Search Results (123)

This study analyzes the spatial distribution of restaurant services in Tanta, Egypt, using a multi-scalar framework that integrates spatial autocorrelation, kernel density estimation, diversity measures, and spatial econometric modeling. It is theoretically grounded in Central Place Theory (CPT) and Central Flow Theory (CFT) to examine how urban hierarchy and mobility dynamics jointly shape food service geography in a mid-sized Global South city. The findings reveal significant spatial inequalities, with nearly half of all restaurants concentrated in a limited number of central neighborhoods, while peripheral areas remain underserved. Spatial regression analysis indicates that these patterns are not adequately explained by population distribution, as total population and density variables showed non-significant effects in the OLS model. Instead, clustering is more strongly associated with accessibility and infrastructure. The transition from OLS to the Spatial Error Model (SEM) significantly improved the explanatory power (R² increased from 0.369 to 0.534), with a highly significant Lambda coefficient (λ = 0.69, p < 0.00001) confirming that unobserved spatial processes and mobility flows are the primary drivers of restaurant concentration. Correlation results further indicate that road density (Coefficient = 2.10, p < 0.01) and educational facilities have significant positive relationships with restaurant density, whereas most demographic indicators show weak effects. Furthermore, a significant negative interaction between population and road density (−2.63, p = 0.014) underscores that mobility corridors can override traditional residential thresholds, providing empirical support for CFT. Diversity analysis highlights clear intra-urban disparities, with high-diversity clusters located along major accessibility axes. Kernel density results point to a hybrid spatial structure, where traditional urban cores coexist with emerging secondary nodes. Overall, the study demonstrates that restaurant distribution in Tanta is better explained through a hybrid CPT–CFT framework, where accessibility and mobility flows outweigh population thresholds. These findings challenge traditional models and emphasize the need for dynamic, accessibility-oriented planning approaches to address spatial inequalities in urban services. Full article

Existing ship emission inventories for coastal seas are typically gridded at 500 m to 1 km, a resolution too coarse to distinguish navigation channels from anchorage zones. Whether the hotspot patterns reported at such scales reflect true emission geography or are artifacts of spatial averaging remains an open question. We construct a 100 m resolution AIS-based emission inventory for two contrasting coastal environments in eastern China—the Yangtze River estuary and the Wenzhou coastal area—using the STEAM framework, and we quantify spatial concentration with Lorenz curve analyses. At this finer resolution, three emission archetypes become separable: discrete anchorage clusters, bankside berthing bands flanking navigation lanes, and sinuous riverbank traces in confined waterways. Emissions are extremely concentrated: the top 1% of grid cells capture over three-quarters of the total theoretical emission potential (Gini = 0.940), and this pattern persists across all months of 2023. Reaggregating the same data to 1 km reduces the top-1% share by roughly 10%, confirming that coarse gridding systematically understates anchorage contributions while overstating those of transit corridors. A dedicated sensitivity analysis on auxiliary engine load assumptions (±30% perturbation of canonical Jalkanen-style load brackets) shows that, while absolute emission totals carry approximately ±15% uncertainty, the spatial concentration of emissions is highly robust: Across all perturbation scenarios, the Gini coefficient varies by less than 0.01, the top-5% emission share varies by less than 2 percentage points, and the location of top-5% hotspot cells overlaps by ≥97.9% (Jaccard index). The results highlight stationary vessel hotspots—discrete anchorages and bankside berths—as a major and previously underemphasized contributor to the cumulative coastal ship emission budget, complementing rather than replacing the conventional navigation-lane focus, with direct implications for shore power siting, anchorage management, and emission control zone design. Full article

We developed an explainable machine learning framework combining 22 years (2003–2024) of multi-sensor satellite data (MODIS Aqua, CMEMS, C3S) with zone-specific SHAP attribution to quantify chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) mechanisms in the East China Sea. A geography-free XGBoost model achieved $R^2=0.802$ on 1.4 million pixel-month observations, and counterfactual experiments confirmed its superior environmental sensitivity over location-dependent models. Multi-strategy threshold detection identified two critical salinity boundaries—11.62 psu marking the turbidity-to-productivity transition (Cohen’s $d=-2.92$) and 34.03 psu at the Kuroshio Front ($d=-1.04$)—neither of which coincides with traditional physical definitions. Zone-specific SHAP analysis revealed that sea surface salinity (SSS) dominates Chl-a attribution across all zones but through fundamentally different mechanisms. We propose an “SSS Triple-Role Framework” in which salinity serves as turbidity proxy in estuarine waters, nutrient proxy in transitional waters, and dilution signal offshore, resolving the apparent contradiction of simultaneous positive and negative salinity effects. Non-additive interactions—including SSS × SST coupling (61% modulation) and SST × sea level amplification during Kuroshio intrusions—further demonstrate hierarchical controls missed by additive models. These findings provide quantitative benchmarks for ecosystem monitoring in river-dominated marginal seas. Full article

