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Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 12232

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Wei Sun

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Guest Editor

Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Interests: regional development and planning; regional spatial growth management; sustainable development of watersheds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Zhaoyuan Yu

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Guest Editor

School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210000, China
Interests: geographical modelling; geographical information system; regional coupled systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Kun Yu

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Guest Editor

Institute of Germplasm Resources and Biotechnology, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China
Interests: land use and land cover change; coast zone environment; shoreline and water quality change; arid and semi-arid area vegetation change; water resource management; agricultural remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Weiyang Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Urban & Regional Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200000, China
Interests: urban networks; polycentric development; Yangtze River Delta integration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jiawei Wu

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Guest Editor

Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210000, China
Interests: economic geography; industrial dynamics; M&As; regional sustainable development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the Special Issue of Land on “Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II”.

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) is one of the regions with the most active economic development, the highest degree of openness and the strongest innovation capacity in China, and has a pivotal strategic position in the general situation of China's modernization and the overall opening pattern. The rapid economic development in recent years has accelerated the urbanization of the population, economy and land in the YRD, which has led to great changes in the population structure, economic development pattern, land use structure, urban–rural relationship and ecological environment. The rapid growth of economic scale has also given rise to a series of problems, such as the waste of land resources, unbalanced regional development and ecological damage, which to a certain extent hinder the sustainable development of the YRD. At the stage of high-quality development, the traditional development model is no longer adapted to the needs of the economic development transition period. How to seek higher-quality development, explore development paths from different aspects (e.g., human–land system, ecosystem, and industrial innovation), narrow the regional development gap while encouraging economic development, and guarantee the improvement of residents' well-being and the optimization of the ecological environment is crucial for sustainable development. At the same time, the sustainable development of the YRD region also has an important role to play in guiding the coordinated development of other regions.

This Special Issue of Land aims to provide an exchange platform for researchers' research and practice on the one hand, and to provide theoretical support and practical experience for the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta region through the research results of scholars and experts on the other. It seeks contributions in the form of research articles, literature reviews, case reports, futures studies, short communications, project reports, and discussion papers that offer insights into the regional sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta. Sustainable development involves many aspects, such as the harmonious development of people and nature, the trade-off and synergy of ecosystem services, collaborative ecological and environmental governance, industrial development and innovation network linkage, territorial space optimization and natural resources management, carbon peaking and carbon neutral research. In this Special Issue we hope to publish papers which explore the evolutionary state of human–land relationship through the study of human–nature coordination and promote the coupling and coordination of human–land systems; identify the interrelationships between different ecological service functions and promote the optimization of ecosystem services through the study of ecological service trade-off and synergy; promote the coordination of interests between different administrative subjects and promote the integrated governance of regional ecological environment through the study of ecological environment synergy; promote regional industrial integration development and innovative practical applications through research on industrial development and innovation network connections; promote the optimization and upgrading of land use through land space optimization and natural resource management and provide policy support for land resource management; identify the changes in carbon emissions from different sources and their driving mechanisms through carbon peaking and carbon neutral research; and address the risks brought by climate change. In addition, the integration of regional infrastructure and public services, the coordinated development of urban and rural areas, population migration and spatial pattern changes, food security and sustainable agriculture are also important parts of achieving the regional sustainable development goals, and can promote the regional division of labor and coordination, promote each individual's strengths, give full play to the advantages of regional integrated development, and better achieve sustainable development goals.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following broad topics:

Coordinated human–nature development in the Yangtze River Delta region (coupling of human–land systems, coupling of land use change and economic and social development, etc.);
Ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Collaborative ecological and environmental governance in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Industrial development and innovation network linkage in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Territorial space optimization and natural resource management in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the Yangtze River Delta in the context of climate change;
Integration of infrastructure and public services in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Urban–rural coordination and rural revitalization in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Population migration patterns and spatial pattern changes in the Yangtze River Delta region;
Food security and sustainable agriculture in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Prof. Dr. Wei Sun
Prof. Dr. Zhaoyuan Yu
Prof. Dr. Kun Yu
Dr. Weiyang Zhang
Dr. Jiawei Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Yangtze River Delta region
sustainable development
human–earth system coupling
ecosystem services
industry development
innovation network
territorial space
climate change
urban–rural coordination
food security

