IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-15 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2026.106790

Wenxue Xia , Guangwen Meng , Haiyu Zhang , Shufang Wang

Chinese Free Trade Zones (FTZs) serve as critical platforms for achieving high-level economic openness. The development of their regional image is essential for the sustainable socio-economic growth within these zones. This paper adopts the social constructivism as its theoretical perspective and establishes a comprehensive analytical framework of “self-construction”, “other-construction”, and “comprehension-construction”. It innovatively combines narrative text analysis with news big data to systematically reveal the power operation logic of discourse on the regional image. The research focuses on the Tianjin Free Trade Pilot Zone (TPFTZ), examines the influence of news big data on the regional image of the TPFTZ and evaluates the current regional image with its underlying causes. The findings reveal that news reports have shaped a regional image characterized by positive domestic coverage and negative international public opinion. Specifically, the volume of self-construction-oriented news reports is approximately 30 times higher than that of other-construction-oriented reports, reflecting a policy-driven characteristic. Other-construction-oriented news primarily highlights the economic and environmental impacts of emergencies, demonstrating an event-driven focus. In the comprehension-construction perspective, cooperation events constitute the main type of international events, potentially having a more significant positive impact on African countries, while conflict events tend to have a greater negative impact on the Americas and Africa. Overall, negative public opinion prevails, indicating a retrospective focus on specific events during a certain period. This study holds practical value for enhancing the regional image of the TPFTZ and other national-level policy zones, providing valuable insights for their sustainable development.

中国的自由贸易区是实现高水平经济开放的重要平台。发展其区域形象对于这些区域内可持续的社会经济增长至关重要。本文以社会建构主义为理论视角，构建了“自我建构”、“他者建构”、“理解建构”的综合分析框架。创新地将叙事文本分析与新闻大数据相结合，系统地揭示话语对地域形象的权力运行逻辑。本研究以天津自由贸易试验区为研究对象，考察新闻大数据对试验区区域形象的影响，并对目前区域形象的现状及其深层次原因进行评价。研究结果表明，新闻报道塑造了一个以国内正面报道和国际负面舆论为特征的区域形象。具体而言，自我建设型新闻报道的数量约为其他建设型新闻报道的30倍，体现出政策驱动的特点。以其他建设为导向的新闻主要强调突发事件的经济和环境影响，展示了事件驱动的焦点。在综合性建设视角下，合作事件是国际事件的主要类型，对非洲国家的潜在积极影响更为显著，而冲突事件对美洲和非洲国家的负面影响往往更大。总体而言，负面舆论盛行，表明对某一时期特定事件的回顾性关注。本研究对于提升自贸区及其他国家级政策园区的区域形象，为其可持续发展提供有价值的见解，具有实用价值。

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引用次数: 0

Homeownership and preferences for government redistribution in China: Mediating roles of employment sector and socioeconomic perceptions 中国住房所有权和政府再分配偏好：就业部门和社会经济观念的中介作用

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-28 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2026.106792

Menglin Liu , Ang Liu

Housing constitutes one of the most significant assets for ordinary citizens in China, yet its political implications remain underexplored. Existing political economy theories, largely developed in democratic contexts, predict that property ownership reduces support for redistribution. This study examines whether these expectations hold in China by analyzing the heterogeneous effects of homeownership on policy support for policies related to redistribution. Using nationally representative survey data and combining matching techniques with instrumental variable analysis, we find that homeownership increases support for policies related to redistribution. This positive effect is significantly stronger among employees of state-owned enterprises than among private-sector workers. Mediation analysis further suggests that this relationship operates through channels including family wealth, perceptions of inequality, and marital status. These findings challenge dominant asset-based theories of redistribution and demonstrate that the political consequences of homeownership are fundamentally shaped by institutional context. More broadly, the study highlights how housing functions not only as an economic asset but also as a socio-political mechanism through which states mediate welfare expectations and social stability.

