Rurbanization,characterized by the integration of rural and urban attributes,holds significant implications for the development and marketing of small and medium-sized cities.This study investigates the effects of rur...Rurbanization,characterized by the integration of rural and urban attributes,holds significant implications for the development and marketing of small and medium-sized cities.This study investigates the effects of rurbanization on city marketing strategies and urban growth through a comprehensive review of recent literature.Key factors influencing rurbanization are identified,along with their impacts on city marketing practices.The findings indicate that rurbanization enhances city branding,attracts new residents and businesses,and promotes sustainable urban development.However,the phenomenon also presents challenges,including infrastructural strain and socio-cultural integration issues.Furthermore,rurbanization influences the socio-economic dynamics of cities,resulting in both opportunities and inequalities that require careful management.The study concludes with actionable recommendations for leveraging rurbanization to achieve positive city marketing outcomes while addressing associated challenges.This research aims to deepen the understanding of rurbanization and provide practical insights for policymakers,urban planners,and marketers in small and medium-sized cities,enabling them to optimize their growth strategies effectively.展开更多
Urbanization in small-and medium-sized cities has often been overlooked in urban studies.Research on urbanization has predominantly focused on large metropolitan cities;however,urbanization in small-and medium-sized c...Urbanization in small-and medium-sized cities has often been overlooked in urban studies.Research on urbanization has predominantly focused on large metropolitan cities;however,urbanization in small-and medium-sized cities also contributes to the acceleration of urban sprawl.Urban growth boundary(UGB)is an ecological approach designed to limit urban development.This study aimedto analyze environmental protection priority zonesby combining ecological quality and sensitivity indices to identify the areas suitable for UGB implementation.Tegal City and its surrounding areas(including Tegal and Brebes regencies)of Indonesia were selected as the study area.The ecological quality index was calculated using the normalized difference vegetation index,humidity index,land surface temperature,and normalized difference bare soil index.These indices were subsequently subjected to principal component analysis(PCA)to extract orthogonal factors,which were summed to derive the final index value.In parallel,we mapped and evaluated ecological sensitivity based on spatial planning policies and regulations.The results revealed that ecological quality in Tegal and Brebes regencies was predominantly categorized as good and very good ecological quality,whereas TegalCity exhibited moderate and poor ecological quality.Additionally,over 45.00%of the area in Tegal and Brebes regencies demonstrated very high ecological sensitivity.Consequently,more than 50.00%of the area in Tegal and Brebes regencies,along with 27.00%of Tegal City,were classified as ecological constraint zone,making them potential regionsfor UGB development.The UGB is expected to curtail urban expansion,promote compact city planning,and preserve ecosystem services to achieve urban sustainability.This study implies that planningsmall-and medium-sized cities is important to prevent urban sprawl and maintain environmental health.Designing UGB to limit urban expansion should be enhanced by better knowledge about its ecological functions in supporting urban sustainability.展开更多
Budget hotels, as an emerging hotel model, were started and attained a rapid development in China in the last ten years, and have proven to be important part of China抯 hotel industry. As competitions in the hotel ind...Budget hotels, as an emerging hotel model, were started and attained a rapid development in China in the last ten years, and have proven to be important part of China抯 hotel industry. As competitions in the hotel industry become increasingly fiercer, budget hotel brands launch a fight for seizing more market share. Therefore, it is necessary for Xuchang Jinjiang INN as a famous hotel brand to be distinguished from the hotel product strategies of the developed economic areas in the development environment of the small and medium-sized tourism cities, so as to adapt to the characteristics of regional market.展开更多
[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the temperature regulation effect of surface thermal environment and waters on the temperature, as well as the influencing factors, in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, so as...[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the temperature regulation effect of surface thermal environment and waters on the temperature, as well as the influencing factors, in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, so as to provide scientific basis for layout planning of urban waters. [Method] Based on the Landsat image of 2009 and 2014, the surface temperature was retrieved using mono-window algorithm and the distribution characteristics of surface temperature of different land types were analyzed. By arranging temperature points on the temperature line and water characteristic statistics, the temperature regulation effect of waters, as well as the influencing factors was analyzed. [Result](1) The order of surface temperature of different land types in summer was building land > cultivated land > woodland > water body, while in winter, the order was cultivated land > woodland > building land > water body. In terms of summer-winter average thermal level, the order was building land > cultivated land > woodland > water body.(2) The temperature regulation effect of waters showed a strong nonlinear relationship with the distance.(3) Large-area water bodies had better cooling effect. Under the condition of same area, the temperature regulated area of multiple small-area water bodies was larger than that of single large-area water body.(4) The increase in the proportion of non-building land around the water body increased the range of water cooling.(5) When the area of water bodies was small, the smaller the ratio of perimeter to area was, the larger the influence range of water cooling was. [Conclusion] The temperature regulation effect of waters in Binzhou City showed a strong nonlinear relationship with the distance, and was affected by the size of the water body, the complexity of the boundary and the composition of the surrounding land.展开更多
The research on color planning for small and medium-sized cities in China started relatively late,and has not formed a scientific planning,design and control method,which is yet to be analyzed in depth.Currently,there...The research on color planning for small and medium-sized cities in China started relatively late,and has not formed a scientific planning,design and control method,which is yet to be analyzed in depth.Currently,there is a relative lack of technical means for quantitative research on urban color,which is mainly reflected in the inefficiency of data collection methods,and the lack of effective extraction and analysis techniques for the color information of the massive street photos.In this paper,the spatial database technology through the geographic information system(GIS),the semantic segmentation technology through a full convolutional network realized by PyTorch,the color recognition technology through Matlab and the color expression technology through Munsell system are associated and integrated.They are integrated into the process of storing,analyzing and expressing color information,forming a quantitative evaluation method for urban color planning in small and mediumsized cities.Finally,the color database of Feng County is constructed as an example.Its color positioning is evaluated and judged to determine the appropriate color range of N6-N9,2.5YR7/1-10Y9/3,and to propose the reference color spectrum and the forbidden color spectrum,to provide a reference for the small and medium-sized cities'color planning and make urban color planning more inclined to quantitative expression.展开更多
