Economic Spatial Structure in China: Evidence from Railway Transport Network

This study analyzes the structure of China’s overall railway transport network and its sub-networks of conventional railway and high-speed railway, with the aim to understand the country’s economic spatial structure that is reflected by or underlines the railway transport network. First, the results indicate that compared with developed cities, backward cities not only have fewer train services but also lack a symmetrical transport plan; backward cities tend to connect with developed cities rather than within themselves. Second, the national-level urban hierarchy was established using the proposed algorithm, which helped reveal the economic geography of three economic plates in China. Third, the law of the primate city is not prominent in a large country such as China, which is undergoing regional restructuring with the economic center of gravity shifting to the coastal area while also moving south.

A Post-Carbon Future?

The Latrobe Valley, Australia, is a resource community in transition. The post-carbon future has yet to be realised, and the immediate future is one of economic uncertainty. A state and national economy was built upon energy production from brown coal (or lignite) since the early 1920s, but the realities of changing international and national markets and economies for coal-fired electricity are seeing its value diminish. The consequences of mining and power generation, of course, were left to be experienced by the residents of the Valley. The 2017 closure of Hazelwood Power Station and the Morwell or Hazelwood open-cut mine (as it has been called since the 2014 mine fire) proved to be the Valley’s tipping point for a future without brown coal generation. This article uses the case study of the Latrobe Valley to explore government and corporate renderings of the transition, and the closure of Hazelwood Power Station in particular. We introduce the concept of “extractive meaningˮ to understand and theorise the way that narratives are evoked by government and coal-related corporations that use the structures of collective memory and oral history, but that appear to be more akin to practices that seek to codify, confine, and strip popular and local experience of its meaning. Regional memory and oral history are blanketed under a powerful set of discourses. In this exploratory analysis, we contend that in this version of regional restructuring neo-liberalism is given full rein, history and heritage are in flux with strong Government and corporate direction to assist current policy priorities, even whilst dissonant elements of a vernacular interpretation of regional changes are still discernible.

Path Renewal or Path Dependence? The Role of Industrial Culture in Regional Restructuring

In recent decades, manufacturing industries in Europe have undergone a deep transformation due to global market competition, automation, and adaptation to globalized production patterns. The impact of deindustrialization and regional restructuring has been particularly strong on regions outside of metropolitan areas, which may be locked in their specific development path and cannot benefit from agglomeration effects. However, scholars are increasingly shifting their attention to processes of regional renewal, emphasizing the strengths and potentials of such regions. Such potentials holds the concept of Industrial Culture which is defined as a particular cultural setting made up of certain intangible assets, such as skills, attitudes, traditions, tangible monuments, and artefacts. Based on the case study of the district of Zwickau, the authors identify three dimensions of Industrial Culture. These cultural, social, and economic aspects can be underscored by different—albeit often overlapping—actions, opening up new development options for the region if embedded in a broad network of regional actors. Industrial Culture can thus be perceived as a strategic concept to form a coherent approach of regional development by integrating various existing activities in a region.

Reestruturação urbano-regional amazônica e seus reflexos na produção do espaço urbano de Imperatriz-MA / The amazon regional urban restructuring and its reflections in the production of the urban area of imperatriz-MA

<p>Neste artigo, discutimos elementos essenciais do processo de urbanização presente na região amazônica e suas implicações na dinâmica urbana de Imperatriz. As mudanças socioeconômicas, demográficas e culturais presentes nessa macro-região desde 1950, foram motivadas pelos processos de modernização regional. Teve destaque nesse cenário, a difusão das estratégias de ocupação e povoamento orientadas através dos projetos de colonização, mínero-metalúrgicos, agropecuários e atualmente o dinamismo socioeconômico assumido por algumas cidades. Ressaltamos nesse contexto, a participação da cidade de Imperatriz que localiza-se na porção oriental dessa região. Entre as décadas de 1960-1980, Imperatriz registrou notável crescimento demográfico e econômico. A partir da década de 1980, verificaram-se mudanças significativas na sua estrutural funcional, sendo orientadas pelas atividades terciárias, em particular, a consolidação da atividade comercial e o desenvolvimento dos serviços de educação superior e saúde. Do ponto de vista metodológico, as reflexões aqui realizadas foram guiadas a partir de uma análise de dados socioeconômicos organizados por órgão oficiais. É o caso do IBGE, IMESC e Fundação João Pinheiro e ainda por uma revisão bibliográfica que destaca os significados das cidades médias no contexto da região amazônica.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave</strong>: Reestruturação urbano-regional; Urbanização Amazônica; Imperatriz-MA.</p><p><strong>Abstract </strong></p><p>In this article, we discuss essential elements of the process of urbanization present in the Amazon region and its implications in the urban dynamics of Imperatriz. The socioeconomic, demographic and cultural changes present in this macro-region since 1950, were motivated by the processes of regional modernization. In this scenario, the diffusion of occupation and settlement strategies was oriented through the colonization, mining-metallurgical, agricultural and livestock projects, and the socio-economic dynamism assumed by some cities. We emphasize in this context, the participation of the city of Imperatriz that is located in the eastern portion of that region. Between the decades of 1960-1980, Imperatriz registered a remarkable demographic and economic growth. From the 1980s, there were significant changes in its functional structure, being driven by tertiary activities, in particular, the consolidation of commercial activity and the development of higher education and health services. From the methodological point of view, the reflections carried out here were guided by an analysis of socioeconomic data organized by official bodies. This is the case of the IBGE, IMESC and João Pinheiro Foundation, as well as a bibliographical review that highlights the meanings of medium-sized cities in the context of the Amazon region.</p><strong>Keywords</strong>: Urban-regional restructuring. Amazonian Urbanization. Imperatriz-MA.