New-quality productivity (NQP) serves as a critical indicator for measuring the level of high-quality economic development. Gaining insights into the spatial and temporal patterns along with the key drivers of NQP is essential for promoting the global industrial transformation and revitalizing old cities. This study utilized spatial analysis, Dagum Gini coefficient, Markov chains, and optimal parameter geographical detectors to analyze spatial patterns and influencing factors of NQP across 271 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2021. Findings reveal that the average index of NQP increased from 0.045 in 2011 to 0.072 in 2021, with spatial patterns showing higher levels in coastal regions compared to inland areas. The overall disparity of NQP has diminished, although significant internal imbalances persist, particularly in the eastern region, where the pronounced gap between eastern and central areas remains the primary source of variation. Local NQP development is strongly influenced by proximity to adjacent areas, characterized by path dependence and club convergence effects. Additionally, cultural foundation, urbanization, and economic development play pivotal roles in fostering NQP, with their interactions exhibiting notable nonlinear and dual-factor enhancement effects. These findings provide valuable theoretical and practical insights for advancing NQP levels in China and globally.

To promote sustainable agricultural development in small town areas during rapid industrialization, it is important to study the evolution of agricultural non-point source pollution (ANSP) and its influencing factors in small town areas in the context of rapid industrialization. The non-point source inventory method was used to study the characteristics of ANSP evolution in 14 small town areas in Gongyi City from 2002 to 2019. Using the spatial Durbin model and geographical detectors, the factors influencing ANSP in small town areas were analyzed in terms of spatial spillover effects and the spatial stratified heterogeneity. The results showed a zigzagging downward trend of ANSP equivalent emissions over time. Spatially, the equivalent emissions of ANSP showed a distribution pattern of being high in the west and low in the east. There was a significant positive global spatial autocorrelation feature and there was an inverted “U-shaped” Environmental Kuznets Curve relationship between industrialization and ANSP. Affluence, population size, and cropping structure positively contributed to the reduction of ANSP. Population size, land size, and industrialization were highly influential factors affecting the spatial variation of ANSP and the interaction of these factors was bivariate or nonlinearly enhanced. This study provides a feasible reference for policymakers and managers to develop reasonable management measures to mitigate ANSP in small town areas during rapid industrialization.

This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban informal spaces through a rhythmanalytical lens, offering critical insights for sustainable urban governance and the development of inclusive night-time economies. Drawing on Michel de Certeau’s theory of everyday life practices and Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis, this study interprets the night market as a rhythmic assemblage. This assemblage is interwoven with the strategic, disciplinary rhythms imposed by managers and the tactical, subsistence-oriented rhythms crafted by the vendors. The research finds that urban managers impose a strategic rhythm aimed at order and controllability through the standardization of time, homogenization of space, and institutional clearance. In response, vendors, driven by a subsistence logic shaped by survival pressures develop a repertoire of sophisticated tactical variations. These tactics manifest as flexible uses of time and space to disrupt the established disciplinary framework. Furthermore, based on strong relational networks of “blood, professional, and geographical ties”, dispersed individual tactics can coalesce into a powerful collective rhythm, thereby gaining the capacity for dialog and negotiation in spatial games. The most constructive interactions embody a creative cadence, where vendors proactively integrate local cultural elements into their operations, transforming their practice from resistance into symbiosis, achieving a form of rhythmic harmony with urban development strategies. By integrating rhythmanalysis with the theory of everyday practice, this study constructs the “rhythm game” analytical framework. Its main contribution lies in revealing that the core of power interactions in urban informal spaces is not perpetual confrontation, but rather the contingent possibility of evolution from resistance to rhythmic harmony. This provides crucial theoretical and empirical grounding for understanding the source of vitality in informal spaces and for building a flexible, coordinated, and sustainable governance model.