Related Special Issue

Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China in Land (26 articles)

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 3616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial–Temporal Differentiation and Trend Prediction of Coupling Coordination Degree of Port Environmental Efficiency and Urban Economy: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta

by Min Wang, Yu Lan, Huayu Li, Xiaodong Jing, Sitong Lu and Kexin Deng

Land 2024, 13(3), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030374 - 16 Mar 2024

Viewed by 823

Abstract

Green development is a primary path for ports and cities to achieve a low-carbon transition under the Sustainable Development Goals and a powerful driving force to elevate regional port–city relations to a high level of coordination. In this paper, twenty port cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) were selected and port environmental efficiency (PEE) was calculated through the window SBM model, while the EW-TOPSIS model was used to evaluate high-quality urban economic development (HED). The coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, the kernel density model, GIS spatial analysis, and the grey prediction model were used to further explore the spatial–temporal dynamic evolution and prediction of the CCD between PEE and HED. The results suggested that: (1) PEE fluctuation in the YRD is increasing, with a trend of seaports achieving higher PEE than river ports; (2) HED in the YRD shows upward trends, and the polarization of individual cities is obvious; (3) Temporally, the CCD in the YRD has risen from 0.438 to 0.518. Shanghai consistently maintains intermediate coordination, and Jiangsu has experienced the most significant increase in CCD. Spatially, CCD is led by Lianyungang, Suzhou, Shanghai, and Ningbo-Zhoushan, displaying a decreasing distribution pattern from east to west. The projection for 2026 suggests that all port cities within the YRD will have transitioned to a phase of orderly development. To enhance the coordination level in the YRD, policymakers should consider the YRD as a whole to position the ports functionally and manage them hierarchically, utilize the ports to break down resource boundaries to promote the synergistic division of labor among cities, and then tilt the resources towards Anhui. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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22 pages, 2137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Ecological Governance Strategies in the Yangtze River Delta Region, China

by Qing Wang and Chunmei Mao

Land 2024, 13(2), 212; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020212 - 08 Feb 2024

Viewed by 769

Abstract

Under integrated ecological and green development in the Yangtze River Delta, the regional ecology is adversely affected by ineffective synergistic governance. Regional environmental governance is a collaborative process involving multiple stakeholders and mutual engagement, with each participant pursuing their interests and common goals simultaneously. This study employed stakeholder theory. A tripartite evolutionary game model of the public, enterprises, and local governments was constructed to analyze the behavioral strategies and influencing factors for the parties involved, and the impacts of key factors on the stability of the evolutionary game system were evaluated. The results indicate that ecological environmental governance in the Yangtze River Delta region is a complex and evolving system involving multiple stakeholders, within which system stability is influenced by stakeholders’ behavioral strategies. The interests of each party are affected by the cost of public involvement in ecological environment governance and the benefits and subsidies that enterprises receive for active environmental governance. The costs and penalties paid by local governments for lax regulations impact their behavioral strategies. This study provides policy recommendations for ecological governance in the study region, including the government–enterprise co-construction of liquid regulatory funds, government–enterprise–public partnerships in low-cost regulatory models, and the sharing of high-quality regulatory outcomes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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16 pages, 6965 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Impact of Land Use Change on Grain Production in Jiangsu Province, China

by Xufeng Cao, Jiqin Han and Xueying Li

Land 2024, 13(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010020 - 22 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 982

