image: Urban expansion trajectories of 107 Chinese cities from 1992 to 2021, alongside nationwide trends in key socioecological factors across the urbanization gradient.
Credit: ©Science China Press
The research team, led by Professor Ranhao Sun and Professor Liding Chen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, together with Dr. Wenning Li, Dr. Song Leng, and Mr. Hongbin He, in collaboration with Professor Jianquan Cheng from Manchester Metropolitan University, Professor Xiaojun Yang from Florida State University, and Professor Zhaowu Yu from Fudan University, has developed an innovative ecological–social framework to investigate how urbanization affects subjective well-being (SWB).
Drawing on 2.92 million street view images and 5.3 million geotagged social media posts across 107 Chinese cities, the team developed an integrated ecological–social framework that links the physical and social characteristics of urban environments to residents’ expressed well-being. Their findings show that rapid urbanization has significantly reshaped the well-being landscape: disparities in SWB are narrowing, with marked improvements among groups with initially lower well-being and declines among those with higher well-being.
By disentangling ecological and socioeconomic drivers, the study reveals strikingly different patterns. Urban ecological features such as vegetation cover and street ecological quality bolster SWB in lower well-being populations but have negative associations in higher well-being groups. Conversely, social and economic factors—population density, road networks, and accessibility of public services—are more strongly linked to the well-being of higher groups, while offering fewer benefits to those with lower SWB. This divergence highlights the complex, multifaceted pathways through which urbanization shapes human experience.
China’s unprecedented pace of urbanization over the past three decades provided an ideal case to explore these dynamics. Rather than reinforcing inequality, urban expansion appears to play a “leveling” role in SWB by elevating disadvantaged groups. At the same time, the research cautions that the benefits of urban greening and social development are not distributed uniformly, underscoring the importance of inclusive planning.
“This study provides compelling evidence that urban ecological improvements can reduce well-being disparities, while social equity policies remain crucial to sustaining overall quality of life,” said the authors. “Cities must be designed not only for growth, but for fairness and resilience.”
The findings open new possibilities for integrating big data, artificial intelligence, and socio-ecological analysis into urban planning. By highlighting the interplay of environmental and social factors, the research offers guidance for building healthier, more equitable cities in China and beyond.
Journal
National Science Review
Method of Research
Data/statistical analysis