住房是中国普通公民最重要的资产之一，但其政治含义仍未得到充分探讨。现有的主要在民主背景下发展起来的政治经济学理论预测，财产所有权会减少对再分配的支持。本研究通过分析住房所有权对再分配相关政策支持的异质性效应，来检验这些预期在中国是否成立。利用具有全国代表性的调查数据，并结合匹配技术和工具变量分析，我们发现住房所有权增加了对再分配相关政策的支持。这种积极影响在国有企业员工中明显强于私营部门员工。调解分析进一步表明，这种关系通过家庭财富、对不平等的看法和婚姻状况等渠道发挥作用。这些发现挑战了以资产为基础的再分配理论，并证明了住房所有权的政治后果从根本上是由制度背景决定的。更广泛地说，这项研究强调了住房不仅是一种经济资产，而且是一种社会政治机制，国家通过它来调节福利预期和社会稳定。

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引用次数: 0

The disappearing town planner and layout: “Economic rules for town planning” as a government activity reconsidered 消失的城市规划与布局：作为政府活动的“城市规划的经济规律”再思考

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-09 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2026.106816

Lawrence W.C. Lai

This commentary discusses two rules for town planning proposed by economists; explains that these rules need to be contextualised in terms of the role of a government planner, as well as the institutional and physical constraints posed by town layouts; and points out that rules are essential for planning.

这篇评论讨论了经济学家提出的两个城镇规划规则；解释这些规则需要结合政府规划师的角色，以及城镇布局所带来的制度和物理限制；并指出规则对于规划至关重要。

引用次数: 0

Ambivalent governance and urban resilience in Kabukicho's sex industry: Local actors, built environment, and the survival of a contested urban space 歌舞伎町性产业的矛盾治理和城市弹性：地方行动者、建筑环境和有争议的城市空间的生存

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-16 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106723

Toru Takeoka

The present study explores the governance of commercial sex in Kabukicho, Tokyo, where small- and medium-sized sex-related venues persist in the face of gentrification, moral policing, and urban redevelopment. The research is based on fieldwork, participant observation, and 21 in-depth interviews with workers, managers, recruiters, and landowners. The study examines how governance, local actor networks, and the built environment sustain a contested urban economy. The analysis reveals three overlapping dynamics: (1) recruiters facilitate labour mobility whilst moderating managerial exploitation; (2) building owners and local organisations express moral ambivalence, supporting “harmless” venues whilst advocating security enforcement; and (3) spatial forms such as dense mixed-use buildings obscure internal operations, thereby enabling legal ambiguity. The resilience of Kabukicho can be attributed to the complex interplay of actors, spatial design, and enforcement strategies. This contributes to international debates on urban informality, governance, and the survival of deviant economies in global cities.

本研究探讨了东京歌舞伎町的性交易管理，在那里，中小型性相关场所在面对士绅化、道德监管和城市重建时仍然存在。该研究基于实地调查、参与性观察以及对工人、管理人员、招聘人员和土地所有者的21次深度访谈。该研究考察了治理、地方行动者网络和建筑环境如何维持有争议的城市经济。分析揭示了三个重叠的动态：(1)招聘者促进劳动力流动，同时缓和管理剥削；(2)楼宇业主及地方组织表现出道德上的矛盾，一方面支持“无害”场地，另一方面又主张执行保安措施；(3)密集的混合用途建筑等空间形式模糊了内部操作，从而使法律模糊。歌舞伎町的韧性可以归因于演员、空间设计和执行策略之间复杂的相互作用。这促进了关于城市非正式性、治理和全球城市中异常经济生存的国际辩论。

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引用次数: 0

Institutional logics of the smart city and the emergence of new configurations of local governance 智慧城市的制度逻辑与地方治理新形态的出现

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-16 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106727

