The Green and Adaptable Development Paths of Provincial Characteristic Towns in Taihu Lake Basin: A Synergy Perspective on Face Value and Resilience

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The title must be corrected to match better the terms in town planning.

The abstract is also weak and must be rewritten

Throw the whole text there are too many repetitive words "appearance and toughness" and it is even not a known term in town planning literature. If you are introducing a new term you need to give a definition and explain why you invent this term or try to find the English term used in such cases.

Overall the text itself is quite strong and logical, but the beginning is bewildering.

Please find attached other comments in PDF.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you for your rewiew and comments concerning our manuscript. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are clearly highlighted (The correction we made are marked up using the “Track Changes” function). The main corrections in the paper and the responsesto the reviewer’s comments are as follows:

1. The title must be corrected to match better the terms in town planning.

Response：According to the professional expression, the title of the article was modified to “The green and adaptive development paths of provincial characteristic towns in Taihu Lake Basin: A synergy perspective on face value and resilience”, and the original meaning of the article title has not changed.

2. The abstract is also weak and must be rewritten

Response：We have rewritten the abstract which can be seen in the revised manuscript.

3. Throw the whole text there are too many repetitive words "appearance and toughness" and it is even not a known term in town planning literature. If you are introducing a new term you need to give a definition and explain why you invent this term or try to find the English term used in such cases.

Response: Currently, there is less literature on the assessment of face value and resilience, and most of the existing studies are on regional economic resilience. According to the professional expression, "appearance and toughness" have been modified “face value and resilience”. The face value and resilience are not new terms which have a few studies in the Chinese literature. Face value is the visual value of the face, which represents the external image of the town in this paper; Resilience was first proposed by ecologist Holling to describe the ability of a system to repair itself quickly after encountering natural or human disturbances, which represents the intrinsic development momentum of the town in this paper.

4. Overall the text itself is quite strong and logical, but the beginning is bewildering.

Response: E-mails: [email protected]

5. synergetic? "appearance and toughness" - there is no such term in planning literature, to my knowledge

Response: According to the professional expression, “face value” represents the external image of the town, and “resilience” represents the intrinsic development momentum of the town. The literatures related face value is less and only the connotation definitionin in Chinese studies have been mentioned; There are relatively more studies on resilience, especially regional economic resilience, urban resilience, etc.

6. The other comments in PDF

Response: According to the comments, we have made the corresponding changes, which can be seen in the revised manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thanks for this paper. The purpose of the article is to explore “the high-quality development path of characteristic towns, so as to provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for the development of characteristic towns with high appearance, strength-toughness, and the integration of production, living and ecological space according to local conditions”.

By analyzing the matching degree and robustness of appearance and toughness of the regional characteristic towns in China Taihu Lake Basin, they explored the deviation degree and its influencing factors in the coordinated development of the appearance and toughness of characteristic towns. They also unveiled the feasible paths of the coordinated development of appearance and toughness in different types of characteristics towns in a quantitative research technique.

About literature and theoretical discussion, the paper lacks quality in terms of theoretical discussion and arguments. They superficially talk about Marx and Howard's arguments and also they continue with that superficial style in the following part. They jump from one discussion to another by only saying one reference in one discussion. This part could be rewritten completely with a good theoretical standpoint by connecting it with the research aim. For such a paper that proposes theoretical discussions, empirical research is weak by only analyzing the unclarified hypotheses with a superficial quantitative method by not discussing the findings adequately.

About data collection, they claim that they used the index data of cultural temperament, humanistic amorous feelings, happiness index, subject participation, mayor's governance ability, visual satisfaction from the sample surveys and interviews, and the weight value of  each index is calculated by analytic hierarchy process. Without discussing these indicators such as happiness, humanistic feelings etc. in the theoretical discussion and literature review, why they use these indicators data can not be understood scientifically.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you for your rewiew and comments concerning our manuscript. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are clearly highlighted (The correction we made are marked up using the “Track Changes” function). The main corrections in the paper and the responsesto the reviewer’s comments are as follows:

1. Thanks for this paper. The purpose of the article is to explore “the high-quality development path of characteristic towns, so as to provide theoretical guidance and practical reference for the development of characteristic towns with high appearance, strength-toughness, and the integration of production, living and ecological space according to local conditions”.

Response: Thank you for your recognition on our research.

2. By analyzing the matching degree and robustness of appearance and toughness of the regional characteristic towns in China Taihu Lake Basin, they explored the deviation degree and its influencing factors in the coordinated development of the appearance and toughness of characteristic towns. They also unveiled the feasible paths of the coordinated development of appearance and toughness in different types of characteristics towns in a quantitative research technique.

Response: Thank you for your comments.

