Search Results (11,612)

Rapid urbanization and the resulting concentration of economic activity pose a growing challenge to sustainable regional development. In this paper, we examine how the spatial distribution of population shapes regional income dynamics in Korea, one of the most spatially concentrated economies. We develop a spatial dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model incorporating endogenous total factor productivity (TFP) growth and forward-looking migration decisions. Calibrating the model to seven Korean economic areas over 1995–2023, we decompose the observed breakdown of regional income convergence into the contributions of migration, capital accumulation, and TFP. We find that migration’s contribution reversed from supporting convergence to driving divergence in the mid-2000s, following an earlier reversal in TFP’s own contribution. Capital accumulation, by contrast, shifted toward supporting convergence over the same period, offsetting the divergence driven by migration and productivity. These findings suggest that policies narrowing regional productivity disparities may be better positioned to address spatial polarization than those targeting population mobility alone, underscoring the importance of productivity-based interventions for sustainable regional development. Full article

Over recent decades, housing affordability challenges have become increasingly complex as a result of economic and social transformations affecting access to adequate housing. Alongside traditionally vulnerable groups, new population segments have emerged that face increasing difficulties in accessing the housing market despite not qualifying for public housing programmes. Against this background, the progressive reduction in public resources has made it necessary to adopt alternative intervention models capable of mobilising private capital without compromising social equity objectives. Accordingly, Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly regarded as suitable instruments for supporting social housing interventions, although significant challenges remain in balancing affordability objectives and financial viability. Rather than proposing a new financial appraisal model, this study develops a planning-oriented scenario-based decision-support framework that supports the comparative evaluation of alternative Public–Private Partnership (PPP) configurations for affordability-oriented urban regeneration. Financial appraisal is integrated as one component of a broader planning and housing policy decision-support process. The methodology is applied to a case study in Southern Italy, in a district characterised by settlement criticalities, unmet housing demand, and limited public resources. The case study illustrates how scenario-based comparative appraisal can support planning and housing policy decisions by identifying the governance and implementation conditions under which affordability objectives and financial feasibility can be jointly pursued. Full article

Urban regeneration has become a central focus in global urban studies, increasingly linked to the dual imperatives of sustainability and urban resilience. According to Christopher Alexander’s theories of living structure and pattern language, traditional built environments emerge through progressive adaptation rather than top-down design. Moreover, historic urban fabrics evolve through continuous refinement of spatial solutions that simultaneously respond to environmental, functional, and social needs. Therefore, this study situates urban regeneration within a theoretical framework that recognizes traditional settlements as complex adaptive systems rather than static heritage. Chinese urban villages (Chengzhongcun) and Spanish Suelo Urbano no Consolidado (SUNC, Unconsolidated Urban Land) areas represent two contrasting forms of urban socio-spatial systems engulfed by urban expansion, both characterized by dense, historically rooted morphologies and incomplete infrastructure. As Chinese urban villages shift from a demolition–reconstruction model toward more sustainable regeneration approaches, this study compares Beijing’s Cuigezhuang and Málaga’s El Perchel through spatial analysis and stakeholder surveys. Alexander would argue that the demolition–reconstruction model disrupts the evolutionary processes that generate coherent urban fabrics. The research evaluates how differing planning systems foster or constrain sustainable development and social-spatial resilience in regeneration processes. Urban resilience is explicitly defined here as the capacity of urban communities and spatial structures to adapt to change, withstand pressures, and maintain social cohesion, accessibility, and local identity, while ecological and economic resilience are not measured in this study. Findings demonstrate that Spain’s incremental, participatory approach—anchored in Planes Especiales de Reforma Interior (PERI, special plans for inner urban renewal) and land readjustment (equitable distribution of costs and benefits) mechanisms—significantly outperforms China’s state-led demolition-based model in supporting long-term sustainability, heritage integrity, community cohesion, and spatial continuity. Spain’s legally embedded participation and in situ rehabilitation strategies offer transferable lessons for China’s evolving sustainable and resilience-oriented regeneration paradigm. Full article

Urban sustainability is a critical objective for rapidly growing cities in the Gulf region, particularly in balancing environmental protection, social equity, economic development, and effective governance. Riyadh has undergone extensive urban expansion, producing diverse neighbourhoods ranging from high-income, modern master-planned communities to older and denser middle to low-income areas. These socio-spatial shifts prompt questions about whether sustainability performance differs across neighbourhoods with different resident income profiles and whether wealthier neighbourhoods necessarily exhibit higher sustainability performance. This study investigates the relationship between resident income level and urban sustainability in Riyadh by comparing the sustainability profiles of high-income and middle-income neighbourhoods using a multidimensional framework. Quantitative indicators derived from international sustainability assessment models were applied to the Riyadh context. The methodology integrated expert-based weighting, neighbourhood-level indicator assessment, and Sustainability Index calculations to evaluate performance. The findings show that the high-income neighbourhood achieved a higher overall Sustainability Index, mainly due to stronger environmental and social quality. However, the middle-income neighbourhood demonstrated notable sustainability potential through economic resilience, civic engagement, and community participation. The study concludes that differences in neighbourhood sustainability profiles are associated not only with resident income level, but also with urban form, behaviour, governance, and resource-use characteristics. Full article

