Under the background that economy and urbanization of China are gradually entering the stage of high-quality development, clarifying the influence of economic development on urban livability is of significant academic and practical value. In this paper, regarded as one “factor”, livability was introduced into the research framework of production function, and a theoretical model of the impact of economic development on urban livability was established. Based on the panel data of 40 cities in China from 2005 to 2019, the System GMM, panel threshold model and other methods were further adopted to carry out an empirical analysis. The results show that: (1) The livability level of large and medium-sized cities in China from 2005 to 2019 has been rising generally, but they present obvious characteristics of dimensional and spatial differentiation. (2) In general, economic development has an inhibiting effect on the improvement of urban livability, but this logical effect shows obvious heterogeneity in different time periods and diverse city scales. This inhibitory effect is more significant for the cities before entering the new normal phase of economy, and large-scale municipalities and economically-developed provincial capitals (namely Class-A cities). (3) There are significant threshold effects in the impact of economic development on urban livability, where the threshold variables are income level and economic development. With the increase of city dwellers’ income, this effect presents an inverted N-shaped nonlinear feature. When the development of economy makes the average wage of employees between 60,000 and 80,000 yuan, economic development can significantly improve urban livability. Also, there is a significant single threshold inhibitory effect when economic development is taken as a threshold variable. However, its negative impact shows a law of diminishing marginal efficiency. In addition, a similar threshold effect is found in smaller-scale Class-B cities. The findings of this research can provide some insights for urban planners and policymakers in both China and vast developing countries to understand better the relationship between economic development and urban livability. Finally, according to the research findings, we proposed the corresponding policy enlightenment from both “macro guidance” and “micro action”.
Rural decline has become a global problem. To address this issue, the division of rural functions and identification of driving factors are important means of rural revitalization. Taking the town area as a unit, this study conducts a division and evolution analysis of rural regional functions in Jiangsu province in coastal China by constructing an evaluation system using the spatial econometric model to diagnose endogenous and exogenous driving factors of rural multifunction formation. The results show that the functions of agricultural supply and ecological conservation have decreased, while the functions of economic development and social security have increased. Agricultural production functions are concentrated in northern and central Jiangsu. The economic development function is mainly based on industrial development, and is the strongest in southern Jiangsu. Social security functions are concentrated in suburban area, county centers, and key towns. High-value areas of ecological conservation are concentrated along lakes, the coast, and hilly areas of southern Jiangsu. The multifunctional development of villages and towns is affected by endogenous and exogenous factors, including economic geographic location, natural resources, economic foundation, human capital, traffic conditions, market demand, infrastructure, and environmental governance. Natural factors have a significant impact on the supply of agricultural products and the formation of ecological conservation functions. The effects of socioeconomic factors on these four functions differ significantly. This study expands the theory of rural development functions, the classification and zoning paradigm, and the quantitative study of driving mechanisms. The results provide a reference for practical value and policy significance for the reconstruction of rural functions and rural revitalization.
The two concepts of “liudong renkou (floating population or FP)” and “renkou liudong (mobility of the floating population or MOFP)”, along with relevant data based on these two concepts, have long been used extensively in China’s research and policy making, playing a central role in Chinese studies of migration. Unlike the concepts of “migrant” and “migration” in the international literature, which are focused on people’s spatial mobility, “liudong renkou” and “renkou liudong” are identified and measured by the separation of one’s place of residence from one’s place of household registration (hukou), an approach inconsistent with relevant international practices. By analyzing various census data and data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS), this article examines the validity and reliability of these two concepts and the data based on them in the international context, revealing that they have become increasingly invalid and unreliable for the purpose of measuring migration events since China’s reform and opening up in the late 1970s. The results further demonstrate that these two concepts and the data based on them have become increasingly detached from real migration events and processes. They may become invalid by overestimating the volume of the mobile population, ineffective due to systematic omission of certain mobile populations (such as urban-urban migrants), or misleading as to the changing direction of migration flows. In addition, data on the floating population cannot be used to calculate migration rates and are not comparable in the international context. The concepts of “liudong renkou” and “renkou liudong” and data based on these two concepts may still need to be used in China for a long period of time due to the continuing existence of the hukou system and its roles in the provision of public services, social welfare and social security. However, we argue that concepts, measurements, and methods of data collection in research on migration in China should be gradually shifted to and focused on migrations as spatial events; further, transition data, based on an individual’s residence five years ago and one year ago, should be gradually adopted as the main data source and included in the short form of future censuses; additionally, migration event data based on population registration and administrative records should be used more fully, so that China’s migration research can be conducted on the solid basis of valid and reliable data sources.
The rapid growth in the number of urban migrants in China has brought about a lack of housing for migrants. The housing preferences and factors influencing those for urban migrants in China are examined using data from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey (CMDS) conducted in 2017. This study demonstrates that urban migrants in China typically rent their homes and that factors such as household life cycle, education, hukou type, occupation, range and duration of movement, and social integration have a major impact on these decisions. Large households, high levels of education, accompanying family migration, marriage, non-agricultural hukou, employment in state-owned enterprises, and high levels of societal integration with local society all increase the likelihood that migrants will purchase houses. Migration-related housing decisions are significantly influenced by regional disparities in economic growth. Because housing is more expensive in the economically developed eastern areas than in the central and western regions, migrants there are less likely to be able to buy a home. To preserve the rights of migrants, local governments should progressively change their housing policies, and housing developers should pay closer attention to the trends and preferences of migrants in terms of housing choice.