3. About literature and theoretical discussion, the paper lacks quality in terms of theoretical discussion and arguments. They superficially talk about Marx and Howard's arguments and also they continue with that superficial style in the following part. They jump from one discussion to another by only saying one reference in one discussion. This part could be rewritten completely with a good theoretical standpoint by connecting it with the research aim. For such a paper that proposes theoretical discussions, empirical research is weak by only analyzing the unclarified hypotheses with a superficial quantitative method by not discussing the findings adequately.

Response: We have rewritten the section of Literature Review, added the review of studies related to the face and resilience, and improved the literature related to the characteristic towns. The dedails can be seen in the revised manuscript.

4. About data collection, they claim that they used the index data of cultural temperament, humanistic amorous feelings, happiness index, subject participation, mayor's governance ability, visual satisfaction from the sample surveys and interviews, and the weight value of each index is calculated by analytic hierarchy process. Without discussing these indicators such as happiness, humanistic feelings etc. in the theoretical discussion and literature review, why they use these indicators data can not be understood scientifically.

Response: These indicators used in the article are based on reference standards and scientific evidence. The evaluation index system of face value is established with reference to the "Characteristic Town Evaluation Specification—Zhejiang Local Standard"; The evaluation index system of resilience is constructed based on the research literature related to the measurement of urban resilience level. The detailed modifications are as follows:

In order to avoid unnecessary interference between indicators and to ensure a comprehensive and reasonable reflection of the resilience, the selection of assessment indicators should not only combine the development feature and the development concept of the characteristic town, but also take into account the connotation of eco-nomic resilience. Therefore, we follow the principles of systematic, scientific, orienta-tion and operability to construct the assessment index of the face value and resilience of characteristic towns.

Firstly, this study refers to the Assessment Specification of Characteristic Town—Zhejiang Local Standards: http://lib.qiangdoc.com/html/2022/03-05/51210.html, and constructs the face value evaluation index table from six dimensions: ecological coor-dination, environmental landscape, greening cleanliness, service sharing, supporting perfection, and humanistic temperament. Secondly, based on literature related to ur-ban resilience level measurement, and combined with the actual development of characteristic towns in Taihu Lake Basin, the resilience evaluation index system is constructed from six dimensions of economic resilience, structural resilience, industrial resilience, innovation resilience, spatial resilience and governance resilience.

Reviewer 3 Report

The greatest strength of the paper is the Introduction.

The largest weakness of this scholarship is the Methods. Authors did not cite any existing methodological scholars, procedures, or strategies. Therefore, the Methods are void of any connection to validity or reliability procedures and outputs or data credibility or trustworthiness. The section alone demonstrates a tremendous gap in this submission. Readers and future scholars do not have the information necessary to warrant replication of this study in any other global region. 

Because the Methods are severely lacking, the Discussion and Conclusions section are inadequate. Further, the authors did not provide one single citation from their Introduction or Literature Review to strengthen, bolster, or connect the study for general readers, current and future scholars, and existing practitioners. Much generalization was made from limited scholarly information for a prestigious journal outlet as Sustainability is. To be clear, considerable edits and additions are a necessity. 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you for your rewiew and comments concerning our manuscript. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are clearly highlighted (The correction we made are marked up using the “Track Changes” function). The main corrections in the paper and the responsesto the reviewer’s comments are as follows:

1. The greatest strength of the paper is the Introduction.

Response: Thank you for your recognition on the part of Introduction in our research.

2. The largest weakness of this scholarship is the Methods. Authors did not cite any existing methodological scholars, procedures, or strategies. Therefore, the Methods are void of any connection to validity or reliability procedures and outputs or data credibility or trustworthiness. The section alone demonstrates a tremendous gap in this submission. Readers and future scholars do not have the information necessary to warrant replication of this study in any other global region.

Response: Thanks for your comments. Due to the large number of characteristic towns, some data cannot be shown in tables, only in the form of graphs. However, we have tried to introduce the main methods used in the text in detail which are useful in the research literature. The detailed additions and modifications can be seen in the revised manuscript.

3. Because the Methods are severely lacking, the Discussion and Conclusions section are inadequate. Further, the authors did not provide one single citation from their Introduction or Literature Review to strengthen, bolster, or connect the study for general readers, current and future scholars, and existing practitioners. Much generalization was made from limited scholarly information for a prestigious journal outlet as Sustainability is. To be clear, considerable edits and additions are a necessity.

Response: Thanks for your comments. Firstly, our study is based on empirical analysis and theoretical foundations, which are mentioned in the paper; Secondly, according to the the reviewers' suggestions, we have revised the sections of Discussion and Conclusions with a clearer logic; Finally, we can provide the data of the characteristic towns used in this paper.

Reviewer 4 Report

Thank you for your very interesting and very important manuscript. In order to make it more valuable to readers, I suggest doing a deep correspondence in several places.

The paper examines the area of socio-economic development based on the quantitative analysis of the appearance level and toughness level of characteristic towns.