Devika Prakash , Andrew Karvonen

The smart city is a prominent urban development discourse that has been applied to urban policies and programs around the world. To date, there are limited empirical insights on how smart city policies and programs are leading to institutional change in urban local governance. Recent scholarship has mobilized the notion of institutional logics to unpack how the broader smart city discourse shapes local governance landscapes. We contribute to this scholarship by exploring how institutional logics of the smart city come together in context-specific configurations. To do so, we draw upon empirical findings from an in-depth qualitative case study of Kochi, one of the first 20 cities to win funding from India's Smart Cities Mission. The study findings show how institutional logics of the smart city shape the structure and functioning of the new organisation – the smart city special purpose vehicle (SPV) - set up to implement smart city projects. A hybridisation of corporate and technocratic logics shapes the governance structure of the SPV as a corporate organisation with a company board staffed by licenced professions hired from the private sector. Tensions among collaboration, innovation, and bureaucratic logics shape and limit the functioning of the SPV as various smart city experiments face resistance from bureaucratic logics of the state government actors involved. A hybridisation of branding and market logics connects the city to global smart city trends and enhances the reputation of Kochi through marketing and boosterism. The study provides new insights on how smart city policies and programmes are resulting in institutional changes at the local level.

智慧城市是一个突出的城市发展话语，已被应用于世界各地的城市政策和项目。迄今为止，关于智慧城市政策和计划如何导致城市地方治理制度变革的实证见解有限。最近的学术研究利用制度逻辑的概念来揭示更广泛的智慧城市话语如何塑造地方治理景观。我们通过探索智慧城市的制度逻辑如何在特定环境的配置中结合在一起，为这一奖学金做出了贡献。为此，我们借鉴了高知的深入定性案例研究的实证结果，高知是首批获得印度智慧城市使命资助的20个城市之一。研究结果显示了智慧城市的制度逻辑如何塑造新组织的结构和功能-智慧城市特殊目的车辆(SPV) -为实施智慧城市项目而设立。公司逻辑和技术官僚逻辑的混合，塑造了SPV作为一个公司组织的治理结构，公司董事会由从私营部门聘请的持牌专业人士组成。协作、创新和官僚逻辑之间的紧张关系塑造并限制了SPV的功能，因为各种智慧城市实验面临来自相关州政府行为体官僚逻辑的阻力。品牌和市场逻辑的混合将城市与全球智慧城市趋势联系起来，并通过营销和助推器提高高知的声誉。该研究为智慧城市政策和计划如何在地方层面导致制度变革提供了新的见解。

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引用次数: 0

Beyond street-level shops: Characteristics of three-dimensional commercial distribution dynamics in Beijing combining Gaode and Dianping data 超越街道商铺：结合高德与大众点评数据的北京立体商业分布动态特征

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-29 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106765

Enjia Zhang , Li Wan , Ying Long

This study investigates the evolving spatial patterns of urban commercial establishments in the digital era through a three-dimensional analytical framework. Using integrated data from Gaode Map and Dianping, we analyze traditional street-level businesses —retail, food and beverage (F&B), and daily service—across Beijing's Fifth Ring Road from 2012 to 2024. The results show ground-floor street-facing (street-level) establishments declined overall but proved more resilient during the pandemic with a partial rebound, while their non-street-facing counterparts grew steadily, and non-ground-floor businesses maintained overall growth despite a temporary drop during COVID, followed by partial recovery. Spatially, street-level business proportion decreased with distance from the urban core, whereas non-ground-floor establishments clustered within the 2nd–4th ring roads. Retail and F&B establishments strongly favored street-level locations, particularly after the pandemic, whereas daily service businesses showed relatively greater preference for non-street-level spaces. Notably, platform comparisons reveal distinct recording patterns: while Gaode captured more street-level establishments, Dianping registered higher proportions of horizontally/vertically expanded businesses. Vertically expanded establishments demonstrated higher online ratings and review volumes, suggesting digital platforms may help mitigate visibility limitations in physical space. National and local policies that may have facilitated commercial expansion are also discussed. These insights offer valuable implications for the operation of commercial establishments and urban policymaking in the digital era.