This study proposes a novel dual-role weighting framework for dry port location selection, bridging the gap between commercial logistics efficiency and strategic disaster resilience. Designed to establish a new theoretical evaluation paradigm, the research utilizes the Fuzzy Rough SWARA (FR-SWARA) method and a 12-person expert panel to weigh a comprehensive set of 31 criteria under high-dimensional uncertainty. The findings reveal a decisive hierarchical shift, where spatial and infrastructure-related dimensions significantly outweigh traditional cost considerations. This empirical evidence substantiates the transition from ‘just-in-time’ to ‘Just-in-Case’ logistics architectures. Ultimately, the study reconceptualizes the dry port as a ‘strategic stabilizer’—a critical infrastructure node that absorbs systemic shocks and maintains supply chain continuity during diverse crises, including natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed weighting framework offers a robust theoretical roadmap for policy and managerial decision-making in volatile geographies. Full article

Menopause represents a key transitional phase in women’s health, characterized by declining estrogen levels and increased risk for cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal, and urogenital disorders. Beyond its endocrine roots, emerging evidence highlights the gut microbiome as a critical modulator of systemic hormonal balance. This review synthesizes current understanding of the bidirectional relationship between estrogen and the gut microbiome and its implications for women’s health during menopause. Evidence from current studies reveals distinct findings across populations, reflecting the complexity of estrogen regulation in part by the gut microbiome (i.e., estrobolome). While no ideal gut microbial composition has been identified for women across stages of perimenopause, likely due to geographically unique gut microbiome profiles among healthy women, greater microbial diversity has been positively associated with improved estrogen regulation. Conversely, reduced diversity and altered Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratios have been linked to biomarkers of inflammation during perimenopause, which is a key driver across many perimenopausal symptoms. Although hormone replacement therapy remains the primary clinical intervention during perimenopause, we highlight emerging evidence on the adjuvant potential of diet, synbiotics, phytoestrogens, and strain-specific probiotics in modulating the estrogen–gut microbiome axis for improved health span trajectories and better symptom management. Future longitudinal studies integrating diet, gut microbiome profiles and symptom trajectories are essential to clarify these mechanisms across ethnicity and geography. Ultimately, understanding localized diet–microbiome interactions will enable the development of accessible, personalized, and non-hormonal strategies to complement and increase agency in proactive management during the perimenopausal transition. Full article

The complexity of the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus demands a comprehensive framework for its implementation, particularly concerning place-based governance and sustainable transitions. In this work, the WEF Nexus is conceptualized through the lens of Socio-Technical Systems Transition Theory and its interconnections with geo-ecological system components, enabling its recognition as a place-based Socio-Technical–Ecological meta-System (STES). The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are introduced as landscape drivers of the WEF Nexus, as they acknowledge the crucial role of society, technology and ecological systems in its interconnected domains. A novel integrated methodology to develop the WEF Nexus as a STES transition is presented, encompassing literature review, qualitative analysis, conceptual mapping, and multi-stakeholder co-creation. This theoretical framework was empirically tested and improved across selected case studies on hydrological basins in Africa within the ONEPlanET Horizon Europe Project. Both leverageable subsystems and promising transitional innovation assets were identified. The transitional X-Curve assisted in the discussion in the empirical context of ONEPlanET to generalise the findings and the visual presentation of the identified pathways. The methodology that resulted is suitable for supporting a concrete exploration of systemic mapping, analysis, and planning towards a sustainable WEF Nexus in complex geographies, facilitated through multi-stakeholder engagement and co-creation. Full article

Forests’ conversion to tea plantations is a land use transition type with high economic value in China. How this conversion affects soil weathering and nutrient characteristics remains unclear. Here, we selected six soil profiles (three pairs) from representative tea plantations and adjacent forests in China. We quantified the weathering intensity (chemical index of alteration (CIA), base-to-alumina ratio (ba), and weathering index of Parker (WIP)) by soil geography and elemental geochemistry methods and revealed nutrient distributions along with soil profiles. The results showed that soluble elements (such as K₂O, CaO, MgO and Na₂O) and SiO₂ were noticeably leached, while Al₂O₃ and P₂O₅ were enriched. The geochemical indices showed that the soil profiles of tea plantations (CIA: 80.6%, ba: 0.3 and WIP: 34.6%) experienced stronger chemical weathering than those of forest soils (CIA: 76.0%, ba: 0.4 and WIP: 39.7%). The mean sensitivity indexes (SI) of soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) were −7.0%, −24.8%, 53.7% and −8.6%, respectively. This reflected that tea plantations would lead to soil acidification, organic matter depletion, phosphorus enrichment, and potassium deficiency. Our work underscores the significant impact of anthropogenic tea-garden cultivation on pedogenesis; future management must emphasize rational fertilization to prevent soil degradation. Full article

