County town shrinkage in China: Identification, spatiotemporal variations and the heterogeneity of influencing factors

What keeps urban areas from declining? Comparison of before and after effects of the urban regeneration project for the Busan city in South Korea

“…As previously suggested, endogenous variables are related to inherent attributes of the urban regeneration project itself. Past studies (Wang & Fukuda, 2019 [ 35 , 36 , 40 , 66 ]; have mainly concentrated on establishing the link between exogenous variables, as defined in this study, and urban decline. For example, population change is a commonly employed variable in urban decline investigations, serving as both an independent and dependent variable (Hartt, 2018 [ 35 , 41 , 67 ]; He et al, 2023).…”

“…(Hartt, 2018; [ 33 , 34 ]. At the micro level, factors such as population decline, vacant land, decaying infrastructure, and the decline of industrial activities have been identified as contributing variables (Hartt, 2018 [ 35 , 36 ]; Zhang et al, 2023). Specifically, vacant lots and abandoned building have been highlighted for their direct role in urban decline, as they can create unfavorable perceptions within the community [ 37 ].…”

The Effect of Urban Form on Urban Shrinkage—A Study of 293 Chinese Cities Using Geodetector

“…However, this method only compares population loss in two years' time, which is highly accidental and cannot reflect a long-term trend [13]. Therefore, scholars decided to define urban shrinkage as the negative annual population change rate in cities and towns over a period of time [14,15]. Nonetheless, a single population index cannot reflect the degree of social and economic development in urban areas.…”

Why small towns are shrinking: The spatial heterogeneity of small towns shrinkage and the impact of it from the perspective of rural-urban interaction in China

“…However, in the context of globalization and the "Urban Age", researchers are now increasingly focused on the shrinkage and planning response of large and medium-sized cities, with less concern expressed toward small towns [5,6]. The significance of small towns in bridging the gap between urban and rural areas [7], particularly within the context of global rural decline amidst worldwide efforts to promote urbanization and industrial development, should not be underestimated [8,9]. However, they are facing several development problems, such as not being attractive to the urban population, a low level of rural population migration, and a low rate of local urbanization [10].…”

“…The significance of small towns in bridging the gap between urban and rural areas [ 7 ], particularly within the context of global rural decline amidst worldwide efforts to promote urbanization and industrial development, should not be underestimated [ 8 , 9 ]. However, they are facing several development problems, such as not being attractive to the urban population, a low level of rural population migration, and a low rate of local urbanization [ 10 ]. Receding economic growth and a declining population in small towns are pivotal factors contributing to the erosion of incomes and the exacerbation of poverty in rural communities [ 11 ].…”