Determinants of Intra-City Residential Migration Patterns of Older Adults: A GIS and Decision Tree Analysis of Yancheng City, China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper is well-composed, and the research questions and objectives are clearly explained and analyzed. I appreciate the comparison between Western research on the same topic applied to the Chinese case study, as well as the structure of the paper you delivered. However, there are a few things that require your attention:

 

1. Pages 1, 2, and 4 contain repeated text. Please review these pages carefully and correct these issues.

2. It is important to revise all citations within the text. Check the Instructions for Authors for the correct style, as there are inconsistencies throughout the document.

3. In the data section, clearly state which types of data are taken from the Yancheng City Housing Urban-Rural Development Bureau, which you refer to at the end of the paper but not in the main text.

4. Do you have any other sources of data, such as a national geoportal? Why was Gaode Map the best option in terms of completeness and accuracy? These are necessary questions to address in the text.

5. Regarding the Methods section, the division you provided seems somewhat arbitrary. Setting two categories too far apart means that 99 and 101 would be classified into very different categories, despite being close in value. I propose creating a scale where the size of the point changes depending on the concentration of people, or at least adding one more category for middle values.

6. In general, I would encourage the authors to increase the resolution of their figures and check if all the text is readable.

7. For future work, have you considered including an analysis of public transportation within the city or connections of smaller residential areas to the city center? How might this impact the choice of housing location (e.g., proximity to stations, being within a certain distance)?

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The quality of English language is high, and the text is well-written. I would like to call the authors' attention to minor punctuation and spacing issues throughout the text that require revision. Particularly, the phrasing of the 'Literature Review' chapter needs improvement. For example, the sentence: "As early as the early 1950s, geography, which emphasizes the spatial perspective, began studying the migratory activities of older people and their spatial types" could be rephrased for clarity and conciseness.

When using abbreviations (such as CBD on pg. 5), please first indicate the full term, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Furthermore, on page 5, sentences like: "This is because the determinants of migration of older persons are affected differently in different cultural, economic and policy contexts. Existing research in China focuses on inter-provincial migration, which ignores the differences between different regions within provinces" should be revised to avoid repetition of words. Consider using alternative terms to convey your intended concept more effectively.

On page 7, when discussing data, I recommend using passive voice, which aligns with academic writing conventions. Subchapter 4.1 contains a minor spelling error in its title that should be corrected.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

The manuscript titled "Determinants of Intra-City Residential Migration Patterns of Older Adults: A GIS and Decision Tree Analysis of Yancheng City, China" applies geographic information systems (GIS) and decision tree analysis to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the factors influencing location choice in intra-city residential migration among older adults. This study not only advances research on residential migration and location preferences but also offers valuable insights for developing livable neighborhoods tailored to older adults. Although the manuscript is well-written and demonstrates notable strengths in its proposal quality and methodological rigor, the minor revisions suggested above will significantly enhance its clarity, rigor, and practical relevance.

Comments:

- The "Introduction" item is cohesive and coherent, and it adequately supports the proposed objectives. However, I recommend that the authors address and discuss more concisely the importance of Geographic Information Systems (and Cartography more broadly) for this type of discussion and approach (residential migration).

- 3. Data and Methods: I strongly recommend that the authors include a theoretical-methodological flowchart to detail the association between the research objectives and the methodological and technical steps employed to achieve the results.

- Figure 1 should be revised to include a map showing the location of the study area within China. It is important to situate the region and the country due to the manuscript being submitted to an international journal.

- Figure 2 already begins to illustrate a problem evident throughout the manuscript: the captions are not presented with adequate quality and resolution.

- Replace "1.4. Independent variables" to "3.4. Independent variables".

- Figure 3 has a low resolution and its caption is not visible. Please insert the text that describes the figure before including it.

- Figure 4 is very interesting, but it requires zooming in to be understood. Please revise its structure for better visibility and comprehension.

- Throughout the manuscript, in order to maintain scientific rigor, always include an introductory text that adequately describes the figure.

- The maps in Figures 6 through 9 should be revised in their captions for better understanding.

- The discussion of the results obtained is very good. However, I suggest that the authors include more research with the same scope in different social and economic contexts (both within and outside of China) to compare with previous results. Please enrich the literature review in "5. Discussion".

- The section "7. Conclusions" could be further developed. I suggest that the authors include a paragraph describing the stages of research development and, after the current paragraph in this section, incorporate the text from item "6. Practical Implications" into "7. Conclusions" (excluding the section on practical implication).

I am available for any clarification.

Kind regards.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank ypu for opportunity to review this interestin paper. It touches very importanat issue of ageing. It's well written however I have few minor suggestions for Authors:

 

- "...According to data from the Seventh National Population Census..." - date of the Census should be added. I'm sure it's obvious for Chinese readers, but not to international readers. From the same reason I suggest to add small map with study area on whole China map on Fig. 1.

- Aging is not only sightened in China but also in whole continent. I suggest to add some words about it. It could help: Długosz, Z., Raźniak, P. (2014). Risk of population aging in Asia. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 120, 36-45.

- On figures/tables years of data used should be specified

- In some parts of the World "Relocation" word (eg. Fig. 3) can be misunderstood. Do the people were forced to moved there or that was their free decision? If it was free decision I suggest word "migration" ot inflow - outflow. 

Good luck with your paper

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx