This paper is engaged with the critical perspective that highlights the role of the state in the production of urban informality by examining the dynamics of informal land-use practices in Dongguan, China since 1978. Based on in-depth interviews and archival analysis, the relationship between informal land development, the state, and land institution change has been revealed. Our findings show that informal land development is practiced by village collectives from below in Dongguan as a response to the absence and limitation of the national land law. The local government handles the informality in a pragmatic way that serves the goal of economic development in different historical conditions by actions of encouraging, tolerating, and authorizing, suggesting that the definition of informality is not a neutral classification. It is argued that while informality represents people’s creativity in dealing with practical problems, when and to what extent it can be tolerated, formalized, and absorbed depends on the intention of the state in a specific historical context.

In the digital era, data-driven production organizes digital urban networks. This study explores the critical role of government policies in shaping these networks, focusing on China’s evolving policy contexts. While existing research has mainly emphasized qualitative analyses, this paper quantitatively assesses the impact of policy changes on digital urban networks, specifically through the lens of China’s online gaming industry. The study aimed to elucidate the relationship between the policy environment and digital urban networks. By examining China’s transition from protectionist to regulatory policies, this research employed a social network analysis and valued exponential random graph models (ERGMs) across two key phases: the competitive protection phase (2014–2017) and the systematic regulatory phase (2018–2022). The findings revealed a significant transformation in urban network structure, shifting from a centralized model dominated by a few core cities to a decentralized, multi-centered network. The key factors influencing this evolution include the institutional proximity and cross-regional collaborations. This study offers valuable insights into how policy shifts affect urban networks in the digital economy, contributing both theoretically and practically to future policy design.

Counties represent a crucial spatial unit for achieving integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development. Promoting new urbanization(NU) at the county level in special-type regions such as revolutionary old base areas is an important pathway to realizing this goal. From the perspective of the Main Functional Zoning framework, this study selects 617 counties across 12 revolutionary old base areas in China as research units. An evaluation index system for new urbanization is constructed, and methods such as the Dagum Gini coefficient and geodetector are employed to reveal the spatial patterns and dynamic changes in county-level new urbanization from 2010 to 2020, as well as to explore the main influencing factors behind its spatial differentiation.The results indicate: (1) From 2010 to 2020, the level of new urbanization in county areas of revolutionary old base areas continued to rise, with an average annual growth rate of 8.59%. Counties with high urbanization levels were mainly concentrated in the Taihang Revolutionary Old Base Area, the Yimeng Revolutionary Old Base Area, and the Hailufeng Revolutionary Old Base Area. Additionally, urban districts and county-level cities with better development foundations also exhibited relatively higher urbanization indices.(2)From the perspective of Main Functional Zones, in both 2010 and 2020, the level of new urbanization followed the order key development zones > major grain-producing areas > key ecological function zones. However, the growth rate showed the opposite trend. The relative disparities between different Main Functional Zones have narrowed over time.(3) Natural conditions, human capital, socio-economic factors, policy support, and locational factors jointly shape the spatial pattern of new urbanization in revolutionary old base areas. Among these, socio-economic factors—represented by indicators such as rural residents’ disposable income and per capita GDP—as well as human capital, play a dominant role, with significant differences observed across various Main Functional Zones.This study offers theoretical insights and policy implications for promoting differentiated and distinctive new urbanization pathways in county areas of revolutionary old base regions.

Urban informality is a common phenomenon in rapidly developing cities, and the "Three Olds" redevelopment is an important aspect of achieving high-quality urban development in the later stages of urbanization in China. Addressing the current lack of academic attention to the redevelopment of informal land use in the context of the "Three Olds" initiative, this paper, based on the theories of urban informality and scalar politics, selects a typical case of "Three Olds" redevelopment in Dongguan city. Using qualitative research methods such as document analysis and in-depth interviews, this study explores the processes and mechanisms involved. The research finds that Dongguan's "Three Olds" redevelopment policy has undergone a scalar political process consisting of three stages: policy application, policy piloting (including normalization), and policy revision. This process is accompanied by a shift in the roles of the main actors from "dominant" to "subordinate" and vice versa, as well as the interactive evolution of the land parcels from "informal-formal-informal" states. During the implementation of the "Three Olds" redevelopment, two pathways emerge: one where the interests of all actors align, leading to smooth redevelopment, and the other where, in cases of conflicting interests, local governments revise policies and redistribute benefits. These pathways cycle to achieve a new equilibrium. The study contributes to further enriching the theoretical understanding of urban informality and provides practical insights for the "Three Olds" redevelopment and urban renewal and governance.