By studying the relationship between urban development performance and city scale and regional difference, this paper aims at revealing the real challenges faced by small and medium-sized cities(referred to as SMSC he...By studying the relationship between urban development performance and city scale and regional difference, this paper aims at revealing the real challenges faced by small and medium-sized cities(referred to as SMSC hereafter) in China. It analyzes the growth of different-sized cities, their positions in China's overall urban system, the influence of city scale on their capability in migrant absorption, economic development, public service, and environmental remediation, as well as the capability difference among SMSCs. Results show that city scale is less a determinant in economic development capability and per capita ownership of public service than in economic performance, quality of public service, and environmental remediation capabilities. Besides, there are many other factors determined by regional differences instead of city scale. Therefore, in the context when SMSC plays an increasingly important role in the process of urbanization, relevant parties should avoid the "trap of scale," and re-position urbanization within the framework of sustainable development.展开更多
In China, for small and medium-sized cities, urban and rural planning management should play an important role during the process of urbanization. However, it failed to do that in reality due to a series of limits, su...In China, for small and medium-sized cities, urban and rural planning management should play an important role during the process of urbanization. However, it failed to do that in reality due to a series of limits, such as local fiscal deficiency, scarce human resources, incomplete management systems, historic planning defects, inadequate supervisions, and imperfect regulations, etc. This paper made a comprehensive analysis on the dilemma of urban and rural planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities and the interests and status of the government, enterprises and public in space resource allocation and put forward the methods to improve the quality of planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities from the view of systems and mechanisms.展开更多
The long-standing use of portable toilet cubicles by residents of Shanghai’s narrow,labyrinthine alleys came to an end in September 2025 after the city largely finished building public toilets to make up their lack o...The long-standing use of portable toilet cubicles by residents of Shanghai’s narrow,labyrinthine alleys came to an end in September 2025 after the city largely finished building public toilets to make up their lack of sanitation facilities.The project,targeting 14,082 households,started last year.展开更多
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs)have become integral components in smart city infrastructures,supporting applications such as emergency response,surveillance,and data collection.However,the high mobility and dynamic top...Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs)have become integral components in smart city infrastructures,supporting applications such as emergency response,surveillance,and data collection.However,the high mobility and dynamic topology of Flying Ad Hoc Networks(FANETs)present significant challenges for maintaining reliable,low-latency communication.Conventional geographic routing protocols often struggle in situations where link quality varies and mobility patterns are unpredictable.To overcome these limitations,this paper proposes an improved routing protocol based on reinforcement learning.This new approach integrates Q-learning with mechanisms that are both link-aware and mobility-aware.The proposed method optimizes the selection of relay nodes by using an adaptive reward function that takes into account energy consumption,delay,and link quality.Additionally,a Kalman filter is integrated to predict UAV mobility,improving the stability of communication links under dynamic network conditions.Simulation experiments were conducted using realistic scenarios,varying the number of UAVs to assess scalability.An analysis was conducted on key performance metrics,including the packet delivery ratio,end-to-end delay,and total energy consumption.The results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the packet delivery ratio by 12%–15%and reduces delay by up to 25.5%when compared to conventional GEO and QGEO protocols.However,this improvement comes at the cost of higher energy consumption due to additional computations and control overhead.Despite this trade-off,the proposed solution ensures reliable and efficient communication,making it well-suited for large-scale UAV networks operating in complex urban environments.展开更多
The rapid digitalization of urban infrastructure has made smart cities increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats.In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity,the efficacy of Intrusion Detection Systems(IDS)...The rapid digitalization of urban infrastructure has made smart cities increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats.In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity,the efficacy of Intrusion Detection Systems(IDS)is increasingly measured by technical performance,operational usability,and adaptability.This study introduces and rigorously evaluates a Human-Computer Interaction(HCI)-Integrated IDS with the utilization of Convolutional Neural Network(CNN),CNN-Long Short Term Memory(LSTM),and Random Forest(RF)against both a Baseline Machine Learning(ML)and a Traditional IDS model,through an extensive experimental framework encompassing many performance metrics,including detection latency,accuracy,alert prioritization,classification errors,system throughput,usability,ROC-AUC,precision-recall,confusion matrix analysis,and statistical accuracy measures.Our findings consistently demonstrate the superiority of the HCI-Integrated approach utilizing three major datasets(CICIDS 2017,KDD Cup 1999,and UNSW-NB15).Experimental results indicate that the HCI-Integrated model outperforms its counterparts,achieving an AUC-ROC of 0.99,a precision of 0.93,and a recall of 0.96,while maintaining the lowest false positive rate(0.03)and the fastest detection time(~1.5 s).These findings validate the efficacy of incorporating HCI to enhance anomaly detection capabilities,improve responsiveness,and reduce alert fatigue in critical smart city applications.It achieves markedly lower detection times,higher accuracy across all threat categories,reduced false positive and false negative rates,and enhanced system throughput under concurrent load conditions.The HCIIntegrated IDS excels in alert contextualization and prioritization,offering more actionable insights while minimizing analyst fatigue.Usability feedback underscores increased analyst confidence and operational clarity,reinforcing the importance of user-centered design.These results collectively position the HCI-Integrated IDS as a highly effective,scalable,and human-aligned solution for modern threat detection environments.展开更多
Transforming urban spatial structures to promote green and low-carbon development is an effective strategy.Although prior studies have examined the impact of urban polycentricity on carbon emissions and economic devel...Transforming urban spatial structures to promote green and low-carbon development is an effective strategy.Although prior studies have examined the impact of urban polycentricity on carbon emissions and economic development,research on its role in the synergistic relationship between these factors regarding carbon emission efficiency is limited.Furthermore,existing literature often overlooks nonlinear effects and interactions with other urban variables.This paper analyzed data from 295 Chinese cities in 2020,calculating urban population polycentricity,population dispersion indices,and carbon emission efficiency.Utilizing local spatial autocorrelation tools,we reveal interactions among urban population polycentricity,dispersion,carbon emissions,and carbon emission efficiency.We then employ a gradient boosting decision tree model(GBDT)to explore nonlinear and synergistic effects of polycentric urbanization.Key findings include:1)polycentric urbanization in Chinese cities exhibits significant spatial differentiation characteristics.The Polycentricity index is relatively high in economically developed eastern coastal regions with an overall low level,carbon emissions are concentrated in industrialized north-central cities and some Yangtze River Delta hubs,and carbon emission efficiency is the highest in the Yangtze River Delta while relatively low in Northeast China;there are significant spatially heterogeneous interaction characteristics among population polycentricity,population dispersion,carbon emissions,and carbon emission efficiency.2)Urban population polycentricity contributes 9.42%to total carbon emissions and 6.24%to carbon emission efficiency.3)The polycentricity index has a nonlinear impact on carbon emissions and carbon emission efficiency:no significant effect when below 0.50 or above 0.55,increased carbon emissions in 0.50-0.53,and reduced carbon emissions with improved efficiency in 0.53-0.55.4)The polycentricity index has an interaction effect with other variables;specifically,when the polycentricity index is between 0.53 and 0.55,its interaction with urban gross domestic product(GDP),urban population,urban built-up area,green coverage rate in built-up areas,urban technological expenditure,and the proportion of the output value of the secondary industry will reduce carbon emissions and improve carbon emission efficiency.These findings enhance the understanding of urban spatial structures and carbon emissions,providing valuable insights for policymakers in developing green and low-carbon strategies.展开更多