Urban green space supply (UGSS) is a core component of territorial spatial planning, and the advancement of the park city initiative has been temporally associated with a systematic transformation. Differentiation in UGSS is a comprehensive issue concerning ecological environment, public welfare, and high-quality urban development, and it is closely related to the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.7. This study employs a comprehensive approach combining spatiotemporal dynamic analysis (Mann–Kendall trend test and Theil–Sen slope estimation), differentiation measures (Gini coefficient and Theil index), and the explainable machine learning SHAP model to conduct a large-sample empirical analysis of 1760 towns in China from 2015 to 2024. The findings show the following: First, park city construction corresponds to notable spatiotemporal evolution of UGSS in China’s towns, with approximately 85% of towns showing a significant rise. Second, park city construction coincides with a reduction in differentiation in both the outcomes and processes of UGSS in China’s towns, with both the Gini coefficient and Theil index declining to varying degrees. An analysis of the Theil index further confirms that the observed changes in the Theil index are more pronounced in disadvantaged towns, and the differentiation in UGSS originates more from intra-regional disparities than from inter-regional gaps. Third, the differentiation in UGSS shows deep structural correlates, with the associations of socio-economic and natural ecological factors exhibiting various complex nonlinear associations such as inverted U-shape, arc shape, U-shape, and wave shape. These associations are specifically manifested as mixed directionality of associations, hierarchical intensity of associations, threshold-based evolutionary pathways, geographic spatial heterogeneity, and interactive relationships among factors. This study recommends that the policy design of park city construction and green space system planning should promptly establish a new model combining situational response, threshold management, and collaborative governance. The nonlinear and interpretable analytical paradigm constructed in this study holds significant value for achieving precise supply and equitable sharing of green space resources. Full article

This review examines how smart city technologies have influenced health equity in urban settings between 2019 and 2026, guided by a dual-lens framework that assesses both equity-related outcomes and the systemic factors enabling or constraining their realization. As cities increasingly turn to digital tools to strengthen healthcare delivery, it remains unclear whether these interventions narrow or widen existing health disparities. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature spanning public health, urban informatics, and digital governance, this synthesis finds that smart health initiatives have improved healthcare access for some underserved populations, but their overall effect on health equity remains modest, inconsistent, and highly dependent on local context. Persistent structural obstacles, including digital divides, socio-economic inequality, and fragmented governance, continue to limit equitable implementation, while institutional barriers emerge as the most widespread challenge. Conversely, people-centered design, participatory governance, inclusive digital infrastructure, and equity-sensitive policy frameworks stand out as critical enablers of more just outcomes. The review further identifies an underexplored link between environmental sustainability and smart city technology, showing that AI-driven tools addressing emissions and urban environmental quality can indirectly support more equitable health systems. Overall, the findings underscore that technological innovation alone is insufficient; realizing the equity potential of smart cities requires deliberate integration of social justice, environmental sustainability, and collaborative governance into digital health strategy and practice. Full article

Educational accessibility plays a central role in achieving spatial equity, yet most existing studies remain confined to single-municipality analyses and are heavily concentrated on highly urbanized metropolitan areas, offering little understanding of how different urban, peri-urban, and rural settings shape access to basic education. This study provides a province-wide grid-based assessment of school accessibility across Hubei, China. The accessibility analysis was conducted at a 1 km grid resolution, while the distribution of school-age population was incorporated later to evaluate inequality. Municipalities are compared using two complementary indicators: population-weighted travel distance and the Gini coefficient, capturing both accessibility levels and spatial equity. Results reveal strong spatial heterogeneity: the eastern and central plains have much shorter school travel distances than the western mountainous region. Notably, some highly urbanized municipalities achieve very short average travel distances but also display substantial internal inequalities. A two-dimensional efficiency–equity typology further highlights four distinct municipal patterns, from high-quality accessibility to dual disadvantage. Geodetector analysis identifies the key socio-economic factors shaping these spatial imbalances. These findings underscore the need for differentiated policy strategies responding to the unique spatial and socio-economic conditions of each municipality. Full article

