development measure value which characterized the water and sewage system. This means that the infrastructure preventing anthropopressure and providing basic services directly influencing the quality of life is developing at a different pace than the increase in the number of residents. The above indicates the need for the immediate development of a conscious settlement policy for the region of Lower Silesia. The obtained results constitute a warning addressed to those responsible for the development of spatial policy covering the cities and the surrounding areas, including rural areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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22 pages, 3696 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Triggering Active Communities for Cultural Creative Cities: The “Hack the City” Play ReCH Mission in the Salerno Historic Centre (Italy)

by Maria Cerreta, Gaia Daldanise, Ludovica La Rocca and Simona Panaro

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11877; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111877 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2569

Abstract

According to the current European scenario, cultural, creative, and community-led policies play an increasingly important role in influencing local resources, systems, and infrastructures management and demand a novel approach in governing, financing, and monitoring urban regeneration processes. Therefore, cities become contexts where cultural [...] Read more.

According to the current European scenario, cultural, creative, and community-led policies play an increasingly important role in influencing local resources, systems, and infrastructures management and demand a novel approach in governing, financing, and monitoring urban regeneration processes. Therefore, cities become contexts where cultural and creative practices can be implemented, integrating social cohesion principles based on communities, shared values, and collaborative decision-making approaches, with particular attention to enhancing cultural heritage, mainly unused or underutilised. The purpose of this research is to explore how the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCCM) methodological framework, developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, can be integrated at the local scale to assess the impacts of urban regeneration processes in an interactive and dynamic way, through the data emerging from the monitoring of urban regeneration experiences activated with the communities. The paper describes the “Play ReCH (Re-use Cultural Heritage)” approach, that promotes a process of collaboration, gamification, and innovation in cultural heritage reuse, as an opportunity to test how cultural, creative, and community-led urban strategies can support the enhancement of heritage generating enabling environments and culturally vibrant contexts. The Play ReCH approach and the “Hack the City Salerno” mission, activated in the Salerno historic centre (Italy), open the reflection on some relevant issues related to how citizens become makers of cultural and creative cities’ policies, and contribute to evaluating and monitoring their implementation at diverse urban scales. The Play ReCH mission underlines how new evidence suggests declining the CCCM conceptual framework and related urban policies assessment, co-defining suitable community-based indicators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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16 pages, 1000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Urban Blight Costs in Taiwan

by Chich-Ping Hu, Tai-Shan Hu, Peilei Fan and Hai-Ping Lin

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010113 - 24 Dec 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2945

Abstract

Urban blight is not only an eyesore for city residents, but also a threat to health, psychological well-being, and safety. It not only represents substantial economic decline, but also spreads through urban space. As well as the loss of personal property value, urban [...] Read more.

Urban blight is not only an eyesore for city residents, but also a threat to health, psychological well-being, and safety. It not only represents substantial economic decline, but also spreads through urban space. As well as the loss of personal property value, urban blight also harms public interests in the public domain. This study finds that danger and age are the two main factors of urban blight. Ignoring these two factors causes housing prices to fall. The decline in population due to long-term economic stagnation and the exodus of residents and industries, coupled with the long-term decline in income and spending on maintenance of old houses, has led to major visual and physical economic blight. This investigation adopts the hedonic model to analyze the correspondence of house prices with urban blight, based on real estate prices and related township variables announced by the government in Taiwan in 2017, and applies the spatial regression model to investigate the direct and indirect effects of real estate prices. The following conclusions can be drawn from the analytical results. 1. The spatial lag model finds that urban blight has a spatial spillover effect. 2. The government must not disregard the blight, due to its detrimental effect on housing prices and spatial diffusion effect. 3. The factors that affect the blight are age of residents, age of buildings, poverty, and danger. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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25 pages, 3728 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Impact of Public Rental Housing on the Housing Prices in Proximity: Based on the Regional and Local Level of Price Prediction Models Using Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM)

by Hyunsoo Kim, Youngwoo Kwon and Yeol Choi

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7520; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187520 - 11 Sep 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3525

Abstract

Providing adequate public rental housing (PRH) of a decent quality at a desirable location is a major challenge in many cities. Often, a prominent opponent of PRH development is its host community, driven by a belief that PRH depreciates nearby property values. While [...] Read more.