The evolution of cities into digitally managed environments requires computational systems that can operate in real time while supporting predictive and adaptive infrastructure management.Earlier approaches have often...The evolution of cities into digitally managed environments requires computational systems that can operate in real time while supporting predictive and adaptive infrastructure management.Earlier approaches have often advanced one dimension—such as Internet of Things(IoT)-based data acquisition,Artificial Intelligence(AI)-driven analytics,or digital twin visualization—without fully integrating these strands into a single operational loop.As a result,many existing solutions encounter bottlenecks in responsiveness,interoperability,and scalability,while also leaving concerns about data privacy unresolved.This research introduces a hybrid AI–IoT–Digital Twin framework that combines continuous sensing,distributed intelligence,and simulation-based decision support.The design incorporates multi-source sensor data,lightweight edge inference through Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)and Long ShortTerm Memory(LSTM)models,and federated learning enhanced with secure aggregation and differential privacy to maintain confidentiality.A digital twin layer extends these capabilities by simulating city assets such as traffic flows and water networks,generating what-if scenarios,and issuing actionable control signals.Complementary modules,including model compression and synchronization protocols,are embedded to ensure reliability in bandwidth-constrained and heterogeneous urban environments.The framework is validated in two urban domains:traffic management,where it adapts signal cycles based on real-time congestion patterns,and pipeline monitoring,where it anticipates leaks through pressure and vibration data.Experimental results show a 28%reduction in response time,a 35%decrease in maintenance costs,and a marked reduction in false positives relative to conventional baselines.The architecture also demonstrates stability across 50+edge devices under federated training and resilience to uneven node participation.The proposed system provides a scalable and privacy-aware foundation for predictive urban infrastructure management.By closing the loop between sensing,learning,and control,it reduces operator dependence,enhances resource efficiency,and supports transparent governance models for emerging smart cities.展开更多
The small and medium-sized river basins along southeast coast of China hold comparatively abundant water resources.However,the rapid resources urbanization in recent years has produced a series of water problems such ...The small and medium-sized river basins along southeast coast of China hold comparatively abundant water resources.However,the rapid resources urbanization in recent years has produced a series of water problems such as deterioration of river water quality,water shortage and exacerbated floods,which have constrained urban economic development.By applying the principle of triple supply-demand equilibrium,this paper focuses on the estimation of levels of water supply and demand in 2030 at different guarantee probabilities,with a case study of Xiamen city.The results show that water shortage and inefficient utilization are main problems in the city,as the future water supply looks daunting,and a water shortage may hit nearly 2×10^(8)m^(3)in an extraordinarily dry year.Based on current water supply-demand gap and its trend,this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions for developing and utilizing groundwater resources and improving the utilization rate of water resources,which can supply as a reference for other southeast middle-to-small-sized basin cities in terms of sustainable water resources and water environment protection.展开更多
This paper presents an analysis of two renowned international arts festivals visitors＇ motives and profilecharacteristics, in two medium-sized Greek cities： the Kalamata International Dance Festival （KIDF） and the...This paper presents an analysis of two renowned international arts festivals visitors＇ motives and profilecharacteristics, in two medium-sized Greek cities： the Kalamata International Dance Festival （KIDF） and theDrama International Short Film Festival （DISFF）. The purpose of the study was to determine the reasons visitorsattend these festivals, which is necessary for building more concise marketing strategies and, therefore,more successful and sustainable events, with long-term benefits, ranging from the local to the national levels.The research addresses international arts festivals that share four main characteristics： （1） they host internationalprofessional artists; （2） they feature explicitly-stated artistic visions and objectives; （3） they are publicly funded;and （4） they have achieved a consecutive 23 years of successful presence in each city. These two case studiesrepresent two cultural events which have managed to maintain their popularity and high status, on the Europeanfestival map, as well as to raise their host cities＇ cultural and tourism standards, despite the serious economiccutback they have both faced. Due to limited available funds, the festivals lack marketing resources andspecifically data collection on visitor motivation, a gap which this study aims to remedy. Primary datawere collected with the aid of online structured questionnaires, distributed and collected during autumn2016. Altogether, 130 questionnaires were answered by visitors of the DISFF and 186 questionnaires wereanswered by visitors of the KIDF. Even though both festivals share similar characteristics regarding theirorganization and their aims, our analysis emphasized the heterogeneity of the motives of attendance in connectionwith the visitors＇ profile characteristics, for each event. While some similarities were found, especially betweendemographic sample characteristics and visitors＇ profiles, the general picture to emerge from the findingsindicates significant differences between the two cases. Arts festivals-goers do not appear to constitute a singlehomogeneous market; rather, each event appears to attract different audiences for different reasons. Theimplications of these findings, deriving from statistical analysis, are discussed and suggestions for further researchare outlined. This research aims to contribute to knowledge concerning the marketing strategies of internationalarts festivals in medium-sized cities, useful for research and academic purposes, as well as to local and nationalauthorities and other agencies and bodies, responsible for urban tourism and cultural city/town planning andmanagement.展开更多
