The administrative hierarchy of the city in China determines its ability of mobilizing resources and the direction of migrations, and it is also the direct subjects of policy implementation. Previous literature has rarely analyzed migrations from the perspective of urban administrative hierarchy. Using data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this study explores the patterns of migration across urban administrative hierarchy and the influencing factors of destination choice. The results show that according to the urban administrative hierarchy, upward migrations are dominant. Spatially, inter-regional migration to the eastern region is a prominent feature. For the population that has migrated multiple times, subsequent migrations are dominated by horizontal and intra-regional migrations, with the proportion of downward migrations increasing and exceeding that of upward migrations. In the first migration, ordinary prefecture cities and provincial capital cities are preferred. In the subsequent migrations, the proportions of county-level cities (counties), separately planned cities and directly-administered municipalities have increased, which reflect repositioning of population after the first migration. Economic profits are the main driving force of migration, the socio-economic attributes and hukou-registered places affect the choice of destinations, which reflect the migrants' employment competitiveness, employment preferences, life cycle and path dependence on hukou-registered places. The choice of destination is also related to the migration scope, provincial capital cities are being preferred in intra-provincial migrations, while directly-administered municipalities are most likely to be chosen in inter-provincial migrations. This paper provides evidence for the theory of population migration that urban administrative hierarchy works, which shows a different pattern from Ravenstein's laws of step migration, and deepens the connotation of push-pull theory. The findings of the study are of revelatory value for the implementation of the new urbanization policy with counties as important carriers.

Population aging has become a major issue affecting the socio-economic sustainable development worldwide. In response to China's national situation of "getting old before getting rich", comprehensively improving the level of home-based elderly care services is an inevitable way to meet the multi-level elderly care needs. Based on the public or quasi-public characteristics of elderly care service facilities, a basic framework has been constructed from the perspectives of demand and supply. It takes into account the heterogeneity of elderly care needs and the balance between fairness and efficiency with the core of service facilities accessibility. The data of home-based elderly care needs came from questionnaire surveys and interviews with 545 elderly people aged 60 and above from 2021 to 2023 in Beijing, which included the needs for daily dining, cultural and sports activities, medical and health services and daytime care. The other data included 1 km population grid, permanent population and population ratio of different age groups, and POI of elderly care service facilities. By using SPSS statistical analysis and two-step floating catchment area method, the heterogeneity of home-based elderly care needs were analyzed and applied in evaluating accessibility of different elderly care service facilities. Dagum Gini coefficient and bivariate spatial autocorrelation method were used to analyze the spatial fairness and efficiency of comprehensive accessibility. The study found that (1) the individual attributes of elderly people certainly determine the heterogeneity of elderly care needs. Retirement status, census register, educational level, occupation (before retirement) and age are the important factors. (2) When the heterogeneity of elderly care needs was taken into account, the positive correlation between the accessibility and the satisfaction survey results is more significant. Compared to neglecting the heterogeneity, the result better revealed the matching relationship between service facilities and elderly care needs as well as significant spatial differences. (3) The comprehensive accessibility of home-based elderly care service facilities shows spatial unfairness with a gradually decreasing regional difference from the city center to the suburbs. However, the allocation of service facilities in most areas has taken into account utilization efficiency.

Financial agglomeration and economic resilience have become the hot and frontier field in economic geography. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the influence of financial agglomeration on urban economic resilience. Based on the analysis of relevant theories and research progress, this paper measures the level of financial agglomeration and economic resilience of 285 cities at or above the prefecture level from 2008 to 2021, and analyzes the overall characteristics, development process and spatial pattern characteristics of the above indicators. An econometric model is constructed to study the influence of financial agglomeration on economic resilience. The findings are as follows: (1) At the initial stage of the study, financial agglomeration mainly occurred in the central cities of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta; Subsequently, the degree of financial agglomeration in some cities in the central and western regions increased. The spatial distribution of financial agglomeration showed a diffusion phenomenon, from point-like distribution to blocky distribution. (2) The high value of urban economic resilience is mainly distributed in the central and western regions of China, and shows a trend of transferring from north to south and west to the central region. The overall level of economic resilience in the northeast region is not high, and the level of economic resilience declines significantly at the end of the study. (3) The full sample regression results show that, at the level of prefecture-level cities, the direct impact of financial agglomeration on urban economic resilience presents a significant inverted U-shaped relationship of first rising and then declining. The influence of financial agglomeration on economic resilience has a positive spatial spillover effect, and the local economic resilience will be positively weighted by the level of financial agglomeration in the surrounding areas. (4) The estimation results of the intermediary effect model show that with the improvement of the level of financial agglomeration, the industrial structure will deviate from the secondary industry, and the change of industrial structure can become the intermediary variable of financial agglomeration affecting the urban economic resilience. (5) Regional heterogeneity test results show that financial agglomeration has a negative spillover effect on economic resilience in the eastern region; The spatial spillover effect of the western and northeast regions is weak, and the spillover effect is relatively not obvious. The test of city type heterogeneity shows that for all types of cities, the direct promoting effect of financial agglomeration on economic resilience is significant, but the promoting effect is manifested as resource-based cities and old industrial cities > general cities > provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities.

