Search Results (110)

Against the background of intensifying human–land contradictions, evaluation of land use benefits and identification of obstacles are crucial for sustainable land management and socioeconomic development. Taking Henan Province as an example, this research employed the entropy weight method and TOPSIS model to assess the land use benefits across its cities from 2011 to 2020, a period of rapid land use transformation, analyzed their spatiotemporal evolution, and identified key obstacles via an obstacle degree model. The results showed the following. (1) The social land use benefits consistently exceeded the ecological and economic benefits, with steady improvements observed in both the individual and comprehensive benefits. Spatially, the benefits showed a “one city dominant” pattern, decreasing gradually from the central region to the south, north, east, and west, with this spatial gradient further intensifying over time. (2) Economic factors were the primary obstacles, with significantly higher obstruction degrees than social or ecological factors. The main obstacles were the general budget revenue of government finance per unit land area, domestic garbage removal volume, and total retail sales of social consumer goods per unit land area. (3) The policy implications focus on strengthening regional differentiated development by leveraging Zhengzhou’s core role to boost the land-based economic benefits, integrating social–ecological strengths with agricultural modernization, and promoting “core–periphery linkage” to narrow gaps through targeted industrial and infrastructure strategies. This study could provide region-specific insights for sustainable land management in agricultural provinces undergoing rapid urbanization. Full article

Land Value Capture (LVC) is increasingly being emphasized as a key mechanism for financing mass transit systems, promoted as a sustainability-oriented policy tool amid tightening public budgets. China has adopted a development-led approach to value capture through the “Rail plus Property (R + P)” model, drawing inspiration from the Hong Kong experience. The Shenzhen Metro’s “R + P” strategy has been widely acclaimed as the key to its reputation as “the only profitable transit company in mainland China without subsidies.” This paper questions this assumption and argues that the Shenzhen model is neither sustainable nor replicable, as its past performance depended on two exceptional conditions: an ascending phase of a real-estate cycle and unique institutional concessions from the central state. To substantiate this argument, we contrast Shenzhen’s value capture strategy with that of Nanjing—a provincial capital operating under routine institutional conditions, with governance and spatial structures broadly reflecting the prevailing urban development model in China. Using a comparative framework structured around three key dimensions of LVC—urban governance, risk management, and the transit company’s shift toward real estate—this paper reveals how distinct urban political economies give rise to contrasting value capture approaches: one expansionary, prioritizing short-term profit and rapid scale-up while downplaying risk management (Shenzhen); the other conservative, shaped by institutional constraints and characterized by reactive, incremental adjustments (Nanjing). These findings suggest that while LVC instruments offer valuable potential as a funding source for public transit, their long-term viability depends on early institutional embedding that aligns spatial, fiscal, and political interests, alongside well-developed project planning and capacity support in real estate expertise. Full article

The coupled development of economic and ecological systems is crucial for achieving sustainable growth, with the financial system playing a pivotal adaptive role. Green financial innovation (GFI) is central to enhancing this adaptation. Urban land use eco-efficiency (ULUEE) serves as an effective measure of economic–ecological coupling. Using China’s Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones (GFRPZs) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study assesses the impact of GFI on ULUEE, employing panel data from 283 prefecture-level cities (2013–2021). The results show that GFI significantly enhances ULUEE through technological spillovers, strengthened environmental regulation, industrial upgrading, and resource agglomeration. Heterogeneity analyses further reveal that GFI’s positive effects are more pronounced in economically developed regions, cities without legacy heavy-industry reliance, and those with deeper financial development. Additionally, GFI demonstrates cross-regional spillover effects, effectively interacting with other environmental policies. While GFI’s impact is more pronounced in economic growth, its ecological governance improvements are modest. This study provides critical insights for tailored green financial policies aimed at harmonizing economic and ecological objectives. Full article

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is experiencing escalating climate variability, land degradation, and food insecurity, which threaten livelihoods and economic stability. Sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs), including climate-smart agriculture, conservation agriculture, and agroecology, offer promising strategies to boost productivity while enhancing ecological stability. This review proposes that multidisciplinary integration of SAPs, encompassing agronomy, socioeconomics, and governance, is the most promising route to achieving climate-resilient food systems in SSA by 2030. Despite its proven benefits, the use of SAPs remains limited. This is largely because of financial constraints, weak institutional frameworks, and inadequate infrastructure. To address these challenges, this review evaluates the role of SAPs in mitigating climate risk, improving soil health, and enhancing food security. It also identifies systemic adoption barriers and examines the effectiveness of policy and financing frameworks. Drawing on evidence from across SSA, including Ethiopia’s agroforestry success and Senegal’s millet resilience, this review highlights how integrating sustainable practices with postharvest innovation and community-driven approaches can strengthen food systems. Ultimately, the findings underscore that weaving science, policy, and grassroots action is essential for building a resilient and food-secure SSA, particularly within the context of the 2025 global adaptation agenda. Full article