Providing adequate public rental housing (PRH) of a decent quality at a desirable location is a major challenge in many cities. Often, a prominent opponent of PRH development is its host community, driven by a belief that PRH depreciates nearby property values. While this is a persistent issue in many cities around the world, this study proposed a new approach to assessing the impact of PRH on nearby property value. This study utilized a machine learning technique called long short-term memory (LSTM) to construct a set of housing price prediction models based on 547,740 apartment transaction records from the city of Busan, South Korea. A set of apartment characteristics and proximity measures to PRH were included in the modeling process. Four geographic boundaries were analyzed: The entire region of Busan, all neighborhoods of PRH, the neighborhoods of PRH in the “favorable,” and the “less favorable” local housing market. The study produced accurate and reliable price predictions, which indicated that the proximity to PRH has a meaningful impact on nearby housing prices both at the city and the neighborhood level. The approach taken by the study can facilitate improved decision making for future PRH policies and programs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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15 pages, 773 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modelling Municipal Social Responsibility: A Pilot Study in the Region of Extremadura (Spain)

by Maria Isabel Sánchez-Hernández, Manuel Aguilar-Yuste, Juan José Maldonado-Briegas, Jesús Seco-González, Cristina Barriuso-Iglesias and Maria Mercedes Galán-Ladero

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6887; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176887 - 25 Aug 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2587

Abstract

Social Responsibility in the Public Administration is an emerging phenomenon responding to the challenges and opportunities for public institutions faced by the rapidly evolving world. The general and ambitious global goal of sustainability is at risk because inequality is increasing among countries, but [...] Read more.

Social Responsibility in the Public Administration is an emerging phenomenon responding to the challenges and opportunities for public institutions faced by the rapidly evolving world. The general and ambitious global goal of sustainability is at risk because inequality is increasing among countries, but also within countries at the regional and local levels. Facing this problem, the aim of this paper is to approach how the social responsibility of local governments is impacting citizens’ participation as a way of managing the required transformation to sustainable development. In order to contribute to seed light in the field, a pilot study was carried out, employing partial least squares as an exploratory method, with an ad hoc structural equation model, and with a sample of 256 inhabitants in three municipalities in Extremadura (Spain). The findings are promising for place marketing, local public management and democracy reinforcement because it is empirically demonstrated that the municipality’s orientation towards responsibility impacts citizen´s connection, attraction, and identification with the municipality, increasing citizen participation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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15 pages, 512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agglomeration Externalities and Skill Upgrading in Local Labor Markets: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities of China

by Shiyang Li and Huasheng Zhu

Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6509; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166509 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1919

Abstract

Skill upgrading, the increase in the percentage of skilled workers in the employment population, boosts the economic growth of developing countries and sustains their industrial competitiveness. The international economics literature discusses the effects of international trade on skill upgrading, ignoring the potential role [...] Read more.

Skill upgrading, the increase in the percentage of skilled workers in the employment population, boosts the economic growth of developing countries and sustains their industrial competitiveness. The international economics literature discusses the effects of international trade on skill upgrading, ignoring the potential role of agglomeration externalities. This paper takes China as a case study, which has been encountering a serious challenge about how to strengthen its industrial competitiveness in the world through skill upgrading as its population dividend decreases. The panel data of 2005, 2010 and 2015 from prefecture-level cities in China were used for regression analysis to explore the benefits from agglomeration externalities, including specialization and diversification effects, on skill upgrading. The results show that both the specialization effect and diversification effect do promote skill upgrading. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the influence of local agglomeration externalities across different regions, and the positive effect brought about by specialization externalities is usually dominant in undeveloped, inland or small cities, compared with the diversification in developed or coastal cities. Besides, manufacturing agglomerations exhibit positive externalities to skill upgrading mainly through specialization, while the service agglomerations mainly promote skill upgrading by means of diversification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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14 pages, 821 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Game of Developers and Planners: Ecosystem Services as a (Hidden) Regulation through Planning Delay Times

by Dani Broitman

Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 5940; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12155940 - 23 Jul 2020

Viewed by 1714

Abstract

Planning delay time is a ubiquitous but under-researched land use regulation method. The aim of this study is to link planning delay time with the loss of urban locally provided ecosystem services (ULPES) caused by land development. Our main hypothesis is that the [...] Read more.