This study investigates the integration of geo-logistics as a strategic framework for enhancing sustainability within Small and Medium-sized Ports(SMPs)in Thailand,focusing on improving environmental,innovation and ec...This study investigates the integration of geo-logistics as a strategic framework for enhancing sustainability within Small and Medium-sized Ports(SMPs)in Thailand,focusing on improving environmental,innovation and economic performance.The geo-logistics framework in this study considers the spatial aspects of logistics activities around the port areas to achieve sustainability goals.This research employs a mixedmethods approach statistical analysis(ANOVA),combined with semi-structured interviews and an intensive literature review to assess both internal and external management criteria across three key regional ports—Songkhla,Map Ta Phut,and Ranong.Findings reveal significant variations of internal factors to assess digitalization,waste management,green procurement,and energy-efficient operations.Beside that externally explores ecosystem protection,stakeholder collaboration,and regulatory compliance.The results showed that Map Ta Phut port demonstrated the most comprehensive sustainability initiatives within its geo-logistics framework,while Songkhla port and Ranong port showed moderate progress.These variations highlight the differing levels of preparedness and commitment to sustainability across the selected ports.Successful implementation of geo-logistics in this research requires strong governmental support,financial incentives,and capacity building to empower Thai SMPs toward long-term sustainability and enhanced competitiveness in the global maritime sector.Lastly,this framework offers a practical roadmap for transforming regional ports into resilient,green,and smart logistics hubs.展开更多
This paper addresses urban sustainability challenges amid global urbanization, emphasizing the need for innova tive approaches aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. While traditional tools and linear models ...This paper addresses urban sustainability challenges amid global urbanization, emphasizing the need for innova tive approaches aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. While traditional tools and linear models offer insights, they fall short in presenting a holistic view of complex urban challenges. System dynamics (SD) models that are often utilized to provide holistic, systematic understanding of a research subject, like the urban system, emerge as valuable tools, but data scarcity and theoretical inadequacy pose challenges. The research reviews relevant papers on recent SD model applications in urban sustainability since 2018, categorizing them based on nine key indicators. Among the reviewed papers, data limitations and model assumptions were identified as ma jor challenges in applying SD models to urban sustainability. This led to exploring the transformative potential of big data analytics, a rare approach in this field as identified by this study, to enhance SD models’ empirical foundation. Integrating big data could provide data-driven calibration, potentially improving predictive accuracy and reducing reliance on simplified assumptions. The paper concludes by advocating for new approaches that reduce assumptions and promote real-time applicable models, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of urban sustainability through the synergy of big data and SD models.展开更多
Rapid urbanization has been happening around the world,leading to many challenges and difficulties in infrastructure,communication network,transportation,environmental and organizational problems.Proper and responsibl...Rapid urbanization has been happening around the world,leading to many challenges and difficulties in infrastructure,communication network,transportation,environmental and organizational problems.Proper and responsible management of urban resources plays a significant role in sustainable development.Smart sustainable cities use ICTs(Information and Communication Technologies)to improve quality of life,efficiency of urban operation and services.The latest advancement in communication,technology,data management,and IoT(Internet of Things)provide a tremendous role for practical implementations and adoption of devices and entities.Smart sustainable cities can be intellectualized as an innovative approach of controlling urban resources and valuable components based on the latest advancement in ICT.Our study focuses on reviewing and discussing the literature that states the vital components of IoT associated with smart sustainable cities in general and specifically with green energy.展开更多
The establishment of Hainan Free Trade Port provides a new opportunity for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises.In the process of the country continuously promoting the development of a free trade port,...The establishment of Hainan Free Trade Port provides a new opportunity for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises.In the process of the country continuously promoting the development of a free trade port,the financing environment of small and medium-sized enterprises has gradually improved,and the financing environment has been greatly improved.But the small and medium-sized enterprises“financing difficult”“financing expensive”problem still exists.The problems of difficult and expensive financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Haikou city have their reasons as well as the influence of external environmental factors.Therefore,to better solve the financing problems of small and medium-sized enterprises in Haikou,this paper analyzes the reasons for the difficulty and expensive financing of small and medium-sized enterprises according to the existing research results and summarizes the financing experience of small and medium-sized enterprises at home and abroad.This article finds that the financing systems for small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)in developed countries are relatively well-established,and both the government and society offer significant support to SMEs.Therefore,this paper believes that the government should adjust the business strategy to improve the financing ecological environment and enhance the financing ability of SMEs.The government should take the lead in perfecting the guarantee system,continuously improving the credit information system of enterprises and various financial service institutions,promoting the opening and institutionalization of private credit,and developing Internet finance[1].展开更多
As an important tool to achieve sustainable economic and environmental development,green finance can effectively alleviate the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs),especially in promoting ...As an important tool to achieve sustainable economic and environmental development,green finance can effectively alleviate the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs),especially in promoting green transformation plays a key role.SMEs play an important role in economic growth,innovation,and job creation,but due to a lack of collateral,imperfect credit history,and opaque financial information,they face great obstacles in the financing process,especially in the early capital investment required for green transformation.Green finance,through innovative financial instruments such as green credit and green bonds,provides new financing channels for SMEs,helping them reduce financing costs,optimize financing structure,and promote their green transformation and sustainable development.This paper analyzes the current situation and root causes of SMEs’financing dilemma from the perspective of green finance,and probes into the influence of green finance policies on financing behavior.展开更多
文摘Rurbanization,characterized by the integration of rural and urban attributes,holds significant implications for the development and marketing of small and medium-sized cities.This study investigates the effects of rurbanization on city marketing strategies and urban growth through a comprehensive review of recent literature.Key factors influencing rurbanization are identified,along with their impacts on city marketing practices.The findings indicate that rurbanization enhances city branding,attracts new residents and businesses,and promotes sustainable urban development.However,the phenomenon also presents challenges,including infrastructural strain and socio-cultural integration issues.Furthermore,rurbanization influences the socio-economic dynamics of cities,resulting in both opportunities and inequalities that require careful management.The study concludes with actionable recommendations for leveraging rurbanization to achieve positive city marketing outcomes while addressing associated challenges.This research aims to deepen the understanding of rurbanization and provide practical insights for policymakers,urban planners,and marketers in small and medium-sized cities,enabling them to optimize their growth strategies effectively.