Abstract

Located in the Yangtze River Delta region, Jiangsu Province has become the major grain production area of China and plays an important role in ensuring national food security. With rapid economic development and urbanization, the amount of cultivated land has decreased, which greatly affects food security. Based on the statistical data of grain production in Jiangsu Province since 2000 and the remote sensing data of 2000, 2010, and 2020, this paper used the stochastic frontier production function to calculate the output elasticity of various factors and the technical efficiency of grain production. The agglomeration effect of food production was investigated by using spatial correlation analysis. Finally, regression analysis was applied to examine the impact of land use change on grain yield and the technical efficiency of production. The results show that the grain-sown area is the decisive factor for the increase in grain output in Jiangsu Province. The technical efficiency of grain production in the province has been maintained at a relatively high level since 2000, showing a fluctuating upward trend, and the efficiency value in southern Jiangsu Province is greater than that in central and northern Jiangsu. The analysis of the spatial distribution characteristics of grain production technical efficiency shows that grain production has an agglomeration effect. The regression results showed that the complexity of land use and the density of the cultivated land patch were negatively correlated with grain yield and grain production technical efficiency, while the location of cultivated land was positively correlated with grain yield and grain production technical efficiency. The conclusion of this paper has important policy significance for promoting food production and ensuring food security. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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18 pages, 1919 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Regional Effect of Land Transfer on Green Total Factor Productivity in the Yangtze River Delta: A Spatial Econometric Investigation

by Wenqin Yan and Dongsheng Yan

Land 2023, 12(9), 1794; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091794 - 15 Sep 2023

Viewed by 737

Abstract

This paper investigates the spatial mechanisms and impacts of land transfer on green total factor productivity (GTFP) in the economically dynamic Yangtze River Delta region of China. Using urban-level panel data from 2007 to 2020 and applying spatial econometric models, the study examines the relationship between land transfer and GTFP. The results of the spatial econometric analysis show that land transfer in the overall Yangtze River Delta region contributes positively to the improvement of GTFP. The mediating mechanism of industrial restructuring and upgrading shows statistically significant effects. Further investigation reveals differences in the spatial interdependence of land transfer on the GTFP among cities in different regions. Land transfer in the core area has significant indirect effects on the GTFP of neighboring cities, while the impact of land transfer in peripheral cities on the GTFP of surrounding cities is less discernible. This suggests that there is still a need for further deepening and development of integration in peripheral cities, as factor integration is still insufficient. The findings of this study provide useful insights for local governments in optimizing land transfer practices and promoting industrial transformation, upgrading, and sustainable green development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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16 pages, 6643 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Urbanization on Food Security: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province

by Jiayu Kang, Xuejun Duan and Ruxian Yun

Land 2023, 12(9), 1681; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091681 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2488

Abstract

Food security has received extensive academic attention in recent years. However, research results analyzing cultivated land pressure from the perspective of urbanization are relatively few. This study used Jiangsu Province as the study area and analyzed the spatial pattern evolution of cultivated land pressure from 2005 to 2019 by constructing a formula for a cultivated land pressure index. The study used a spatial econometric approach to analyze the spatial relationship between urbanization and cultivated land pressure. Based on the spatial Durbin model, the impact of urbanization on the pressure on cultivated land is analyzed. According to the results, Jiangsu Province showed an obvious north–south divergence in the spatial distribution of the cultivated land pressure index, with the low-value areas of the cultivated land pressure index mainly distributed in northern and central Jiangsu, and the high-value areas mainly distributed in southern Jiangsu. The urbanization level and cultivated land pressure level in Jiangsu Province showed obvious spatial clustering characteristics, and there was a certain overlap between the high- and low-value clustering areas of the two, with significant positive spatial correlation features. The total urbanization had no significant effect on the cultivated land pressure. Population urbanization and industry urbanization showed a significant negative effect on cultivated land pressure in Jiangsu Province, while land urbanization showed a positive effect. Both population and land urbanization had a significant negative spatial spillover effect on cultivated land pressure. Plausible explanations of these results were provided and policy implications were drawn. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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28 pages, 3114 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does the Opening of High-Speed Railway Improve High-Quality Economic Development in the Yangtze River Delta, China?

by Chiming Guan, Liuying Chen and Danyang Li

Land 2023, 12(8), 1629; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081629 - 18 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 992