Planning delay time is a ubiquitous but under-researched land use regulation method. The aim of this study is to link planning delay time with the loss of urban locally provided ecosystem services (ULPES) caused by land development. Our main hypothesis is that the planning delay is an informal tool that ensures social welfare in a given urban area increases even if land is developed and the ULPES associated with the undeveloped land are lost. Whereas the developer’s objective is to maximize his profits, the planner’s target is to achieve the greatest social welfare, as calculated by considering public interest based on the value of open space and the developer’s expected profits. Our results show that, when the ULPES provided by an undeveloped parcel are sufficiently high, planning delay times can be used to prevent the execution of low quality initiatives and to only permit projects that improve general welfare and justify the potential ULPES loss. Planning delay times are interpreted as the expression of continuous negotiation between the interests of the public and those of real-estate developers, regarding the value of ULPES. The implication of the study is that ULPES values are introduced using a simple game-theoretic model allowing interaction between developers and planning authorities. The main significance is an alternative explanation for planning delay times as a consequence of ongoing negotiations between developers and urban planners that represent the general public in the city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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21 pages, 831 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Institutional Embeddedness Promote Regional Enterprises’ Migration? An Empirical Analysis Based on the “Double Transfer” Strategy in Guangdong, China

by Rongjun Long, Wei Lang and Xun Li

Sustainability 2020, 12(7), 2908; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072908 - 06 Apr 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2678

Abstract

Against the background of globalization, institutional embeddedness has become an important theoretical tool to understand the changes in regional economic patterns. This paper starts by discussing the theory of location choice of enterprises and then uses the statistical method of negative binomial regression [...] Read more.

Against the background of globalization, institutional embeddedness has become an important theoretical tool to understand the changes in regional economic patterns. This paper starts by discussing the theory of location choice of enterprises and then uses the statistical method of negative binomial regression to analyze the impact factors of enterprises’ transfer from the perspective of institutional embeddedness by taking Guangdong Province, China, as a case study area. It was found that informal institutional factors such as the same language, the same industry, and geographical proximity have significant positive effects on the transfer of regional enterprises. Formal institutions such as counterpart assistance are the core driving force of enterprise transfer, while traditional economic factors such as cost comparative advantage have no significant impact on the transfer of regional enterprises. This research shows that the transfer of regional enterprises is greatly influenced by the current regional institutional environment. Therefore, it is important for future policy makers to consider the regional institutional environment and to deepen regional institutional embeddedness to advance urban and regional development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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20 pages, 2337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Feasibility Analysis of The Refurbishment Investments in The Italian Residential Market

by Pierluigi Morano, Francesco Tajani, Felicia Di Liddo and Debora Anelli

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2503; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062503 - 23 Mar 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2388

Abstract

In the present research the financial convenience of refurbishment investments concerning residential properties located in the Italian territory was analyzed. The study aimed at determining the unit profit range for a potential investor deriving from the refurbishment of residential properties and contextualizing the [...] Read more.

In the present research the financial convenience of refurbishment investments concerning residential properties located in the Italian territory was analyzed. The study aimed at determining the unit profit range for a potential investor deriving from the refurbishment of residential properties and contextualizing the analysis to the Italian provincial capitals. With reference to the three macro-areas that for geographic and socio-economic differences define the Italian territory, namely the North, Center, South and Islands, three financial convenience maps were elaborated with the aim of providing a useful support in the investment choices of private and public operators. In particular, the financial convenience maps could guide the private operators in their investment decisions through a higher awareness of the achievable earnings and could help to identify the optimal allocation of financial resources due to the increase in the market value of the refurbished property. For the public administrations, instead, the study will be a useful reference for the calibration of the fiscal policy decisions regarding the incentives for building refurbishment at the different territorial scales and of the tax revenues related to the increase in the market value of the refurbished properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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15 pages, 651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Factors Affect the Level of Green Urbanization in the Yellow River Basin in the Context of New-Type Urbanization?

by Luping Shi, Zhongyao Cai, Xuhui Ding, Rong Di and Qianqian Xiao

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2488; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062488 - 22 Mar 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 2942

Abstract

Promoting new-type urbanization with the concept of green development has become an inevitable requirement for high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. Grasping the development trend and influencing factors of green urbanization level in the Yellow River Basin is of great significance for [...] Read more.