基金funded by the Directorate of Research and Community Service, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Indonesia (027/E5/PG.02.00.PL/2024)Bogor Agricultural University for their invaluable support and resources that made this research possibleDirectorate of Research and Community Service, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, Indonesia, for their financial and administrative support
文摘Urbanization in small-and medium-sized cities has often been overlooked in urban studies.Research on urbanization has predominantly focused on large metropolitan cities;however,urbanization in small-and medium-sized cities also contributes to the acceleration of urban sprawl.Urban growth boundary(UGB)is an ecological approach designed to limit urban development.This study aimedto analyze environmental protection priority zonesby combining ecological quality and sensitivity indices to identify the areas suitable for UGB implementation.Tegal City and its surrounding areas(including Tegal and Brebes regencies)of Indonesia were selected as the study area.The ecological quality index was calculated using the normalized difference vegetation index,humidity index,land surface temperature,and normalized difference bare soil index.These indices were subsequently subjected to principal component analysis(PCA)to extract orthogonal factors,which were summed to derive the final index value.In parallel,we mapped and evaluated ecological sensitivity based on spatial planning policies and regulations.The results revealed that ecological quality in Tegal and Brebes regencies was predominantly categorized as good and very good ecological quality,whereas TegalCity exhibited moderate and poor ecological quality.Additionally,over 45.00%of the area in Tegal and Brebes regencies demonstrated very high ecological sensitivity.Consequently,more than 50.00%of the area in Tegal and Brebes regencies,along with 27.00%of Tegal City,were classified as ecological constraint zone,making them potential regionsfor UGB development.The UGB is expected to curtail urban expansion,promote compact city planning,and preserve ecosystem services to achieve urban sustainability.This study implies that planningsmall-and medium-sized cities is important to prevent urban sprawl and maintain environmental health.Designing UGB to limit urban expansion should be enhanced by better knowledge about its ecological functions in supporting urban sustainability.
文摘Budget hotels, as an emerging hotel model, were started and attained a rapid development in China in the last ten years, and have proven to be important part of China抯 hotel industry. As competitions in the hotel industry become increasingly fiercer, budget hotel brands launch a fight for seizing more market share. Therefore, it is necessary for Xuchang Jinjiang INN as a famous hotel brand to be distinguished from the hotel product strategies of the developed economic areas in the development environment of the small and medium-sized tourism cities, so as to adapt to the characteristics of regional market.
基金Sponsored by Major People’s Livelihood and Social Project of Jinan City(201704315)Key Research and Development Project of Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province(2016GSF117018)Shandong Provincial Water Conservancy Research and Technology Promotion Project(SDSLKY201312)
文摘[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the temperature regulation effect of surface thermal environment and waters on the temperature, as well as the influencing factors, in Binzhou City, Shandong Province, so as to provide scientific basis for layout planning of urban waters. [Method] Based on the Landsat image of 2009 and 2014, the surface temperature was retrieved using mono-window algorithm and the distribution characteristics of surface temperature of different land types were analyzed. By arranging temperature points on the temperature line and water characteristic statistics, the temperature regulation effect of waters, as well as the influencing factors was analyzed. [Result](1) The order of surface temperature of different land types in summer was building land > cultivated land > woodland > water body, while in winter, the order was cultivated land > woodland > building land > water body. In terms of summer-winter average thermal level, the order was building land > cultivated land > woodland > water body.(2) The temperature regulation effect of waters showed a strong nonlinear relationship with the distance.(3) Large-area water bodies had better cooling effect. Under the condition of same area, the temperature regulated area of multiple small-area water bodies was larger than that of single large-area water body.(4) The increase in the proportion of non-building land around the water body increased the range of water cooling.(5) When the area of water bodies was small, the smaller the ratio of perimeter to area was, the larger the influence range of water cooling was. [Conclusion] The temperature regulation effect of waters in Binzhou City showed a strong nonlinear relationship with the distance, and was affected by the size of the water body, the complexity of the boundary and the composition of the surrounding land.
