Previously, urban planning approaches have tended to convert local agglomeration into network connections to advance urban development. However, is this successful experience learned from developed counties appropriate for developing countries? Scholars hold different opinions on this debate. To answer this question, we need to examine the effects of urban agglomeration in developing countries with a quantitative method. In this paper, we introduced a method of examining network connections from a geospatial perspective to explore the practice and spatial consequences of regional integration using a new concept of “coupling distance” based on metal valence bond theory. Then we applied this method to conduct an empirical case study of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River region in China. We found that: (1) the real integration scale of the investigated urban areas was less than one-fourth the planned area, as most of interactions between cities are local, although we see the positive facilitation of urban networks on cross-provincial integration. (2) In terms of spatial consequences, the study area demonstrated phenomena of “agglomeration shadows”, “enclaves” and “inverse integration”. Specifically, these “agglomeration shadows” were all in their province’s geometric centers, which seemed to have suffered a “central position curse”. (3) Both “enclaves” and “inverse integration” call for a readjustment of government-led regional integration planning. Differently, the former has a positive attitude towards integration while the latter holds the opposite attitude. This study hopes to provide operationalizing methods and guidelines for planners and decision makers in the field of regional integration planning.

Understanding the relationship between city size and resilience is crucial for informed decisions on preparedness and interventions in building resilient cities. This study addresses this issue by dividing urban resilience into four components: stability, redundancy, resourcefulness, and connectivity. Using the above evaluation framework, we assessed the spatial–temporal variations in the relationship between city size and resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2005 to 2020. The findings shows that, overall, resilience increased in the cities, with larger populations and spatial scales showing greater resilience, but both megacities and small cities experienced a decline in resilience. In terms of the four components of resilience, most of the region’s cities have roughly equal connectivity and stability, but redundancy and resourcefulness vary by city size and location. Specifically, downstream and larger cities demonstrated better crisis resolution and innovation. The dominant coupling coordination states showed antagonism between population and resilience. Upstream areas experienced a mismatch between “low resilience” and “large population”, while a moderate coordination existed between spatial scale and resilience. Further, it was found that factors hindering urban resilience varied according to city size. Cities with a population of 5 million faced energy and aging population challenges. This study contributes to urban resilience discourse by providing a conceptual understanding and empirical analysis of the impact of city size on resilience.