Promoting new-type urbanization with the concept of green development has become an inevitable requirement for high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. Grasping the development trend and influencing factors of green urbanization level in the Yellow River Basin is of great significance for implementing the international conventions on environmental protection and participating in global environmental governance. This paper selects the green urbanization level panel data of nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2018. Then, principal component analysis and factor analysis are applied to measure and evaluate the green urbanization level of each province. Furthermore, this paper constructs a dynamic panel estimation model and uses differential generalized method of moments (DIF-GMM) model and system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) model to explore the influencing factors. The results show that the overall level of green urbanization in the Yellow River Basin has steadily and rapidly increased, and there are significant spatial differences. The green urbanization level of eastern provinces is significantly higher than that of central and western provinces. In addition, the overall level of green urbanization shows a convergence trend. From the perspective of influencing factors, the factors that have significant positive effects on the level of green urbanization include economic development level, technological innovation level, and urban size. Industrial structure, foreign direct investment (FDI), and education level counteract the level of green urbanization. However, environmental regulation strength and opening degree fail to pass the significance test. Therefore, it is necessary to promote and upgrade industrial transformation, improve the quality of opening up, and strengthen cooperation in technological innovation and environmental governance. There are requirements that the government control the urban size and population scientifically and implement the environmental access system strictly in order to improve the level of green urbanization in the Yellow River Basin. It is more possible to achieve harmonious economic and ecological environment development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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16 pages, 2033 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Pattern and Effects of Urban Coordinated Development in China’s Urbanization

by Hao Liu and Lin Ma

Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2389; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062389 - 19 Mar 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3087

Abstract

Regional urbanization in China has made formidable progress in, among other things, economic growth and urban sprawl, but local development is undergoing severe stress with irreversible impacts for urban ecological environment. Furthermore, spatial interactions are proved to be related to urban coordinated development. [...] Read more.

Regional urbanization in China has made formidable progress in, among other things, economic growth and urban sprawl, but local development is undergoing severe stress with irreversible impacts for urban ecological environment. Furthermore, spatial interactions are proved to be related to urban coordinated development. However, this spatial effect cannot usually be found in the literature. Based on the concept of coordinated development, the interaction among the economic, social and ecological systems of cities at prefecture level and above in China can be modeled by a coupling coordination model, and then analyzed using spatial analysis methods and spatial econometrics models, which can explain the patterns in spatial variation and its evolutionary trends. The results show that urban coordinated development has an apparent spatial heterogeneity, and East China develops better than West China. Moreover, urban coordinated development has an increasing global trend, which mainly results from East China, while the other regions cannot provide a definite boost. Lastly, there is an evident spatial dependence in urban coordinated development, which is positively influenced by an area’s own previous condition and its neighboring cities. Furthermore, population size, local GDP and green land, etc. have spatial spillover effects on urban coordinated development in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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18 pages, 1109 KiB

Open AccessReview

Systematic Review of Informal Urban Economies

by Mpendulo Harold Thulare, Inocent Moyo and Sifiso Xulu

Sustainability 2021, 13(20), 11414; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132011414 - 15 Oct 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2388

Abstract

Amid globalization and market liberalization, urban informality has continued to grow in leaps and bounds in many parts of the world. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies conducted on urban economic informality at [...] Read more.

Amid globalization and market liberalization, urban informality has continued to grow in leaps and bounds in many parts of the world. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies conducted on urban economic informality at various geopolitical contexts to provide an update on the current state of knowledge in the urban informal economy-related research. A total number of 290 studies were sourced from various academic sources; however, a total number of 166 research papers satisfied the requirements of this review paper. The findings of this paper show that research on the urban informal economy has grown from 2000 to 2021, which is a 22-year period in which this review paper was based. The main themes of urban economic informality research depict it as a multifaceted system that is constituted by inputs, processes and outputs that have linkages with the formal economy. Based on these findings, it is recommended that more research should focus on how to integrate research on urban economic informality into the broader agenda of sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Economics, City Development and Future Social Challenges)

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