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.52478011,52378046,51978144,51978147)。
文摘The research on color planning for small and medium-sized cities in China started relatively late,and has not formed a scientific planning,design and control method,which is yet to be analyzed in depth.Currently,there is a relative lack of technical means for quantitative research on urban color,which is mainly reflected in the inefficiency of data collection methods,and the lack of effective extraction and analysis techniques for the color information of the massive street photos.In this paper,the spatial database technology through the geographic information system(GIS),the semantic segmentation technology through a full convolutional network realized by PyTorch,the color recognition technology through Matlab and the color expression technology through Munsell system are associated and integrated.They are integrated into the process of storing,analyzing and expressing color information,forming a quantitative evaluation method for urban color planning in small and mediumsized cities.Finally,the color database of Feng County is constructed as an example.Its color positioning is evaluated and judged to determine the appropriate color range of N6-N9,2.5YR7/1-10Y9/3,and to propose the reference color spectrum and the forbidden color spectrum,to provide a reference for the small and medium-sized cities'color planning and make urban color planning more inclined to quantitative expression.
基金sponsored by National Social Science Fund(11AZD097,12&ZD202)
文摘By studying the relationship between urban development performance and city scale and regional difference, this paper aims at revealing the real challenges faced by small and medium-sized cities(referred to as SMSC hereafter) in China. It analyzes the growth of different-sized cities, their positions in China's overall urban system, the influence of city scale on their capability in migrant absorption, economic development, public service, and environmental remediation, as well as the capability difference among SMSCs. Results show that city scale is less a determinant in economic development capability and per capita ownership of public service than in economic performance, quality of public service, and environmental remediation capabilities. Besides, there are many other factors determined by regional differences instead of city scale. Therefore, in the context when SMSC plays an increasingly important role in the process of urbanization, relevant parties should avoid the "trap of scale," and re-position urbanization within the framework of sustainable development.
基金part of the research project sponsored by the National Science Foundation for Youth:A Study on Methods of Ecological Control over Rural Urbanization Based on Watershed Ecosystem Protection,No.51208493
文摘In China, for small and medium-sized cities, urban and rural planning management should play an important role during the process of urbanization. However, it failed to do that in reality due to a series of limits, such as local fiscal deficiency, scarce human resources, incomplete management systems, historic planning defects, inadequate supervisions, and imperfect regulations, etc. This paper made a comprehensive analysis on the dilemma of urban and rural planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities and the interests and status of the government, enterprises and public in space resource allocation and put forward the methods to improve the quality of planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities from the view of systems and mechanisms.
文摘The long-standing use of portable toilet cubicles by residents of Shanghai’s narrow,labyrinthine alleys came to an end in September 2025 after the city largely finished building public toilets to make up their lack of sanitation facilities.The project,targeting 14,082 households,started last year.
基金funded by Hung Yen University of Technology and Education under grand number UTEHY.L.2025.62.
文摘Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs)have become integral components in smart city infrastructures,supporting applications such as emergency response,surveillance,and data collection.However,the high mobility and dynamic topology of Flying Ad Hoc Networks(FANETs)present significant challenges for maintaining reliable,low-latency communication.Conventional geographic routing protocols often struggle in situations where link quality varies and mobility patterns are unpredictable.To overcome these limitations,this paper proposes an improved routing protocol based on reinforcement learning.This new approach integrates Q-learning with mechanisms that are both link-aware and mobility-aware.The proposed method optimizes the selection of relay nodes by using an adaptive reward function that takes into account energy consumption,delay,and link quality.Additionally,a Kalman filter is integrated to predict UAV mobility,improving the stability of communication links under dynamic network conditions.Simulation experiments were conducted using realistic scenarios,varying the number of UAVs to assess scalability.An analysis was conducted on key performance metrics,including the packet delivery ratio,end-to-end delay,and total energy consumption.The results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly improves the packet delivery ratio by 12%–15%and reduces delay by up to 25.5%when compared to conventional GEO and QGEO protocols.However,this improvement comes at the cost of higher energy consumption due to additional computations and control overhead.Despite this trade-off,the proposed solution ensures reliable and efficient communication,making it well-suited for large-scale UAV networks operating in complex urban environments.
基金funded and supported by the Ongoing Research Funding program(ORF-2025-314),King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
文摘The rapid digitalization of urban infrastructure has made smart cities increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats.In the evolving landscape of cybersecurity,the efficacy of Intrusion Detection Systems(IDS)is increasingly measured by technical performance,operational usability,and adaptability.This study introduces and rigorously evaluates a Human-Computer Interaction(HCI)-Integrated IDS with the utilization of Convolutional Neural Network(CNN),CNN-Long Short Term Memory(LSTM),and Random Forest(RF)against both a Baseline Machine Learning(ML)and a Traditional IDS model,through an extensive experimental framework encompassing many performance metrics,including detection latency,accuracy,alert prioritization,classification errors,system throughput,usability,ROC-AUC,precision-recall,confusion matrix analysis,and statistical accuracy measures.Our findings consistently demonstrate the superiority of the HCI-Integrated approach utilizing three major datasets(CICIDS 2017,KDD Cup 1999,and UNSW-NB15).Experimental results indicate that the HCI-Integrated model outperforms its counterparts,achieving an AUC-ROC of 0.99,a precision of 0.93,and a recall of 0.96,while maintaining the lowest false positive rate(0.03)and the fastest detection time(~1.5 s).These findings validate the efficacy of incorporating HCI to enhance anomaly detection capabilities,improve responsiveness,and reduce alert fatigue in critical smart city applications.It achieves markedly lower detection times,higher accuracy across all threat categories,reduced false positive and false negative rates,and enhanced system throughput under concurrent load conditions.The HCIIntegrated IDS excels in alert contextualization and prioritization,offering more actionable insights while minimizing analyst fatigue.Usability feedback underscores increased analyst confidence and operational clarity,reinforcing the importance of user-centered design.These results collectively position the HCI-Integrated IDS as a highly effective,scalable,and human-aligned solution for modern threat detection environments.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42571300)。