Market-oriented ecological restoration is vital for advancing ecological civilization and promoting harmonious human–nature relationships. However, the precise implementation pathway remains unclear. Few studies specifically address challenges that arise during ecological restoration implementation. Ensuring the smooth and effective implementation and landing of ecological restoration projects harmonizes ecological and economic objectives at the regional scale and fosters sustainable development in the region. Based on the policies of market-oriented ecological restoration collected from various Chinese provinces, and through multi-level institutional analysis, the policy measures are categorized into three phases: early, middle, and late. For each phase, we summarize the challenges encountered in implementing market-oriented ecological restoration projects. Finally, by the method of constructing theoretical models, we propose sustainable countermeasures based on multiple theoretical models. The results show (1) China’s ecological restoration sector is experiencing rapid growth, and market-oriented policies in China, multiple Chinese provinces, and municipalities have enacted successive market-oriented ecological restoration policies, and the outlook for ecological restoration marketization in China remains highly promising. (2) The implementation process of current market-oriented ecological restoration projects confronts and encounters several challenges. These include the absence of project screening and evaluation mechanisms, limited investment and financing channels, ill-defined approval processes, ambiguous delineation of departmental responsibilities, insufficient industry incentives, and the absence of effective operational and management mechanisms. (3) To address the identified challenges, taking forest ecological restoration as an example, theoretical models should be developed encompassing six critical dimensions: the aspects of the mechanism, mode, approval process, management system, industrial chain, and platform. This aims to provide sustainable pathways for the effective implementation of market-oriented forest ecological restoration projects. Full article

Sustainability in post-mining landscapes has left a critical governance challenge in resource-rich countries such as Indonesia, where extraction leaves communities economically vulnerable and environments degraded. This study aims to develop and validate a dual-pathway framework for post-mining sustainability by analyzing the intersection between institutional mechanisms and behavioral readiness. Drawing from a qualitative meta-synthesis of 1339 stakeholder-derived remarks coded across 80 thematic nodes, the framework identifies ten key dimensions, including land compensation, corporate social responsibility (CSR) co-financing, agroecological livelihoods, stakeholder engagement, social norms, and perceived legitimacy. Anchored in Stakeholder Theory and Legitimacy Theory, the findings reveal that sustainability is contingent not solely on technical rehabilitation but also on the synergy between policy reform, community empowerment, and cultural acceptance. While this study is grounded in secondary data synthesis, further field validation is recommended to enhance generalizability across diverse mining regions. The resulting model offers both a conceptual and operational guide for participatory governance and behavioral integration in complex post-extractive contexts with policy recommendations for inclusive, multi-actor planning in Indonesia’s mining regions. Full article

Public welfare land allocation in China’s land expropriation process plays a crucial role in balancing economic development with social equity, but limited research has examined the driving factors influencing public welfare land ratio determination from a central–local relationship perspective. This study investigates how central–local government interactions shape public welfare land ratios in China’s land development process. Based on a comprehensive analysis of land expropriation data across different regions and administrative levels, we examine the spatial heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms of public welfare land allocation. The results reveal the following: (1) Significant regional variations exist for regional public welfare land ratios, with the national average public welfare land ratio reaching 41.21% in 2019 (for plots ≥4 hectares), varying from 39.60% in eastern regions to 44.93% in western regions. (2) Administrative hierarchy influences allocation patterns, with county-level cities (43.73%) showing higher proportions than provincial capitals (36.42%). (3) Local governments strategically use public welfare land development as an instrument to expand land-based fiscal resources by attracting investments and population. (4) Provincial governments serve as crucial intermediaries in central–local policy implementation, balancing central mandates with local conditions. This study contributes to the land governance literature by providing empirical evidence on how institutional arrangements affect land resource allocation. The findings suggest that establishing unified national standards while allowing provincial-level adaptations would improve the effectiveness of public welfare land policy in the post-land finance era, enhancing both governance efficiency and public welfare outcomes. Full article