The scope of this research is to contribute, through qualitative bases and case studies, to the relevance of old and new materialities in the process of rural change and restructuring in remote rural areas. The research on rural materialities can be found in cultural studies of heritage, modern geographical history and postmodern rural geography, based on post-structural and Deleuzian geographies, mainly geographies of heterogeneous associations and experimental and vibrant materiality. Geographic materialities allow multiple approaches in rural geography. A first approximation allows us to distinguish between old and new materialities. In each old and new category, it is possible to use different approaches: qualities of place, more-than-human, rural change, assemblage theory, material design, emotional geographies and cultural heritage. The sustainability-related outcomes are the rural material styles reviewed. Styles of research on old materialism are based on (1) qualities on place, (2) heritage and its effects in place, and (3) rural restructuring. The new change in the conceptualization of the material world is based on reconstructed local materialism and dissolved traditional rural communities. The styles in new rural materialities in the rural geographical field are (1) rural restructuring processes and new materialities, (2) material values and sophisticated visions of the countryside, (3) ensembles and material lives, and (4) emotional negotiations and feelings. Full article

Rural spatial commodification serves as a vital pathway toward comprehensive rural revitalization. Its development is closely intertwined with land use transition, with each process exerting reciprocal influence on the other. Research on the coupling between these two systems has emerged as a cutting-edge interdisciplinary field bridging rural geography and land system science. Based on a systematic review of research advances in rural spatial commodification and land use transition, this paper summarizes the existing gaps in the literature and attempts to construct a coupling framework integrating rural spatial commodification and land use transition. The findings indicate that, although the academic community has amassed a substantial body of research on rural spatial commodification, land use transition, and their coupled relationship with rural transformation, several gaps persist. These encompass the absence of systematic indicator frameworks and quantitative validation methods for rural spatial commodification, insufficient exploration into the coupling mechanisms between rural spatial commodification and land use transition, and a notable scarcity of empirical studies examining land use optimization driven by rural spatial commodification. Future research on the coupling between rural spatial commodification and land use transition should follow the logical framework of “elucidating theoretical connotations, characterizing coupling relationships, analyzing coupling mechanisms, simulating coupling processes, and regulating coupling states”. It is essential to strengthen the interdisciplinary integration of rural geography and land system science, thereby providing scientific guidance for the allocation of resources in rural areas and the implementation of rural revitalization practices. Full article

The growing global environmental crisis calls for fundamental transformations in production and consumption systems, but the understanding of how circular economy strategies translate into quantifiable environmental benefits remains fragmented across sectors and geographies. The objective of this study is to synthesize current scientific knowledge on the circular economy as an environmental mitigation strategy, identifying conceptual convergences, methodological patterns, geographic distributions, and critical knowledge gaps. A systematic review combined with a bibliometric analysis of 62 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2024, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Springer Link and Wiley Online Library, was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The results reveal a marked methodological convergence around life cycle assessment, with Europe dominating the scientific output (58% of the corpus). Four complementary conceptual frameworks emerged, emphasizing closed-loop material flows, environmental performance, integration of economic sustainability and business model innovation. The thematic analysis identified bioenergy and waste valorization as the most mature implementation pathways, constituting 23% of the research emphasis. However, critical gaps remain: geographic concentration limits the transferability of knowledge to diverse socioeconomic contexts; social, cultural and behavioral dimensions remain underexplored (12% of publications); and environmental justice considerations receive negligible attention. Crucially, the evidence reveals nonlinear relationships between circularity metrics and environmental outcomes, calling into question automatic benefits assumptions. This review contributes to an integrative synthesis that advances theoretical understanding of circularity-environment relationships while providing evidence-based guidance for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers involved in transitions to the circular economy. Full article

Whether the New Energy Vehicle Promotion Policy (NEVPP) enhances supply chain resilience is pivotal to China’s green transition and global industrial security. Using data on A-share listed automobile manufacturers from 2012 to 2024, this study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences approach to identify the policy’s impact. Results show that NEVPP significantly strengthens supply chain resilience, and the findings remain robust across alternative specifications. Mechanism analysis reveals that the policy raises managerial attention, eases financing constraints, and stimulates technological innovation, thereby enhancing resilience through managerial, financial, and technological channels. Heterogeneity analysis by ownership, geography, R&D intensity, analyst coverage, and institutional ownership shows that the effect is stronger for state-owned enterprises, firms in central and western regions, low-R&D firms, those without analyst coverage, those with high analyst attention, and firms with low institutional ownership. This study provides firm-level evidence on the economic consequences of NEVPP, advances understanding of industrial policy and corporate resilience, and offers policy implications for supporting the global energy transition and safeguarding supply chain stability. Full article