文摘Transforming urban spatial structures to promote green and low-carbon development is an effective strategy.Although prior studies have examined the impact of urban polycentricity on carbon emissions and economic development,research on its role in the synergistic relationship between these factors regarding carbon emission efficiency is limited.Furthermore,existing literature often overlooks nonlinear effects and interactions with other urban variables.This paper analyzed data from 295 Chinese cities in 2020,calculating urban population polycentricity,population dispersion indices,and carbon emission efficiency.Utilizing local spatial autocorrelation tools,we reveal interactions among urban population polycentricity,dispersion,carbon emissions,and carbon emission efficiency.We then employ a gradient boosting decision tree model(GBDT)to explore nonlinear and synergistic effects of polycentric urbanization.Key findings include:1)polycentric urbanization in Chinese cities exhibits significant spatial differentiation characteristics.The Polycentricity index is relatively high in economically developed eastern coastal regions with an overall low level,carbon emissions are concentrated in industrialized north-central cities and some Yangtze River Delta hubs,and carbon emission efficiency is the highest in the Yangtze River Delta while relatively low in Northeast China;there are significant spatially heterogeneous interaction characteristics among population polycentricity,population dispersion,carbon emissions,and carbon emission efficiency.2)Urban population polycentricity contributes 9.42%to total carbon emissions and 6.24%to carbon emission efficiency.3)The polycentricity index has a nonlinear impact on carbon emissions and carbon emission efficiency:no significant effect when below 0.50 or above 0.55,increased carbon emissions in 0.50-0.53,and reduced carbon emissions with improved efficiency in 0.53-0.55.4)The polycentricity index has an interaction effect with other variables;specifically,when the polycentricity index is between 0.53 and 0.55,its interaction with urban gross domestic product(GDP),urban population,urban built-up area,green coverage rate in built-up areas,urban technological expenditure,and the proportion of the output value of the secondary industry will reduce carbon emissions and improve carbon emission efficiency.These findings enhance the understanding of urban spatial structures and carbon emissions,providing valuable insights for policymakers in developing green and low-carbon strategies.
基金The researchers would like to thank the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Qassim University for financial support(QU-APC-2025)。
文摘The evolution of cities into digitally managed environments requires computational systems that can operate in real time while supporting predictive and adaptive infrastructure management.Earlier approaches have often advanced one dimension—such as Internet of Things(IoT)-based data acquisition,Artificial Intelligence(AI)-driven analytics,or digital twin visualization—without fully integrating these strands into a single operational loop.As a result,many existing solutions encounter bottlenecks in responsiveness,interoperability,and scalability,while also leaving concerns about data privacy unresolved.This research introduces a hybrid AI–IoT–Digital Twin framework that combines continuous sensing,distributed intelligence,and simulation-based decision support.The design incorporates multi-source sensor data,lightweight edge inference through Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)and Long ShortTerm Memory(LSTM)models,and federated learning enhanced with secure aggregation and differential privacy to maintain confidentiality.A digital twin layer extends these capabilities by simulating city assets such as traffic flows and water networks,generating what-if scenarios,and issuing actionable control signals.Complementary modules,including model compression and synchronization protocols,are embedded to ensure reliability in bandwidth-constrained and heterogeneous urban environments.The framework is validated in two urban domains:traffic management,where it adapts signal cycles based on real-time congestion patterns,and pipeline monitoring,where it anticipates leaks through pressure and vibration data.Experimental results show a 28%reduction in response time,a 35%decrease in maintenance costs,and a marked reduction in false positives relative to conventional baselines.The architecture also demonstrates stability across 50+edge devices under federated training and resilience to uneven node participation.The proposed system provides a scalable and privacy-aware foundation for predictive urban infrastructure management.By closing the loop between sensing,learning,and control,it reduces operator dependence,enhances resource efficiency,and supports transparent governance models for emerging smart cities.
基金This paper was funded by the Geological Survey Project of China Geological Survey"Comprehensive Geological Survey of Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou City"(DD20190303).
文摘The small and medium-sized river basins along southeast coast of China hold comparatively abundant water resources.However,the rapid resources urbanization in recent years has produced a series of water problems such as deterioration of river water quality,water shortage and exacerbated floods,which have constrained urban economic development.By applying the principle of triple supply-demand equilibrium,this paper focuses on the estimation of levels of water supply and demand in 2030 at different guarantee probabilities,with a case study of Xiamen city.The results show that water shortage and inefficient utilization are main problems in the city,as the future water supply looks daunting,and a water shortage may hit nearly 2×10^(8)m^(3)in an extraordinarily dry year.Based on current water supply-demand gap and its trend,this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions for developing and utilizing groundwater resources and improving the utilization rate of water resources,which can supply as a reference for other southeast middle-to-small-sized basin cities in terms of sustainable water resources and water environment protection.
文摘This paper presents an analysis of two renowned international arts festivals visitors＇ motives and profilecharacteristics, in two medium-sized Greek cities： the Kalamata International Dance Festival （KIDF） and theDrama International Short Film Festival （DISFF）. The purpose of the study was to determine the reasons visitorsattend these festivals, which is necessary for building more concise marketing strategies and, therefore,more successful and sustainable events, with long-term benefits, ranging from the local to the national levels.The research addresses international arts festivals that share four main characteristics： （1） they host internationalprofessional artists; （2） they feature explicitly-stated artistic visions and objectives; （3） they are publicly funded;and （4） they have achieved a consecutive 23 years of successful presence in each city. These two case studiesrepresent two cultural events which have managed to maintain their popularity and high status, on the Europeanfestival map, as well as to raise their host cities＇ cultural and tourism standards, despite the serious economiccutback they have both faced. Due to limited available funds, the festivals lack marketing resources andspecifically data collection on visitor motivation, a gap which this study aims to remedy. Primary datawere collected with the aid of online structured questionnaires, distributed and collected during autumn2016. Altogether, 130 questionnaires were answered by visitors of the DISFF and 186 questionnaires wereanswered by visitors of the KIDF. Even though both festivals share similar characteristics regarding theirorganization and their aims, our analysis emphasized the heterogeneity of the motives of attendance in connectionwith the visitors＇ profile characteristics, for each event. While some similarities were found, especially betweendemographic sample characteristics and visitors＇ profiles, the general picture to emerge from the findingsindicates significant differences between the two cases. Arts festivals-goers do not appear to constitute a singlehomogeneous market; rather, each event appears to attract different audiences for different reasons. Theimplications of these findings, deriving from statistical analysis, are discussed and suggestions for further researchare outlined. This research aims to contribute to knowledge concerning the marketing strategies of internationalarts festivals in medium-sized cities, useful for research and academic purposes, as well as to local and nationalauthorities and other agencies and bodies, responsible for urban tourism and cultural city/town planning andmanagement.