Rapid urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa demands innovative land management strategies that promote sustainable, inclusive, and resilient urban development. This study investigates the potential of land readjustment (LR) to foster neighbourhood-scale social–ecological urban resilience (SEUR) through a case study of the Nunga LR project in Kigali, Rwanda. Grounded in the social–ecological system (SES) theory and operationalised through the social–ecological land readjustment model for resilient neighbourhoods, the research evaluates LR practices against an integrated benchmark framework combining LR aspects, neighbourhood design standards, and resilience attributes. The study uses secondary data, project shapefiles, and key informant interviews to assess how Rwanda’s emerging LR model contributes to resilient neighbourhood development. Findings demonstrate strong community mobilisation and adaptive governance capacity. However, critical resilience dimensions—including modularity, green infrastructure integration, land-use diversity, and adaptive feedback mechanisms—were only partially operationalised. Consequently, while LR improved spatial formalisation and basic infrastructure provision, it fell short of creating a truly resilient, multifunctional neighbourhood ecosystem. These findings highlight the need to reframe LR from a purely technical land management tool into a systemic resilience-building mechanism. Policy recommendations include mandating green/blue infrastructure in LR plans, establishing innovative financing mechanisms, institutionalising adaptive monitoring, strengthening affordability safeguards, and promoting multifunctional spatial layouts. The study contributes to urban resilience and land governance scholarship by offering a context-sensitive, empirically tested model for integrating SEUR principles into LR practice in rapidly urbanising African cities. Future research should pursue longitudinal analyses and dynamics modelling of land readjustment impacts to deepen understanding of urban resilience pathways in the Global South. Full article

Subsidized, decent, and durable housing is a persistent issue for South Africa’s urban areas. Social housing is one of the most important instruments for addressing the situation, yet structural barriers such as land prices, bureaucracy, and governance pose a challenge to forward momentum. This study provides a qualitative examination of social housing in Durban, Cape Town, and Johannesburg on the basis of three dimensions: effectiveness of governance, land accessibility, and practice of sustainability. It is evident that land acquisition is still a great hindrance due to private stakeholder opposition, complex rezoning processes, and speculative ownership of land. Institutional systems within the three cities are characterized by poor intergovernmental coordination, a lack of transparency in land disposition, and lengthy project approval. Johannesburg has seen extensive transit-oriented development, while Cape Town is more advanced in sustainability initiatives, albeit with a resource constraint, and Durban’s human-scale housing types suffer from finance and technical capacity challenges. This study underscores the need for interlinked policy changes to bridge the inefficiencies in governance, facilitate land accessibility, and enhance the incentives of sustainability. An across-the-board data-driven process involving government authorities, private builders, and civil society stakeholders is indispensable in advocating effective and sustainable urban housing strategies for South Africa. Full article

Modern cities are rapidly evolving in terms of urban morphology, driven by exponential population growth that accelerates the urbanisation process. The changes in land use have increased urban area and density, intensifying the urban heat island (UHI) effect, which poses one of the biggest threats to human health and well-being, especially in metropolitan regions. One of the most effective strategies to counter urban heat is the implementation of green infrastructure and the use of suitable building materials that help reduce heat stress. However, access to green spaces and the affordability of efficient building materials are not the same among citizens. This paper aims to identify the socio-economic characteristics of communities in Melbourne, Australia, that contribute to their vulnerability to urban heat under local conditions. This study employs remote sensing and geographical information systems (GIS) to conduct a macro-scale analysis, to investigate the correlation between urban heat patterns and socio-economic characteristics, taking into account factors such as vegetation cover, built-up areas, and land use types. The results from the satellite images and the geospatial data reveal that Deer Park, located in the western suburbs of Melbourne, has the highest land surface temperature (LST) at 32.54 °C, a UHI intensity of 1.84 °C, a normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) of 0.11, and a normalised difference moisture index (NDMI) of −0.081. The LST and UHI intensity indicate a strong negative correlation with the NDVI (r = −0.42) and NDMI (r = −0.6). In contrast, the NDVI and NDMI have a positive correlation with the index of economic resources (IER) with r values of 0.29 and 0.24, indicating that the areas with better finance resources tend to have better vegetation coverage or plant health with less water stress, leading to lower LST and UHI intensity. This study helps to identify the most critical areas in the Greater Melbourne region that are vulnerable to the risk of urban heat and extreme heat events, providing insights for the local city councils to develop effective mitigation strategies and urban development policies that promote a more sustainable and liveable community. Full article