The document does not contain a clear goal of the study, tasks. The authors do not provide any research questions (or hypotheses) for testing. I propose to revise the methodological part of the manuscript and supplement it with some research questions (hypotheses), the answers to which are confirmed by the results presented in the article.

The manuscript describes various theories and approaches to urban development in some countries, but it would be advisable to consider the issues of legal regulation of the sustainable development of China's provinces.

In the methods section, it is advisable to provide a clearer rationale for the selected indicators for further analysis.

Based on the results of Figure 5, the authors proposed to pay great attention to the coordinated development of the appearance and strength of characteristic cities in the Taihu Lake Basin. However, possible institutional arrangements aimed at achieving the goal of promoting green and quality development are not presented. Perhaps it is worth presenting a mechanism for multi-level governance and empowerment for balanced regional development, with an emphasis on links between development institutions in the process of functioning.

In conclusion, it is necessary to highlight the scientific novelty and practical significance of the study.

I hope my suggestions will improve the text.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer:

Thank you for your rewiew and comments concerning our manuscript. Those comments are all valuable and very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to our researches. We have studied comments carefully and have made correction which we hope meet with approval. Revised portion are clearly highlighted (The correction we made are marked up using the “Track Changes” function). The main corrections in the paper and the responsesto the reviewer’s comments are as follows:

1. The document does not contain a clear goal of the study, tasks. The authors do not provide any research questions (or hypotheses) for testing. I propose to revise the methodological part of the manuscript and supplement it with some research questions (hypotheses), the answers to which are confirmed by the results presented in the article.

Response: We have highligthed the aim of this study in Introduction, and modified the the methodological part

2. The manuscript describes various theories and approaches to urban development in some countries, but it would be advisable to consider the issues of legal regulation of the sustainable development of China's provinces.

Response: Thanks for your good comments. We have added the content in Discussion and Development Paths.

3. In the methods section, it is advisable to provide a clearer rationale for the selected indicators for further analysis.

Response: Thanks for your good comments. We have added a clearer rationale for the selected indicators for further analysis. It can be seen in the revised manuscript.

In order to avoid unnecessary interference between indicators and to ensure a comprehensive and reasonable reflection of the resilience, the selection of assessment indicators should not only combine the development feature and the development concept of the characteristic town, but also take into account the connotation of eco-nomic resilience. Therefore, we follow the principles of systematic, scientific, orienta-tion and operability to construct the assessment index of the face value and resilience of characteristic towns.

Firstly, this study refers to the Assessment Specification of Characteristic Town—Zhejiang Local Standards: http://lib.qiangdoc.com/html/2022/03-05/51210.html, and constructs the face value evaluation index table from six dimensions: ecological coor-dination, environmental landscape, greening cleanliness, service sharing, supporting perfection, and humanistic temperament. Secondly, based on literature related to ur-ban resilience level measurement, and combined with the actual development of characteristic towns in Taihu Lake Basin, the resilience evaluation index system is constructed from six dimensions of economic resilience, structural resilience, industrial resilience, innovation resilience, spatial resilience and governance resilience.

4. Based on the results of Figure 5, the authors proposed to pay great attention to the coordinated development of the appearance and strength of characteristic cities in the Taihu Lake Basin. However, possible institutional arrangements aimed at achieving the goal of promoting green and quality development are not presented. Perhaps it is worth presenting a mechanism for multi-level governance and empowerment for balanced regional development, with an emphasis on links between development institutions in the process of functioning.

Response: Thanks for your good comments. We have added the content in Discussion and Development Paths.

5. In conclusion, it is necessary to highlight the scientific novelty and practical significance of the study.

Response: We have revised the conclusion and highlighted the scientific novelty and practical significance of the study that can echo the previous introductory section.

The innovation of science in the paper is reflected in two aspects. On the one hand, from the synergistic perspective of the face value and resilience, we explored their in-ternal relationship and robustness level between face value and resilience of the char-acteristic towns and their mechanism of action. On the other hand, based on a com-prehensive analysis of face value level and resilience level, we proposed the diversified and adaptable development paths and suggested the synergistic cooperation and governance mechanism of multiple subjects for the achievement of the balanced development in characteristic towns. Therefore, the conclusions of this study has important research value and practical significance. Firstly, it can guide similar cities to effectively use their advantageous resources and improve the synergistic development level of the faca value and resilience of the characteristic towns; Secondly, this study also helps to address the lack of existing research and provides new evidence for the green and high-quality development of the characteristic towns from a broader perspective. Finally, it has the implications for different types of characteristic towns’ planning, design, conservation and promotional efforts.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

The revised version responds to some basic points asked in the previous version. I find this version better than the previous version on the literature review and findings part.

Thanks

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors successfully and adequately addressed my concerns in this iteration. The impact of this scholarship will be interesting to witness both from a scholarly lens and a practitioner one. This reviewer appreciates the great revisions and improved scholarly detail the authorship team endeavored to improve this paper.