Abstract

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) is the area with the densest high-speed railway (HSR) network in China, and it leads the high-quality economic development (HQED) in the country. HSR plays an important role in regional development. However, research on the impact of the HSR on HQED is notably limited. Theoretically, this study develops an analytical framework for the mechanism of the HSR’s influence on HQED. Empirically, it calculates the HQED index and then investigates the impact of the HSR on HQED and the regional discrepancies across cities in the YRD, based on data from 2011 to 2019 using the difference-in-differences model. The results show: (1) The mechanism lies in that the HSR improves urban accessibility, accelerates the flow of the production factors, and enhances the allocation efficiency of the input factors. (2) The distribution of the HQED level presents an obvious circular pattern, with Shanghai and Suzhou at the centre, showing the prominent principle of distance decay. (3) Both the regression model and the robustness tests show that the HSR significantly promotes HQED in the YRD. Additionally, the economic development, foreign capital spent, financial level, industry advancement, and living standard are conducive to HQED. (4) The results of the heterogeneity test reveal that the HSR has an obviously varied impact on HQED in cities depending on their size and location. The HSR has a significant promotional effect on HQED in cities with a large population and those far away from a provincial city. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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17 pages, 2275 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reputation, Network, and Performance: Exploring the Diffusion Mechanism of Local Governments’ Behavior during Inter-Governmental Environmental Cooperation

by Yihang Zhao, Jing Xiong and De Hu

Land 2023, 12(7), 1466; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071466 - 23 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1126

Abstract

The selective behavior of local governments during regional environmental cooperation could generate a diffusion effect through the black box of reputation mechanism. This study incorporates the reputation mechanism, social capital, and environmental governance performance into a unified analysis framework, empirically testing the moderating effect of the implementation rate of environmental cooperative projects (indicating reputation) on the relationship between two types of social capital and environmental governance performance among cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) regions. The inter-governmental environmental cooperation news and policies are collected by Data Capture technology as a dataset, and a set of social-economic data is also adopted. The spatial econometric regression results show that an increase in reputation could both strengthen the leadership and coordination ability (bridging social capital) of the central cities in the YRD and BTH regions, thus improving their environmental governance performance. However, the bonding social capital path could only significantly work in the BTH region, which unexpectedly increases pollutant emission through excessive internal cohesion. The results indicate that a “community of entangled interest” should be constructed among cities within urban agglomerations, which requires local governments to weaken the concept of their administrative boundary. At the same time, in order to avoid excessive internal condensation, a clear division of rights and responsibilities is also necessary during continuous inter-governmental environmental cooperation. We believe that these findings could provide empirical evidence for local governments to avoid failing to the traps of “agglomeration shadow”. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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17 pages, 3563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Intra-City and Inter-City Innovation Networks on City Economic Growth: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta in China

by Xianzhong Cao, Bo Chen, Yi Guo and Zhenzhen Yi

Land 2023, 12(7), 1463; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071463 - 22 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1111

Abstract

Innovation networks promote regional innovation and economic growth. Using the patent data of cooperative inventions and the panel data of socio-economic statistics for 2010–2019, this study quantitatively analyzes the spatial structure evolution of intra-city and inter-city innovation networks for 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta and their influence on economic growth. This study shows that these networks are increasingly connected and have a highly similar Z-shaped spatial structure. City economic growth is generally high, relatively stable, and mainly positively influenced by inter-city innovation networks. Intra-city innovation networks have no significant effect on economic growth; however, they are complementary to the inter-city ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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24 pages, 7106 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in the Spatial Distribution of the Employed Population in the Yangtze River Delta Region since the 21st Century: An Analysis and Discussion Based on Census Data

by Chen Chen

Land 2023, 12(6), 1249; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12061249 - 19 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1002

Abstract

Focusing on the Yangtze River Delta region, the spatial distribution and change characteristics of the employed population were assessed by selecting three time points: 2000, 2010 and 2020. Firstly, a correlation was established between population employment statistics and spatial units of administrative divisions to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of the employed population in general and by industry; secondly, the changing characteristics of the spatial distribution of the employed population over time, including the migration of the centroid and density changes, were analyzed; thirdly, a systematic clustering approach was adopted to carry out a typological analysis of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from three perspectives: industrial structure, time stage and spatial level. It was found that (1) regional differences within the Yangtze River Delta are still significant, but are narrowing; (2) different cities or regions show different characteristics of development stages, and late-developing regions can learn from early developing regions; (3) metropolitan areas are still the main areas of employment concentration, and the spatial distribution of employment in some cities is beginning to suburbanize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Sustainable Development of Yangtze River Delta, China II)

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