Digital industrial agglomeration (DIA) is reshaping regional economic connections, yet its relationship with market segmentation remains insufficiently understood. Using 15,793 firm-year observations of Chinese listed digital enterprises from 2012 to 2021, this study examines the relationship between DIA and regional market integration. Regression results’ effects reveal a significant negative association between DIA and market segmentation. This finding remains robust across alternative measurements, sample adjustments, model specifications, and supplementary instrumental-variable analyses. Mediation analyses provide evidence consistent with two potential channels: enhanced data-factor mobility and improved firm information transparency. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the negative association is more pronounced in eastern China, regions with stronger innovation capacity, and labor-intensive firms. Furthermore, regional economic development and openness strengthen this relationship. These findings extend the understanding of digital industrial agglomeration beyond conventional economic outcomes by highlighting its relevance to regional market integration. The study offers policy insights into reducing cross-regional market frictions through improved data circulation, information transparency, and coordinated digital industrial development.
Riyadh’s rapid urban growth has created challenges in balancing arterial mobility with pedestrian-scale public-space provision. This paper explores the humanization of urban arterial streets as a model shift in transforming them into more walkable, inclusive, and climate-responsive public spaces, based on four principles: human scale, walkability and active mobility, social interaction and placemaking, and contextual adaptation. Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard, a flagship project under Saudi Vision 2030, is examined as the case study. The study combines a literature review, field observation of the completed corridor segment, and a two-tier comparative analysis. The first tier evaluates the Sports Boulevard and three precedents using observable indicators derived from the four principles, while the second reviews AI-enabled systems from three international cases to identify their humanization function and examine their potential relevance to Riyadh’s hyper-arid context. The analysis shows that humanizing arterial streets depends not only on spatial redesign but also on sensing, simulation, and adaptive control. Findings show that Riyadh’s Sports Boulevard has begun integrating responsive and technology-mediated features, which move it away from static design toward more adaptive place-making. The paper concludes that AI should be integrated within a broader socio-technical framework connecting spatial design, climatic adaptation, community needs, and accountable governance.
Land surface temperature (LST) is an important parameter for monitoring the thermal condition of the land surface, especially in rapidly urbanizing mountain areas. This study examines the spatial pattern of LST and its statistical association with land use/land cover (LULC) in Sundernagar Tehsil, Himachal Pradesh, India, using Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Collection 2 Level 2 scenes of 23 March 2015, 4 March 2020 and 18 March 2025. The three scenes were acquired on different dates within March; therefore, each scene is treated as a separate cross-sectional observation, and differences in absolute LST among dates are not interpreted as long-term change. LST was taken from the Surface Temperature band (ST_B10) and summarised for five LULC classes: Protected Area, Agricultural Area, Build-up Area, Barren Land and Water Bodies. Zonal statistics gave the same thermal order in all three scenes, with Barren Land showing the highest mean LST (29.74 °C, 22.20 °C, 25.21 °C) and Water Bodies the lowest (24.05 °C, 18.18 °C, 20.72 °C). Neighboring pixels are spatially autocorrelated and cannot be treated as independent observations. Therefore, the pixel-level Pearson correlations between LST and the spectral indices (NDVI, NDWI, and NDBI) are interpreted as descriptive measures of association, while nominal p-values and confidence intervals are not treated as inferential statistics. On the full raster, NDBI had positive correlations with LST (r = 0.3671, 0.2406, and 0.3154), while NDWI had negative correlations (r = −0.2790, −0.2988, and −0.2801). Across the three spectral indices, the unadjusted relationships explained approximately 2–13% of LST variance. NDVI showed weak positive unadjusted correlations with LST (r = 0.1315–0.1879), but its regression coefficient became negative in all three scenes after adjustment for elevation, slope, and aspect. Adding terrain variables to the LULC models increased R2 from 0.148–0.315 to 0.598–0.632, indicating that interpretation of land cover thermal associations was sensitive to terrain adjustment. The results show a consistent association between land cover and surface temperature within each date and can support land use planning in Himalayan towns, but they do not show a causal effect or a long-term trend.
Urban spatial segregation may be associated with sociodemographic conditions. Taking the city of Loja, Ecuador, as a case study, and using household heads’ educational attainment as a proxy variable, we calculated the Global Spatial Segregation Index (GSSI) and the Areal Spatial Segregation Index (ASSI) for the 2010 and 2022 national censuses. We evaluated correlations between the ASSI and sociodemographic variables related to social security coverage, privatization of education, employment type, technological availability, and ethnic self-identification. The findings show that: (i) socioeconomic spatial segregation in Loja persisted between 2010 and 2022 with moderate changes in intensity—it increased among low-education households (GSSI rising from 21.2 to 23.5), decreased among high-education households (from 19.9 to 17.7), and remained low among middle-education households (from 8.6 to 9.7); (ii) low-education strata remain over-represented in the historical parish of Sucre (now Sucre and Carigán), while high-education strata remain over-represented in Sagrario, in the historical parish of San Sebastián (now San Sebastián and Punzara), and in the north-eastern sector of El Valle; (iii) a strong positive correlation is evident between the ASSI of high-education strata and social security coverage, and home internet and computer availability. These results can support urban planning aimed at reducing spatial segregation in the city of Loja.
With the high rate of deforestation and forest degradation in both rural and urban Uganda, understanding societal (youth) opinions regarding the state of affairs is vital. This study examined preferred ecosystems services and perceived satisfaction with the urban forestry and green spaces on urban livelihood, welfare, resilience, and environmental sustainability in four Ugandan cities: Kampala, Fort Portal, Mbarara, and Gulu. It explored the factors associated with youth satisfaction regarding the number of urban green spaces and parks. This study surveyed 501 responses using an online questionnaire, which were subjected to descriptive and ordered logit regression analysis. Descriptive results revealed that, whereas about 66% of participants expressed satisfaction with current urban parks, about 70% were keenly engaged in urban initiatives. A noteworthy 99% of the respondents expressed support for increased investment in green spaces and parks. The regression results demonstrated that Ugandan youths’ satisfaction with city green spaces and parks is predominantly driven by quality over quantity. A preference for biodiversity services was positively and very significantly connected to public satisfaction with the number of greenery spaces. On the contrary, a preference for air quality benefits echoed un-met ecological prospects, leading to lower satisfaction. Youths’ quality expectations appeared as the single most powerful predictor of satisfaction. Likewise, vigorous public participation in tree planting, vibrant youth outdoor engagement, and women’s involvement positively and significantly enhanced public satisfaction with the number of greenery spaces. Ultimately, urban investments and environmental awareness campaigns did not directly relate to satisfaction. Apart from income, demographics did not show any significant association with satisfaction. Urban planners in Uganda ought to focus on society-centered, biodiversity-rich, and functionally maintained urban forestry strategies.