Land serves as a crucial repository of resource elements, and enhancing the green use efficiency of urban land (GUEUL) is essential for attaining sustainable development. Based on 296 cities in China from 2006 to 2022, this study explored the relationship between land system innovation and GUEUL by integrating multi-source data, ArcGIS analysis, the EBM-DEA model, and the DID model, and elucidating the temporal trend and spatial utilization characteristics of GUEUL in China. Based on the natural experimental scenario of the pilot reform of China’s urban construction land use approval system, this study finds through in-depth analysis of the double-difference model that the vertical transfer of land approval authority has fundamentally optimized the development pattern of GUEUL, and that this positive impact is mainly reflected in two dimensions: on the one hand, it reduces the systematic transaction costs, and on the other hand, it enhances the density of industrial spatial agglomeration. Second, the lower the initial level of infrastructure and the lower the degree of dependence on land finance, the more significant the decentralization of land approval power in the promotion of GUEUL. Currently, China is undergoing a swift phase of urbanization and industrialization, and this study provides policy support for improving the comprehensive efficiency of green land use and promoting high-quality and sustainable development of the region. Full article

Urban land marketization is a strategy to alleviate land resource misallocation caused by government intervention, but there has been a debate regarding its effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions. This study examines the impact of market-oriented allocation of land resources on carbon emissions using panel data from 284 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2021. The results indicate four findings: (1) Urban land marketization can effectively reduce both the total carbon emission and carbon emission intensity, especially in the central and western cities, non-provincial capital cities, and resource-dependent cities. (2) Promoting land financing, expanding trade openness, and stimulating entrepreneurship are all significant mechanisms for the carbon emission reduction effect of urban land marketization. (3) As per capita income and environmental regulation increase, the impacts of land marketization on carbon emissions are nonlinear. (4) Surrounding cities’ carbon emissions are not mitigated due to administrative border barriers and regional protectionism. This paper sheds light on the role of land marketization in carbon emission reduction and thus provides practical policy implications for promoting economic transition and low-carbon development. Full article

Land-based financing plays an essential role in urbanization in the developing world, and it is widely recognized to have profound environmental effects. However, there have been relatively few research endeavors on the impact of land finance on vegetation dynamics. This study applies fixed effects models and an instrumental variable approach to examine the impact of land finance on vegetation status and mechanisms of influence, using data for 286 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2022. The nonlinear relationship between land finance and vegetation conditions at different levels of economic development is investigated by estimating panel threshold models. The findings show that land finance exerts an inhibiting impact on vegetation conditions. The restraining effect of land finance on vegetation status tends to be more pronounced in western China or in secondary industry-led cities. The analysis of mechanisms of influence indicates that land finance negatively affects vegetation conditions by speeding up urban expansion, suppressing innovation, reducing land use efficiency, and distorting the fiscal expenditure structure. The analysis of the threshold effect suggests that land finance exerts a stronger curbing effect on vegetation status as the economic development level rises. The findings have significant policy implications for deepening reform of the fiscal system and promoting vegetation protection and restoration. Full article

The compensated withdrawal of rural homesteads can revitalize idle land resources, which is of significant importance for both farmers and rural development in China. Drawing upon data from the China Land Economic Survey 2022, this study uncovers the impact of participation in social security on farmers’ willingness of homestead withdrawal, as well as its mediating factor. The main conclusions are as follows. First, participation in social security can increase farmers’ willingness of homestead withdrawal. This conclusion has passed robustness tests. Second, facilitating entrepreneurial activities is an important mediating factor through which participation in social security increases the willingness of homestead withdrawal. Third, rural entrepreneurship training and finance accessibility can both have a positive moderating influence on the positive relationship between participation in social security and the willingness of homestead withdrawal. Fourth, for farmers who experienced significant negative events in their households, the enhancing effect of social security participation on their willingness of homestead withdrawal is diminished, while for farmers engaging in farmland transfer-out, the enhancing effect of social security participation on their willingness of homestead withdrawal is strengthened. This study provides policy implications for China in promoting the exit of rural farmers from homesteads through social security policies, thus achieving rural revitalization. Full article

A digital infrastructure has the potential to mitigate the digital exclusion in rural areas, offering a pathway to alleviate the financial vulnerability of rural households. This paper investigates the impact of the Broadband China pilot policy—an important government initiative—on rural household financial vulnerability, utilizing data from five waves of the China family panel studies (CFPS) spanning from 2012 to 2020. By leveraging the quasi-natural experiment provided by the Broadband China initiative, this study makes a novel contribution to understanding how a digital infrastructure affects financial sustainability in rural households. The findings show that the Broadband China pilot policy significantly reduces rural household financial vulnerability, with particularly strong effects on female-headed households, spousal-headed households, and those in regions with a limited traditional or advanced digital finance infrastructure. Further analysis reveals that a digital infrastructure enhances rural household financial resilience by increasing land transfer opportunities through an ‘income effect’ and by fostering non-farm employment and financial literacy through a ‘security effect’. This paper contributes to the literature by shedding light on the specific mechanisms through which a digital infrastructure enhances the financial sustainability of rural households and offers valuable insights into policies aimed at bridging the rural–urban divide. Full article