本研究通过三维分析框架探讨了数字时代城市商业场所空间格局的演变。利用高德地图和大众点评的综合数据，我们分析了2012年至2024年北京五环的传统街道商业——零售、餐饮（F&；B）和日常服务。结果显示，底层临街企业总体下降，但在疫情期间表现出更强的弹性，出现了部分反弹，而非临街企业则稳步增长，非底层企业尽管在疫情期间出现暂时下降，但总体保持增长，随后出现部分复苏。在空间上，街道商业比例随着距离城市核心的距离而降低，而非地面商业比例则聚集在二四环内。零售和餐饮机构强烈偏好街道位置，特别是在大流行之后，而日常服务企业则相对更倾向于非街道位置。值得注意的是，平台对比显示出不同的记录模式：高德网捕获了更多的街道级企业，而大众点评网的横向/纵向扩张企业比例更高。垂直扩张的机构显示出更高的在线评级和评论量，这表明数字平台可能有助于缓解实体空间的可见性限制。还讨论了可能促进商业扩张的国家和地方政策。这些见解为数字时代商业机构的运营和城市政策制定提供了宝贵的启示。

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引用次数: 0

Situated urban political ecology of climate resilience planning: The land use planning conundrum in Ghana 气候弹性规划的城市政治生态：加纳土地利用规划难题

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-17 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106758

Abdul-Salam Ibrahim , Thembela Kepe

The insufficient focus on power and equity in earlier resilience thinking prompted urban resilience planning scholars to explore urban political ecology for insights into the power dynamics that influence varying levels of vulnerability and resilience to urban environmental stressors. However, the predominance of neoliberal capitalist logic in Marxist urban political ecology attracted criticism and calls for a situated urban political ecology. This study employs a situated urban political ecology lens, drawing on postcolonial and strategic relational approaches to analyze how the situated knowledge of climate change among land custodians informs their land use planning practices through resilience-oriented land use planning. Using qualitative research methods in two secondary cities in Ghana, the findings show that strategic selectivity disrupts the influence of land custodians' situated knowledge in resilience-oriented land use planning. Urban poor residents suffer the negative consequences of the land use planning actions of the custodians. On the other hand, the main land use planning actors and powerholders (land custodians, private developers, and planning officials) benefit from the workings of the land use planning system. Diverse social, cultural and economic motives inform the strategic selectivity of powerholders in land use planning, contrary to the predominant neoliberal logic of Marxist urban political ecology. We recommend that efforts to enhance urban resilience through land use planning within the sub-Saharan African context should acknowledge the strategic selectivity of powerholders and simultaneously create provisions to prevent the abuse of power and mitigate negative impacts on the environment and the urban poor.

早期弹性思维对权力和公平的关注不足，促使城市弹性规划学者探索城市政治生态学，以深入了解影响城市环境压力源不同程度的脆弱性和弹性的权力动态。然而，新自由主义资本主义逻辑在马克思主义城市政治生态学中的主导地位引起了批评，并呼吁建立一个定位的城市政治生态学。本研究采用城市政治生态学视角，借鉴后殖民和战略关系方法，分析土地管理者的气候变化知识如何通过以弹性为导向的土地利用规划，为他们的土地利用规划实践提供信息。通过对加纳两个二级城市的定性研究方法，研究结果表明，战略选择性破坏了土地保管人在以弹性为导向的土地利用规划中的定位知识的影响。城市贫困居民遭受土地利用规划行为的管理者的负面后果。另一方面，土地利用规划的主要参与者和权利人（土地保管人、私人开发商和规划官员）从土地利用规划系统的运作中受益。不同的社会、文化和经济动机决定了权力拥有者在土地利用规划中的战略选择，这与马克思主义城市政治生态学中占主导地位的新自由主义逻辑相反。我们建议，在撒哈拉以南非洲地区通过土地利用规划增强城市韧性的努力应承认掌权者的战略选择性，同时制定相关规定，防止权力滥用，减轻对环境和城市贫困人口的负面影响。

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引用次数: 0

Competitive or complementary role of bike-sharing to public transport: Budapest case study 共享单车对公共交通的竞争或补充作用：布达佩斯案例研究