Real estate inventory dynamics exhibit distinct temporal patterns and spatial heterogeneity, and precise identification of these trends serves as a prerequisite for effective policy formulation. Research on the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and influencing factors of real estate inventory holds significant academic and practical value. By employing ESDA, the Boston Matrix, and geographically weighted regression models to analyze 2017–2022 data from 287 Chinese cities, this study reveals a cyclical shift in China’s real estate inventory management—from “destocking” to “restocking”. The underlying drivers have transitioned from policy-led interventions to fundamentals-driven factors, including population dynamics, income levels, and market expectations. China’s real estate inventory and its changes exhibit significant spatiotemporal differentiation and spatial agglomeration patterns, demonstrating a spatial structure characterized by “multiple clustered highlands with peripheral lowlands” led by urban agglomerations. The influencing mechanism of China’s real estate inventory constitutes a complex system shaped by three key dimensions: macro-level drivers, regional differentiation, and structural contradictions. Policymakers should reorient destocking policies from “short-term stimulus” to “long-term coordination”, from “industrial policy” to “spatial policy”, and from addressing market “symptoms” to tackling “root causes”. This study argues that effective destocking policies constitute a systematic engineering challenge, demanding policymakers demonstrate profound analytical depth. They must move beyond simplistic sales metrics and perform multi-dimensional evaluations encompassing economic geography, demographic trends, fiscal systems, and land supply mechanisms. This paradigm shift from “symptom management” to “root cause resolution” and “systemic regulation” is essential for achieving sustainable real estate market development. Full article

The Rucăr–Bran Corridor, a critical transit route in the Carpathian Arc, has been the subject of interdisciplinary research in the fields of geology and physical and human geography. This paper aims to design a safe, efficient, and sustainable high-speed expressway that will improve regional connectivity while respecting the natural, social, and economic constraints of the area. Based on bibliographic sources and using Geographic Information Systems, this study integrates geomorphological, lithological, protected area, and infrastructure data to identify the most suitable route. The methodology includes data collection, multi-criteria analysis, and environmental impact assessment. The land suitability map resulting from the multi-criteria analysis using the specialized QGIS software led to the routing of a 41.7 km expressway connecting the two extreme localities of the area: Rucăr and Bran. This study demonstrates the value of integrated geomorphological analysis in infrastructure planning, offering a model for the development of economically viable express roads in challenging geomorphological terrain. The proposed route enhances regional socio-economic integration by improving access to isolated areas, promoting tourism, and reducing travel times, aligning with national and European transport strategies. Full article

Rapid urbanization in China has reshaped retail spatial structures, creating challenges of accessibility and service equity. This study employs a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based analytical framework to examine the spatial distribution and driving mechanisms of retail outlets in Taiyuan, a resource-based transition city in central China. Using 2023 Point of Interest (POI) data and a 2 km × 2 km grid system, kernel density estimation (KDE), Average Nearest Neighbor (ANN) Analysis, Location Quotient (LQ), and spatial autocorrelation were applied to identify clustering patterns and functional specialization. The GeoDetector (Word version, downloaded 2025) model further quantified the explanatory power of twelve natural, social, economic, and transportation variables. Results reveal a polycentric retail structure, with high-density clusters in Yingze and Xiaodian districts and under-supply in Jiancaoping and Jinyuan. Population density, nighttime light (NTL) intensity, and school distribution emerged as the strongest drivers, while topography constrained expansion. By integrating GIS-based spatial statistics with GeoDetector, the study demonstrates a transferable framework for analyzing urban retail spatial patterns. The findings extend retail geography to transition cities and provide practical guidance for optimizing retail allocation, enhancing service equity, and supporting spatial decision-making for sustainable urban development. Full article

The article describes the sociocultural change under the sacred canopy in a country with a deep Catholic tradition in Europe, focusing on the indicators of secularization in Italy, drawn from the most recent national surveys. One of the most significant results is the increase in nuns and spiritual but not religious people, especially among the younger generations. Nonetheless, for the majority of Italians, Catholicism is still part of the social framework of collective memory. At the same time, immigration is contributing to a changing religious geography: Italian society is transitioning from a monopoly regime (a dominant church-based religion) to one characterized by the pluralism of faiths. Full article