Post-earthquake fire, also referred to as fire following earthquake (FFE), can cause severe urban damage, particularly where detailed empirical fire-spread records are unavailable. This study derives a simulation-informed regional regression relationship between covering volume fraction (CVF) and fire-burned ratio for screening-level assessment in Pohang, South Korea, and integrates it into an existing static FFE risk-assessment framework. A total of 6604 dynamic fire-spread simulations were generated by varying the composition and assignment of four fire-resistance categories within the fixed GIS geometry of Region H. Building spacing, street form, wind direction, wind speed, relative humidity, and fire-spread duration were not independently varied; all calibration simulations used an NNW wind direction, a wind speed of 6.4 m/s, a relative humidity of 40%, and a fire-spread duration of 3 h. For the matched benchmark zones A, H, and J, the proposed relationship yielded relative differences of 0.21%, 19.31%, and 6.35%, respectively, relative to the TFD-based benchmark simulations. These comparisons are reported as simulation-informed matched-zone benchmarking within the same modeling framework and should not be interpreted as independent real-event or cross-city validation. From a sustainability perspective, the framework can support disaster-risk-informed urban planning by prioritizing districts for detailed analysis and mitigation, although environmental, social, and economic benefits were not quantified directly. Full article

Water management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions (ASARs), specifically in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, has historically relied on large-scale, centralized systems that have successfully expanded potable water access. However, their high energy intensity, escalating operating costs, and limited flexibility amid increasing climate variability have raised concerns about their long-term sustainability. In this context, decentralized water systems (DWSs), including rainwater harvesting (RWH), greywater reuse (GWR), and hybrid rainwater–greywater systems (HRGSs), offer promising solutions to reduce pressure on centralized infrastructure, enhance dry-season water availability, and mitigate urban flooding risks. Despite their strategic relevance, a comprehensive sustainability assessment framework tailored to GCC conditions remains insufficiently developed. To address this gap, a systematic review of literature indexed in Scopus, Engineering Village, and Google Scholar was conducted. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were critically analyzed to identify prevailing assessment approaches and recurring sustainability dimensions. Building on these findings, this study proposes a regionally tailored, multi-criteria sustainability framework designed specifically for GCC contexts. The proposed framework integrates five core dimensions, including technical, environmental, economic, social, and political–institutional, comprising 14 indicators and four sub-indicators. To refine and validate the framework, a two-round Delphi technique was conducted. A total of 102 experts from GCC member states were invited, of whom 43 participated in the first round, and 25 completed the second round. The results demonstrated strong consensus regarding the relevance and applicability of the selected indicators, with particular emphasis on technical and environmental dimensions. Notably, the lack of agreement on equal weighting in the first round justified the adoption of a ranking-based weighting approach in the second round, enabling a more realistic representation of expert consensus. The final DWS index, developed using a hierarchical multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, integrates criterion weights, indicator weights, and performance scores into a single composite metric. The results indicate that HRGSs achieved the highest overall performance (55.00), followed closely by GWR (54.76) and RWH (54.20). Overall, the proposed framework provides a robust and context-specific tool to support sustainability assessment and inform policy development for DWSs in the GCC region. Full article

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer promising opportunities for distributed wind energy harvesting owing to their low-speed responsiveness, structural flexibility, and adaptability to non-stationary airflow. This review examines wind-driven TENGs from the perspective of realistic wind-field constraints, focusing on three representative scenarios: urban micro-winds, offshore wind–wave environments, and low-altitude complex flows. Scenario-specific advances in device architectures, materials and interfaces, environmental protection, power management, and system integration are systematically reviewed. Representative devices are further quantitatively compared in terms of wind-speed range, activation threshold, electrical output, power density, durability, and system-level energy delivery. Particular attention is given to inconsistent definitions of cut-in wind speed, output normalization, electrical loading, and validation conditions that limit cross-study comparison. Field-validation evidence is assessed from controlled laboratory tests to long-term field operation. Key challenges involving usable regulated energy, environmental reliability, lifetime prediction, array scaling, sustainability, and deployment economics are critically discussed. Finally, five grand challenges with actionable milestones are proposed to facilitate the transition of wind-driven TENGs from laboratory prototypes toward deployable distributed micro-energy systems. Full article

The European Union has set an ambitious goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, and 90% reduction by 2040, through its Green Deal policy. A promising solution to this challenge lies in the adoption of Fifth-Generation District Heating Networks (5GDHNs) that operate at low temperatures, collecting and distributing heat from diverse sources (energy geostructures, asphalt pavement solar thermal collectors, industrial waste heat and waste heat from buildings’ cooling plants). The system’s design allows for heat storage underground, primarily during summer months, with distribution occurring via pipelines during winter. As part of the REHEAT project, a study has been conducted focusing on a simulation model developed using TRNSYS software. This model incorporates solar thermal collectors installed beneath the parking area asphalt pavements as a thermal energy source, coupled with a borehole thermal energy storage system. The setup is designed to meet the heating and cooling demands of a multiplex cinema situated in Northern Italy. The study presents the optimization of the system, reporting the monthly and annual data on energy balances and system efficiency. The findings demonstrate significant energy savings when compared to traditional heating and cooling systems (50.6% non-renewable primary energy reduction) and even greater CO₂ emission reduction (63.2%). Also, the economic analysis reveals positive results both from the point of view of operating costs and taking into account investment costs, highlighting the potential of 5GDHN as a sustainable solution for urban energy needs for a real case as the main novelty of this study. Full article

