Why small towns are shrinking: The spatial heterogeneity of small towns shrinkage and the impact of it from the perspective of rural-urban interaction in China.

ABSTRACT: Small towns play a crucial role in bridging urban and rural territory systems. While numerous studies have identified the characteristics and causes of small town shrinkage (STS), there remains an unexplored perspective on the reasons for their shrinkage from the perspective of the rural-urban relationship. To address this research gap, we investigated the relationship between STS and rural-urban interaction (RUI) in China. We hypothesized that a negative relationship existed between the degree of STS and the intensity of RUI. Using geo-statistical methods, such as the multi-scale geographical weighted regression (MGWR) model, the hypothesis was tested using Henan Province in China as a case study. The results indicated that the phenomenon of STS was observed extensively across the study r

SUBMITTER: Han Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10621925 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature