Search Results (7)

Since the early 21st century, urban shrinkage has become a significant global phenomenon. Dongguan, in Guangdong Province, China, is known as a “world factory”. It experienced notable urban shrinkage following the 2008 financial crisis. However, the city demonstrated remarkable recovery and ongoing development in subsequent years. On that basis, this study focuses on the following three points: (1) identifying the spatiotemporal factors contributing to the growth and shrinkage of manufacturing cities, taking Dongguan as an example; (2) explaining the influencing factors of the growth and shrinkage of Dongguan City during three critical periods, 2008–2014 (post-crisis), 2015–2019 (as machinery replaced human work), and 2020–2023 (the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery); and (3) selecting representative towns and streets for on-site observation and investigation, analyzing the measures they have taken to cope with growth and shrinkage during different periods. The key findings include the following: (1) The spatial dynamics of growth and shrinkage in Dongguan show significant temporal patterns, with traditional manufacturing areas shrinking from 2008 to 2014, central urban areas recovering from 2015 to 2019, and renewed shrinkage from 2020 to 2023. However, some regions maintained stability through strategic innovations. (2) Various factors, particularly industrial upgrading and technological innovation, drove the urban dynamics, enhancing economic resilience. (3) The case study of Houjie Town revealed successful adaptive mechanisms supported by policy while facing challenges like labor mismatches and inadequate R&D investment. This research offers insights for improving urban resilience and promoting sustainable development in Dongguan. Full article

Urban regeneration is pivotal to sustainable development, requiring innovative strategies that align social dynamics with spatial configurations. Traditional paradigms increasingly fail to tackle systemic challenges—neighborhood alienation, social fragmentation, and resource inequality—due to their inability to integrate human-centered spatial governance. This study addresses these shortcomings with a novel multidimensional framework that merges social perception (life satisfaction) analytics with spatial quality (GIS-based) assessment. At its core, we utilize geospatial and machine learning models, deploying an ensemble of Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT), Random Forest (RF), and multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) to decode nonlinear socio-spatial interactions within Suzhou’s community environmental matrix. Our findings reveal critical intersections where residential density thresholds interact with commercial accessibility patterns and transport network configurations. Notably, we highlight the scale-dependent influence of educational proximity and healthcare distribution on community satisfaction, challenging conventional planning doctrines that rely on static buffer-zone models. Through rigorous spatial econometric modeling, this research uncovers three transformative insights: (1) Urban environment exerts a dominant influence on life satisfaction, accounting for 52.61% of the variance. Air quality emerges as a critical determinant, while factors such as proximity to educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and public landmarks exhibit nonlinear effects across spatial scales. (2) Housing price growth in Suzhou displays significant spatial clustering, with a Moran’s I of 0.130. Green space coverage positively correlates with price appreciation (β = 21.6919 ***), whereas floor area ratio exerts a negative impact (β = −4.1197 ***), highlighting the trade-offs between density and property value. (3) The MGWR model outperforms OLS in explaining housing price dynamics, achieving an R² of 0.5564 and an AICc of 11,601.1674. This suggests that MGWR captures 55.64% of pre- and post-pandemic price variations while better reflecting spatial heterogeneity. By merging community-expressed sentiment mapping with morphometric urban analysis, this interdisciplinary research pioneers a protocol for socio-spatial integrated urban transitions—one where algorithmic urbanism meets human-scale needs, not technological determinism. These findings recalibrate urban regeneration paradigms, demonstrating that data-driven socio-spatial integration is not a theoretical aspiration but an achievable governance reality. Full article