As a major economic corridor and ecological barrier in China, the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) has experienced substantial land-use changes that have significantly influenced regional landscape patterns and sustainability. However, the long-term evolution of landscape patterns and their driving mechanisms remain insufficiently understood, particularly considering the spatial heterogeneity among different regions. Based on land-use datasets from 1993 to 2023, this study integrated land-use transfer analysis, grid-based landscape metrics, and the Geodetector model to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of landscape patterns and their driving factors across the YREB. The results showed that cultivated land decreased from 34.63% to 32.78%, forest land increased from 51.51% to 52.36%, and built-up land expanded from 1.36% to 3.61%. Rapid urban expansion was the primary driver of landscape pattern change, leading to increased fragmentation and landscape complexity. Significant regional differences were observed, with relatively stable landscape structures in the upper reaches, transitional changes in the middle reaches, and intensive landscape reorganization in the lower reaches. Both natural and socioeconomic factors influenced landscape evolution, while their interactions generally exerted stronger explanatory power than individual factors. These findings provide valuable support for ecological conservation, land-use optimization, and territorial spatial planning in the YREB. Full article

Existing state cadastral land valuation methodologies often focus exclusively on economic factors while ignoring geo-environmental hazards. This paper proposes a mechanism for incorporating seismic risk indicators and environmental degradation into the cadastral model to improve pricing accuracy. Using four cadastral blocks in the Bostandyk District of Almaty as a case study, the authors applied MAVT and AHP methods, integrating seismic microzonation data and satellite monitoring (Sentinel-2, Landsat 8) to calculate a comprehensive risk coefficient (Krisk). According to spatial analysis data, the presence of natural hazards serves as a valid criterion for reducing the cadastral valuation of vulnerable land plots by 20–45%. The proposed methodology ensures a balance between market valuation and environmental safety, representing a scalable tool for urban land management in seismically active zones. Full article

Urban energy transition requires the deployment of clean energy alongside technologies that lower the carbon intensity of urban economic activity. Yet the effect of climate-smart technology may change with the stage of technology diffusion. Using city-level data from 282 Chinese cities between 2010 and 2019, this study uses carbon emission intensity as an inverse indicator of urban energy transition, and tests whether climate-smart technology affects it linearly or in a stage-dependent manner. This study employs a fixed-effects specification, supplemented by exploratory channel and heterogeneity analyses. The results show a stage-dependent relationship with a turning point of 3.35, which lies 0.44 standard deviations below the mean. This indicates that while climate-smart technology constrains urban energy transition at low levels, it can facilitate transition once past this threshold, and positive effects prevail for most observations in our sample. The channel analyses suggest that energy intensity and climate attention may represent potential pathways associated with this shift. The heterogeneity results show that the non-linear pattern is more evident in non-resource-dependent cities and in cities excluded from the “Broadband China” pilot programme. These findings suggest that climate-smart technology supports the energy transition when digital diffusion is coordinated with energy efficiency improvements, cleaner infrastructure operations, and more precise environmental governance. Full article

In the context of the global implementation of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), urban green development serves as a core practical pathway to advance SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG15 (Life on Land). This study constructed a three-dimensional evaluation framework encompassing the green economy, green ecology, and green society, and utilized panel data from 282 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2009 to 2021. By integrating the CRITIC weighting method, spatial autocorrelation, the Standard Deviational Ellipse (SDE) approach, and the Dagum Gini decomposition, we systematically quantified multi-scale spatiotemporal evolution and disparity patterns at the national scale, as well as across four major economic zones and five core urban agglomerations. Nationwide, the composite green development index rose from 0.422 to 0.522 (+23.70%), while the overall Dagum Gini coefficient declined from 0.072 to 0.053 (−26.39%), with the spatial center of gravity gradually shifting toward the southwest. Eastern China persistently maintained the highest development level; Western China achieved the fastest cumulative growth (26.43%), and Northeastern China lagged behind with the lowest growth rate (20.10%). Among five major urban agglomerations, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Pearl River Delta (PRD) shared an identical average score of 0.582, whereas the Chengdu–Chongqing (CC) agglomeration recorded the highest growth of 33.07%. This research contributes multi-scale empirical evidence for localized SDG implementation in China and provides differentiated policy insights for cross-regional green transition governance. Full article