基金funded by faculty of International Maritime Studies,Kasetsart University.
文摘This study investigates the integration of geo-logistics as a strategic framework for enhancing sustainability within Small and Medium-sized Ports(SMPs)in Thailand,focusing on improving environmental,innovation and economic performance.The geo-logistics framework in this study considers the spatial aspects of logistics activities around the port areas to achieve sustainability goals.This research employs a mixedmethods approach statistical analysis(ANOVA),combined with semi-structured interviews and an intensive literature review to assess both internal and external management criteria across three key regional ports—Songkhla,Map Ta Phut,and Ranong.Findings reveal significant variations of internal factors to assess digitalization,waste management,green procurement,and energy-efficient operations.Beside that externally explores ecosystem protection,stakeholder collaboration,and regulatory compliance.The results showed that Map Ta Phut port demonstrated the most comprehensive sustainability initiatives within its geo-logistics framework,while Songkhla port and Ranong port showed moderate progress.These variations highlight the differing levels of preparedness and commitment to sustainability across the selected ports.Successful implementation of geo-logistics in this research requires strong governmental support,financial incentives,and capacity building to empower Thai SMPs toward long-term sustainability and enhanced competitiveness in the global maritime sector.Lastly,this framework offers a practical roadmap for transforming regional ports into resilient,green,and smart logistics hubs.
基金sponsored by the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development(Grant No.NJLTS0027-22)The opinions expressed in this study are the authors alone,and do not represent the U.S.Depart-ment of HUD’s opinions.
文摘This paper addresses urban sustainability challenges amid global urbanization, emphasizing the need for innova tive approaches aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. While traditional tools and linear models offer insights, they fall short in presenting a holistic view of complex urban challenges. System dynamics (SD) models that are often utilized to provide holistic, systematic understanding of a research subject, like the urban system, emerge as valuable tools, but data scarcity and theoretical inadequacy pose challenges. The research reviews relevant papers on recent SD model applications in urban sustainability since 2018, categorizing them based on nine key indicators. Among the reviewed papers, data limitations and model assumptions were identified as ma jor challenges in applying SD models to urban sustainability. This led to exploring the transformative potential of big data analytics, a rare approach in this field as identified by this study, to enhance SD models’ empirical foundation. Integrating big data could provide data-driven calibration, potentially improving predictive accuracy and reducing reliance on simplified assumptions. The paper concludes by advocating for new approaches that reduce assumptions and promote real-time applicable models, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of urban sustainability through the synergy of big data and SD models.
文摘Rapid urbanization has been happening around the world,leading to many challenges and difficulties in infrastructure,communication network,transportation,environmental and organizational problems.Proper and responsible management of urban resources plays a significant role in sustainable development.Smart sustainable cities use ICTs(Information and Communication Technologies)to improve quality of life,efficiency of urban operation and services.The latest advancement in communication,technology,data management,and IoT(Internet of Things)provide a tremendous role for practical implementations and adoption of devices and entities.Smart sustainable cities can be intellectualized as an innovative approach of controlling urban resources and valuable components based on the latest advancement in ICT.Our study focuses on reviewing and discussing the literature that states the vital components of IoT associated with smart sustainable cities in general and specifically with green energy.
文摘The establishment of Hainan Free Trade Port provides a new opportunity for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises.In the process of the country continuously promoting the development of a free trade port,the financing environment of small and medium-sized enterprises has gradually improved,and the financing environment has been greatly improved.But the small and medium-sized enterprises“financing difficult”“financing expensive”problem still exists.The problems of difficult and expensive financing of small and medium-sized enterprises in Haikou city have their reasons as well as the influence of external environmental factors.Therefore,to better solve the financing problems of small and medium-sized enterprises in Haikou,this paper analyzes the reasons for the difficulty and expensive financing of small and medium-sized enterprises according to the existing research results and summarizes the financing experience of small and medium-sized enterprises at home and abroad.This article finds that the financing systems for small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)in developed countries are relatively well-established,and both the government and society offer significant support to SMEs.Therefore,this paper believes that the government should adjust the business strategy to improve the financing ecological environment and enhance the financing ability of SMEs.The government should take the lead in perfecting the guarantee system,continuously improving the credit information system of enterprises and various financial service institutions,promoting the opening and institutionalization of private credit,and developing Internet finance[1].
文摘As an important tool to achieve sustainable economic and environmental development,green finance can effectively alleviate the financing constraints of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs),especially in promoting green transformation plays a key role.SMEs play an important role in economic growth,innovation,and job creation,but due to a lack of collateral,imperfect credit history,and opaque financial information,they face great obstacles in the financing process,especially in the early capital investment required for green transformation.Green finance,through innovative financial instruments such as green credit and green bonds,provides new financing channels for SMEs,helping them reduce financing costs,optimize financing structure,and promote their green transformation and sustainable development.This paper analyzes the current situation and root causes of SMEs’financing dilemma from the perspective of green finance,and probes into the influence of green finance policies on financing behavior.
