Currently, urban crises are spreading, even tending to be magnified along the urban networks. Improving urban network resilience can effectively reduce the loss and cope with sudden disasters. Based on the dimensions of regional resilience and the framework of urban network, a new evaluation system of network resilience, including economic, social, and engineering networks, was established to assess the network resilience of the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) from a structural perspective. We analyzed the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of network resilience using social network analysis and quadratic assignment procedure. The results were as follows: (1) regional difference was biggest in GBA’s economic network strength while smallest in its transportation network strength, and the east bank of the Pearl River represented an extremely resilient connection axis; (2) the structures of network resilience and its subsystems were heterogeneous, and the connection paths of network resilience were more heterogeneous and diversified than those of the subsystems; (3) network resilience presented an obvious core–edge structure, and the spatial correlation and spillover effect between blocks were substantial; and (4) geographical proximity, as well as differences in economic development, urban agglomeration, and market development, had a significant impact on network resilience. This study provides a more systematic approach to evaluate the regional network resilience, and the results provide references for the construction of bay areas in developing countries.

Natural and socioeconomic variables have an impact on ecosystem services (ESs). The ESs trade-offs/synergies are informed by the reality that the same inputs have varying impacts on different ESs. Changing scales and time can alter dominant drivers and biophysical linkages of ESs, affecting their relationships. Although it is often assumed that ES relationships vary across scales, quantitatively testing this assumption with multiple ES is rare. Therefore, this study evaluated the five key ESs in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) from 1990 to 2015. We also employed a statistical approach to investigate the temporal variations, scale dependency, and spatial heterogeneity of ES trade-offs and synergies. The results demonstrated that: (1) The PRD’s synergetic interaction among ESs has been steadily improving over time; (2) The interaction between ESs dramatically altered as the research scale increased; (3) We discovered that the linkages among the soil conservation (SC), carbon sequestration (CS), water yield (WY), and habitat quality (HQ) were primarily synergistic. ESs of SC, CS, WY, and HQ were found to have negative correlations with grain production. This study will strengthen the understanding of the temporal changes and spatial scales of ESs relationships for decision-makers, which is beneficial to ecosystem management.

Human activities and land transformation are important factors in the growth of carbon emissions. In recent years, construction land for urban use in China has expanded rapidly. At the same time, carbon emissions in China are among the highest in the world. However, little is known about the relationship between the two factors. This study seeks to estimate the carbon emissions and carbon sequestrations of various types of land based on the land cover data of 137 county-level administrative regions in Shandong Province, China, from 2000 to 2020.The study estimated the carbon emissions for energy consumption using energy consumption data and night-time light images, hence, net carbon emissions. The Tapio decoupling coefficient was used to analyze the decoupling between the net carbon emissions and construction land, and where the model for the decoupling effort was constructed to explore the driving factors of decoupling. The results showed that net carbon emissions in Shandong Province continued to increase, and the areas with high carbon emissions were concentrated primarily in specific districts of the province. The relationship between net carbon emissions and construction land evolved from an expansive negative decoupling type to a strong negative decoupling type. Spatially, most areas in the province featured an expansive negative decoupling, but the areas with a strong negative decoupling have gradually increased. The intensive rate of land use and efficiencies in technological innovation have restrained carbon emissions, and they have contributed to an ideal decoupling situation. Although the intensity of carbon emission and the size of the population have restrained carbon emissions, efforts towards decoupling have faded. The degree of land use has facilitated carbon emissions, and in recent years, efforts have been made to achieve an ideal decoupling. The method of estimation of net carbon emissions devised in this research can lend itself to studies on other regions, and the conclusions provide a reference for China, going forward, to balance urbanization and carbon emissions.

Currently, Chinese cities are experiencing both overall growth and localized shrinkage. Therefore, it becomes crucial to quantify urban shrinkage and explore the transformation and sustainable development of shrinking cities from the perspective of urban resilience. This study focuses on the three provinces of Northeast China, which are representative areas of urban shrinkage, as its research subjects. Employing the analytic hierarchy process, a comprehensive evaluation system for urban shrinkage is constructed based on three dimensions: population, economy, and space. Furthermore, urban resilience is scientifically measured from four aspects: economy, society, ecology, and infrastructure. The study analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of urban shrinkage and urban resilience in the three northeastern provinces from 2012 to 2018. It also examines the impact of urban shrinkage on urban resilience through regression analysis and mediation models. The results indicate the following: (1) Half of the cities in the three northeastern provinces experienced shrinkage, although the extent of shrinkage decreased with the implementation of the Northeast China revitalization strategy. Population-related shrinkage was the most extensive and continued to expand, while economy-related shrinkage was the most severe, and space-related shrinkage was the least severe. (2) The resilience of shrinking cities was lower than the average level. Population-shrinking cities and economy-shrinking cities exhibited low levels of economic resilience, and the gap between them continued to widen. Space-shrinking cities generally had low infrastructure resilience. (3) The urban shrinkage index had a significant positive impact on the urban resilience index, mediated through intermediary variables, such as innovation capability and cultural development. Notably, both the direct and indirect effects of innovation capability were the greatest. Population-related shrinkage had the largest impact on urban resilience, while more intermediary variables of economy-related shrinkage passed the significance test.

Industrial structure upgrading is an important prerequisite for achieving regional ecological environment protection and high-quality development, and environmental regulation can improve the capacity of scientific and technological innovation and promote industrial structure transformation and upgrading. Based on the panel data of 78 cities in the Yellow River Basin, the relationships among environmental regulation, scientific and technological innovation, and industrial structure upgrading in the Yellow River Basin were analyzed using the mediating effect model and the panel threshold model. The results showed the following findings: (1) Although both formal and informal environmental regulations can promote industrial structure upgrading in the Yellow River Basin, regional heterogeneity and temporal stage characteristics are observed. (2) Transmission mechanism test results show that formal and informal environmental regulations directly affect industrial structure upgrading and indirectly act on it through the level of scientific and technological innovation, showing a significant mediating effect. (3) Taking scientific and technological innovation as the threshold variable, formal environmental regulations have a corresponding relationship with industrial structure upgrading in the form of a broken line, and informal environmental regulations significantly promote industrial structure upgrading after scientific and technological innovation crosses a certain threshold. Finally, we discuss the article and make corresponding suggestions in terms of environmental regulation and technological innovation.

Industrial structure and regional innovation have a significant impact on emissions. This study explores, from the multivariate coupling and spatial perspectives, the degree of coupling coordination between three factors: industrial structure, carbon emissions, and regional innovation of 97 counties in Shandong Province, China from 2000 to 2017. On the basis of global spatial autocorrelation and cold and hot spots, this article analyzes the spatial characteristics and aggregation effects of coupled and coordinated development within each region. The results are as follows. (1) The coupling degree between carbon emissions, industrial structure, and regional innovation in these counties fluctuated upward from 2000 to 2017. Coupling coordination progressed from low coordination to basic coordination. Regional differences in coupling coordination degree are evident, showing a stepped spatial distribution pattern with high levels in the east and low levels in the west. (2) During the study period, the coupling coordination showed a positive correlation in spatial distribution. Moran’s I varies from 0.057 to 0.305 on a global basis. Spatial clustering is characterized by agglomeration of cold spots and hot spots. (3) The coupling coordination exhibited significant spatial differentiation. The hot spots were distributed in the eastern part, while the cold spots were located in the western part. The results of this study suggest that the counties in Shandong Province should promote industrial structure upgrades and enhance regional innovation to reduce carbon emissions.