The global economic downturn and the new normal status of China’s economy have revealed that the Northeastern region of the country is facing challenges due to poor adaptability and weak regional economic resilience. In regard to the regional cities of China’s municipal-administered county system and from the perspective of the relationship between the economic resilience of the central-cities and the outer-suburbs, it is helpful to explore the characteristics of the regional economic resilience in Northeast China from 2007 to 2018. We find that: (1) The economic resilience of the central-cities and outer-suburbs in Northeast China has deteriorated. Compared with the central-cities, the economic resilience of outer-suburbs has weakened even more. (2) The types of regional economic resilience of the central-cities and outer-suburbs of Northeast China have diversified and weakened. The main types of economic resilience have changed from city-prospered-suburb-prospered and city-balanced-suburb-prospered to city-balanced-suburb-balanced and city-declined-suburb-declined. There are differences in the types of municipal economic resilience that are affected by changes in the economic resilience levels of central-cities and outer-suburbs. (3) It is further confirmed that the industrial structure has an important influence on the resilience of the regional economy. The economic resilience of the outer-suburbs in the Northeast China appear to be more vulnerable and more heavily influenced by changes in the proportion of the secondary industry than the central-cities.

In China, the “land-restructuring” policy provides balanced land for urban settlements that is strictly limited in expansion. Therefore, reassessing and adjusting the layout of rural settlements is of great practical significance for promoting rural revitalization. In this paper, taking Xian’an district in Hubei Province as an example, we use the weighted rank-sum ratio comprehensive evaluation method and spatial association analysis method to analyze the development level and spatial pattern of settlements. The results show that: (1) The development level of settlements in Xian’an shows obvious spatial differences, with a spatial pattern of ‘high in the core–low in the periphery’ and ‘high in the northwest–low in the southeast’, which is the result of the combined effect of natural geographical conditions and socioeconomic conditions; (2) The comprehensive development level of settlements, evaluated based on four major indicators—population size, resource endowment, spatial characteristics, and material construction—reveals the presence of cluster effects, distance decay effects, administrative hierarchy effects, and “long board” effects; (3) Within village communities, settlements with significantly high levels and settlements with significantly low levels have a similar geographic distribution and mosaic spatial patterns. Lastly, based on the overall development level and spatial association patterns of settlements, this article presents possible options for governmental settlement governance from the standpoint of rural building management.

Air pollution, a critical environmental threat, has worsened alongside urbanization and industrialization, particularly in rapidly developing economies like India. Despite efforts to curb emissions, the concurrent rise in energy consumption, industrial activity, and digitalization complicates the fight against air pollution. This study examines the interplay between air pollution, economic growth, clean energy transition, digitalization, and urbanization in India from 1990Q1 to 2020Q4. Using advanced econometric techniques, including multivariate quantile-on-quantile regression (MQQR) and the quantile ADF and quantile KPSS tests, we investigate the complex, non-linear relationships across these factors. Our findings suggest that while economic growth exacerbates air pollution, the clean energy transition can mitigate its impact, especially when integrated with digitalization. However, the effects of digitalization are nuanced, potentially increasing pollution unless paired with green energy policies. The study demonstrates that the combined strategies of promoting clean energy and digitalization can provide a sustainable pathway for reducing air pollution in India. This work offers novel insights into the role of digital technologies in enhancing environmental sustainability and highlights the need for policy interventions that balance economic growth with climate resilience. The results present a roadmap for India’s sustainable development, emphasizing the integration of clean energy, digital innovation, and urban planning.