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-18 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106738

Dávid Földes

Bike-sharing offers a suitable option for short rides in major cities worldwide, yet its role in urban transport remains unclear. This study examines how bike-sharing (BS) interacts with public transport (PT), either as a complementary feeder or a competing substitute service. Using a unique origin–destination dataset of over 2.2 million rentals in Budapest, Hungary (September 2023–August 2024), descriptive statistics and a zero-inflated negative binomial model were applied to explain both zero and positive rental counts based on PT availability and network and cycling infrastructure characteristics. Results show that bicycle distance is the strongest predictor of both zero rentals and ride intensity, while bicycle-friendly infrastructure and relative PT travel time significantly increase BS demand. Findings indicate a dual role of BS, though competition with PT dominates. BS often substitutes for short PT trips (1–2 stops), especially for the metro, or is used to avoid transfers. Competition is stronger when BS is faster than PT, notably in the morning peak, or when bicycle-friendly roads run parallel to PT lines. Complementarity emerges mainly in winter, when cycling conditions are worse, and in areas where PT availability is weak, but the metro is available nearby. Tram and especially metro connectivity positively affect BS use, while links with bus service are weak. These results can guide policymakers in expanding BS infrastructure to reinforce its complementary role.

在全球主要城市，共享单车为短途出行提供了一种合适的选择，但它在城市交通中的作用尚不清楚。本研究探讨了共享单车（BS）如何与公共交通（PT）相互作用，无论是作为补充馈线还是竞争替代服务。使用匈牙利布达佩斯（2023年9月至2024年8月）超过220万次租金的独特始发目的地数据集，基于PT可用性、网络和自行车基础设施特征，应用描述性统计和零膨胀负二项模型来解释零和正租金计数。结果表明，自行车距离是零租金和骑行强度的最强预测因子，而自行车友好型基础设施和相对PT出行时间显著增加了BS需求。研究结果表明BS的双重作用，尽管与PT的竞争占主导地位。公交通常代替短途公交（1-2站），尤其是地铁，或者用来避免换乘。当公交比公交快的时候，竞争就会更激烈，尤其是在早高峰，或者当适合骑车的道路与公交平行的时候。互补性主要出现在冬季，当骑行条件较差时，以及在PT可用性较弱但附近有地铁可用的地区。有轨电车和地铁的连通性对BS的使用有积极影响，而与公交服务的联系很弱。这些结果可以指导政策制定者扩大BS基础设施，以加强其互补作用。

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引用次数: 0

The impact of intercity population mobility on intra-urban regional income disparities: A cross-scale spatial study 城市间人口流动对城市内区域收入差异的影响：一个跨尺度的空间研究

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106755

Ziyu Zhao , Xinyu Zuo , Shiyao Zhao , Xiajing Liu , Shijun Wang

Although regional income disparities have drawn significant attention as a pressing practical issue for most countries, particularly developing ones, the existing literature on human mobility and regional income disparities has predominantly focused on the perspective of the migration of the floating population. To date, no research has investigated the impact of daily intercity population mobility on regional income disparities. Departing from previous research that analyzes the effect of the floating population's migration intensity, this study offers empirical evidence from a network-based perspective. Using data from China, the findings of this study demonstrate that daily intercity population mobility mitigates regional income disparities, while also exhibiting a spatial spillover effect that exacerbates regional income disparities in neighboring regions. The study also examines heterogeneity in these effects through two dimensions: transportation mode heterogeneity and network metric heterogeneity. Furthermore, this study reveals a cross-scale relationship between population mobility behavior and its economic effects—specifically, large-scale intercity population mobility influences small-scale intra-urban economic development. This research broadens the research perspective on human mobility and regional income disparities, contributing to the theoretical expansion of urban network externalities. It also offers practical implications for policymaking aimed at regional coordinated development.