The transition of human societies from high mobility to sedentary lifestyles had a profound impact on subsistence, technology, and the origin of civilization. Sedentism was influenced by various factors such as climate change, population growth, resource pressure, and technological innovation. The Tibetan Plateau, due to its alpine and hypoxic conditions, is an ideal region to study human adaptation to extreme environments. However, the prehistoric process of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau is unclear and the chronological sequence and driving mechanism of sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau are still controversial. Previous studies have focused on the diffusion of agriculture from low to high elevation areas, with little attention given to the role of animal resources in sedentism. Seasonality analysis using animal remains is crucial in determining whether a site was occupied year-round. To establish the seasonal calendar of animal resource utilization, it is recommended to create a database of skeletal morphology, whole genome, and proteome of contemporary Tibetan Plateau fauna to aid in the identification of animal remains from archaeological sites. Thus, intricate web of human-animal-environment relationship and the role of animal resources in human sedentism on the Tibetan Plateau can then be evaluated.
Despite recent progress in assessing future population exposure, few studies have focused on the exposure of certain vulnerable groups, such as working people. Working in hot environments can increase the heat-related risk to human health and reduce worker productivity, resulting in broad social and economic implications. Based on the daily climatic simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) and the age group-specific population projections, we investigate future changes in working-age population exposure to heat extremes under multiple scenarios at global and continental scales. Projections show little variability in exposure across scenarios by mid-century (2031-2060), whereas significantly greater increases occur under SSP3-7.0 for the late century (2071-2100) compared to lower-end emission scenarios. Global exposure is expected to increase approximately 2-fold, 6-fold and 16-fold relative to the historical time (1981-2010) under SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0, respectively. Asia will have the largest absolute exposure increase, while in relative terms, the most affected region is Africa. At the global level, future exposure increases are primarily caused by climate change and the combined effect of climate and working-age population changes. Climate change is the dominant driver in enhancing future continental exposure except in Africa, where the main contributor is the combined effect.
The degradation of ecosystem structure and function on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the result of a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, with landscape change driven by global change and human activities being one of the major ecological challenges facing the region. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystem services (ESs) and landscape patterns in eastern Qinghai province (EQHP) from 2000 to 2018 using multisource datasets and landscape indices. Three ecosystem service bundles (ESBs) were identified using the self-organizing map (SOM), and changes in ecosystem structure and function were analyzed through bundle-landscaped spatial combinations. The study also explored the interactions between ESs and natural and human factors using redundancy analysis (RDA). We revealed an increase in total ecosystem service in the EQHP from 1.59 in 2000 to 1.69 in 2018, with a significant change in landscape patterns driven by the conversion of unused land to grassland in the southwest. Forestland, grassland, and unused land were identified as important to the supply of ESs. In comparison to human activities, natural environmental factors were found to have a stronger impact on changes in ESs, with vegetation, meteorology, soil texture, and landscape composition being the main driving factors. However, the role of driving factors within different ESBs varied significantly. Exploring the response of ecosystem services to changes in landscape patterns can provide valuable insights for achieving sustainable ecological management and contribute to ecological restoration efforts.
Rivers in deserts present unique geographical features owing to aeolian-fluvial interactions. In this study, 510 surface sediment samples were gathered from eight watersheds to systematically examine the major element characteristics of riparian sand dunes in northern China deserts. The findings revealed that these dunes could be categorized into three primary zones: Type I, comprising Keriya, Tora, Heihe, and Langqu rivers in the west; Type II, featuring the Maquan River in the Tibetan Plateau; and Type III, including Mu Bulag, Kuye, and Xar Moron rivers in the east. Specifically, the Type III region is characterized by a limited fresh material supply, a relatively high Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), and the influence of nearby rivers on the provenance of riparian dunes, leading to a higher degree of chemical weathering than that of Type I in the west. Notably, Type II is marked by weak-moderate chemical weathering degree and a comparatively higher CIA value. These classifications and their difference of degree of chemical weathering are possibly governed by the type of parent rock and the availability of material. This research offers new insights into the classification of riparian dunes impacted by aeolian-fluvial interactions in arid regions of the northern China deserts. Furthermore, it provides valuable implications for studies focusing on the provenance of sediments.
Glaciers in the Tianshan Mountains are an essential water resource in Central Asia, and it is necessary to identify their variations at large spatial scales with high resolution. We combined optical and SAR images, based on several machine learning algorithms and ERA-5 land data provided by Google Earth Engine, to map and explore the glacier distribution and changes in the Tianshan in 2001, 2011, and 2021. Random forest was the best performing classifier, and the overall glacier area retreat rate showed acceleration from 0.87%/a to 1.49%/a, while among the sub-regions, Dzhungarsky Alatau, Central and Northern/Western Tianshan, and Eastern Tianshan showed a slower, stable, and sharp increase rates after 2011, respectively. Glacier retreat was more severe in the mountain periphery, low plains and valleys, with more area lost near the glacier equilibrium line. The sustained increase in summer temperatures was the primary driver of accelerated glacier retreat. Our work demonstrates the advantage and reliability of fusing multisource images to map glacier distributions with high spatial and temporal resolutions using Google Earth Engine. Its high recognition accuracy helped to conduct more accurate and time-continuous glacier change studies for the study area.