Sludge generation as an organic by-product of wastewater treatment has seen a consistent increase worldwide due to population growth and industrial activities. This poses a chronic challenge regarding management options and environmental concerns. The agricultural valorization of unconventional organic materials has become inevitable, especially in semi-arid and arid countries that suffer from depleted soils and shortages in farm manure supply. High-income countries have also been interested in this recycling practice to mitigate landfilling or incineration issues. Sewage and some industrial sludges contain a complex mixture of beneficial and harmful substances, which varies with the origin of effluents. Therefore, sludge land application should be well managed in order to achieve sustainable agro-environmental goals. This review paper focuses on different aspects related to sludge reuse in agriculture, starting by investigating the diversity of sludge types and composition. In addition to the preponderant urban sewage sludge, the less-studied industrial sludges, such as those generated from pulp and paper mills or gas-to-liquid industries, are hereby addressed as well. Then, post-land application effects are discussed in relation to sludge quality, dose, and reuse conditions. The present paper also examines the disparities between guidelines that determine sludge conformity for land application in various countries or regions. Accordingly, special attention is given to increasing risks related to emerging pollutants in sludge such as pharmaceuticals, which have been overused since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. This exhaustive investigation will assist the establishment of sustainable strategies for the safe agricultural reuse of biosolids. Full article

This paper aims to examine the responses of commercial real estate markets to COVID-19 and the implications for post-pandemic cities. Using data of Florida’s metropolitan areas in a fixed effect regression model, we find that sales volumes of retail properties decline instantly under the shock of COVID-19 but are followed by a strong recovery after one quarter. Meanwhile, COVID-19 depresses the growth rate of rent for office property, but the impact is short-term, and the office rental market bounces back to about 70 percent one quarter later. In comparison, industrial properties witness a rise in the growth rate of sales and rent price. Results indicate that urban planners may consider adjusting the amount of lands allocated to different usages to meet the evolving demands of urban space in the post-pandemic era. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to gain an insight into commuting and travel mode choices in the post-COVID-19 era. The surveys are divided into two waves in Qingdao, China: the first-wave questionnaires were collected under the background of a three-month zero growth of cases; the second wave was implemented after the new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The latent class nested logit (LCNL) model is applied to capture heterogeneous characteristics among the various classes. The results indicate that age, income, household composition, and the frequency of use of travel modes are latent factors that impact users’ attitudes toward mass transit and the private car nests when undergoing the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals’ trepidation regarding health risks began to fade, but this is still a vital consideration in terms of mode choice and the purchase of vehicles. Moreover, economic reinvigoration, the increase in car ownership, and an increase in the desire to purchase a car may result in great challenges for urban traffic networks. Full article

COVID-19 has brought about a substantial change in urban mobility, as well as an unprecedented increase in e-commerce throughout the world due to the emergence of new ways of shopping and consumption habits. In this context, urban logistics plays a crucial role in the triple bottom line of sustainability. The present document establishes a holistic vision of the problem aiming to (i) measure and compare the traffic generated in the Madrid Central area (low-emission zone) during the periods before and after the pandemic, and (ii) quantify e-commerce orders made by residents, as well as the Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) required to deliver these parcels, measuring their environmental impact. The results show that road traffic in the Madrid Central area decreased by approximately 2/3 compared to normal levels and 1/2 in the case of LCVs. With regards to e-commerce, the number of parcels delivered doubled. This fact entailed an increase in the number of LVCs dedicated to package delivery in the central district and more pollution, but to a lesser extent than the growth of e-commerce. The challenge faced by urban logistics in the post-Covid era is managing to blend new mobility within large cities with the high volumes of e-commerce deliveries demanded by residents. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has made many urban policymakers, planners, and scholars, all around the globe, rethink conventional, neoliberal growth strategies of cities. The trend of rapid urbanization, particularly around capital cities, has been questioned, and alternative growth models and locations have been the subjects of countless discussions. This is particularly the case for the Australian context: The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the debates in urban circles on post-pandemic urban growth strategies and boosting the growth of towns and cities across regional Australia is a popular alternative strategy. While some scholars argue that regional Australia poses an invaluable opportunity for post-pandemic growth by ‘taking off the pressure from the capital cities’; others warn us about the risks of growing regional towns and cities without carefully designed national, regional, and local planning, design, and development strategies. Superimposing planning and development policies meant for metropolitan cities could simply result in transferring the ills of capital cities to regions and exacerbate unsustainable development and heightened socioeconomic inequalities. This opinion piece, by keeping both of these perspectives in mind, explores approaches to regional community and economic development of Australia’s towns and cities, along with identifying sustainable urban growth locations in the post-pandemic era. It also offers new insights that could help re-shape the policy debate on regional growth and development. Full article