虽然区域收入差距作为一个紧迫的实际问题已经引起了大多数国家，特别是发展中国家的极大关注，但现有的关于人口流动和区域收入差距的文献主要集中在流动人口迁移的角度。到目前为止，还没有研究调查城市间人口流动对区域收入差距的影响。在分析流动人口迁移强度影响的基础上，本研究从基于网络的视角提供了实证证据。利用中国的数据，本研究的结果表明，城市间的日常人口流动缓解了区域收入差距，同时也表现出空间溢出效应，加剧了邻近地区的区域收入差距。本研究还通过两个维度考察了这些影响的异质性：运输方式异质性和网络度量异质性。此外，本研究还揭示了人口流动行为与其经济效应之间的跨尺度关系，即大规模的城际人口流动影响小规模的城市内经济发展。本研究拓宽了人口流动与区域收入差距的研究视角，有助于城市网络外部性的理论拓展。这也为区域协调发展的决策提供了现实意义。

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引用次数: 0

Infrastructure and accessibility implications of implementing x-minute city policies in low-density contexts 低密度环境下实施x分钟城市政策对基础设施和可达性的影响

IF 6.6 1区经济学 Q1 URBAN STUDIES

Cities

Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-15 DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106717

Steve Pemberton , Tayebeh Saghapour , Billie Giles-Corti , Mahsa Abdollahyar , Alan Both , Daniel Pearson , Carl Higgs , Afshin Jafari , Dhirendra Singh , Lucy Gunn , James Woodcock , Belén Zapata-Diomedi

Addressing priorities such as health, liveability, and climate resilience, many global governments are exploring x-minute city and x-minute neighbourhood policies. Addressing a lack of operational models for x-minute cities, we developed a model to assess accessibility and utilisation implications of their implementation, testing the model by applying it to the low-density city of Melbourne, Australia, where 20-minute neighbourhood (20MN) policy focuses on walkable access to daily destinations within 10 minutes (20 minute round trip), and applying the model to people living within 10-minute walking distance ‘catchments’ of mixed-use activity centres. We curated a list of 14 destination types (such as supermarkets and primary schools), and developed a method to model notional placement of additional destinations to place at least 80 % of people in each catchment within a 10-minute walk of each destination type. We extended accessibility considerations to cycling, based on a 10-minute one-way ride. Our results show improvements in accessibility across the city as a whole, particularly in inner urban areas; but with significant improvements in outer urban areas, characterised by low housing density, when cycling is promoted. Our utilisation analysis demonstrates feasibility challenges when implementing x-minute city policies in less densely populated locations. Our conclusions underscore the importance of supporting x-minute city policies with safe cycling infrastructure and careful urban densification strategies. Our findings are relevant to many cities seeking to implement x-minute city or neighbourhood policies worldwide, especially cities facing challenges of low density.

为了解决健康、宜居性和气候适应能力等优先事项，许多全球政府正在探索x分钟城市和x分钟社区政策。为了解决x分钟城市缺乏运营模型的问题，我们开发了一个模型来评估其实施的可达性和利用意义，并通过将其应用于澳大利亚墨尔本的低密度城市来测试该模型，该城市的20分钟社区（20MN）政策侧重于在10分钟内步行到达日常目的地（往返20分钟），并将该模型应用于居住在10分钟步行距离内的人们。我们整理了一份包含14种目的地类型（如超市和小学）的清单，并开发了一种方法来模拟额外目的地的概念布局，将至少80%的人安置在距离每种目的地类型10分钟步行路程内的每个集水区。我们将可达性考虑扩展到骑自行车，以单程10分钟为基础。我们的研究结果表明，整个城市的可达性有所改善，尤其是在城市内部地区；但随着城市外围地区的显著改善，以低住房密度为特征，当自行车被推广时。我们的利用分析显示了在人口密度较低的地区实施x分钟城市政策的可行性挑战。我们的结论强调了支持x分钟城市政策的重要性，包括安全的自行车基础设施和谨慎的城市密度战略。我们的研究结果与全球许多寻求实施x分钟城市或社区政策的城市相关，特别是面临低密度挑战的城市。

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引用次数: 0

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