The urban system is essentially a multilayer network formed by multiple single-layer networks that evolve and interact with each other. However, there is a notable paucity of empirical studies investigating interurban networks from a multiplexity-based perspective. This study addresses this gap by empirically investigating the structure and evolution of China's multilayer urban network from 2005 to 2020 across four key dimensions: multilayer centrality, interlayer correlations, multilayer hinterlands, and multilayer clique communities. The multilayer urban network is constructed from three distinct single-layer networks: the network of top 500 public companies, the patent transfer network, and the air flight network. This study yields four key findings. First, the multilayer centralities of cities exhibit a sequential growth trend, with the self-organizing feature mapping (SOFM) method identifying nine distinct evolutionary paths. Spatial dependence and convergence have continuously strengthened, with cities of high centralities clustered in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Shandong Peninsula, and the west coast of the Taiwan Strait. Second, a positive interdependency exists among different types of single-layer networks. The spatial pattern of edge interdependency forms a diamond shape, with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region as vertices. Node interdependency exhibits a trend towards decentralization, with a more pronounced hierarchical structure and spatial independence compared to multilayer centralities. Third, multilayer hinterland has rapidly expanded beyond geographical proximity, with the number of hinterland relationships increasing from 255 to 1814. Core cities within major urban agglomerations are embedded in the hinterlands of multiple cities, resulting in intertwined and overlapping multilayer hinterlands. Additionally, the decentralization of cities' power within multilayer hinterlands has become increasingly evident. Fourth, the number of cities in multilayer clique communities (when k=5 and m=2) increased from 14 to 168. These communities increasingly exhibit overlapping and mosaic characteristics, driving the evolution of China's multilayer urban network into a core-periphery structure. The study enriches the existing literature by exploring the coupling and diversity of network relationships and analyzing the structure and evolution of urban network from a multiplexity perspective. It also fills a critical gap in the analytical framework by presenting a novel approach for analyzing multilayer urban networks. The findings offer important implications for policymakers. In the future, the Chinese government should pay close attention to the multidimensional differences in cities' positions within multilayer urban networks, and give full play to the role of functional urban organizations that transcend geographical proximity - especially multi-factor flow channels and multilayer communities - to facilitate the efficient flow and optimal allocation of resources on a national scale.

Establishing external collaboration linkages is essential for cities to foster technological diversification. However, the effectiveness of these linkages relies on whether external technologies can effectively integrate with local ones. Most existing studies treat external collaborations as "homogeneous" linkages, overlooking the diverse technological contributions that different external partners might offer and their varying impacts on local innovation. To address this gap, this paper utilizes patent data from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (2001-2020) to examine how the technological heterogeneity in external collaboration linkages affects technological diversification in cities of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). The study reveals several key insights: (1) Regarding the evolution paths of technological diversification, core cities in the YRD are shifting from related to unrelated diversification, whereas peripheral cities are moving in the opposite direction. These dynamics are shaped by the cities' varying technological foundations, economic modes, and policy implementations. (2) Regarding the heterogeneity of external technologies, we observe that core cities tend to obtain external technologies that are highly related with local knowledge bases, focusing on complex, cutting-edge fields. In contrast, peripheral cities tend to engage with external technologies that are less related with local knowledge bases, and are often concentrated in traditional, low-end areas, indicating varying technological focuses and approaches of different cities in forming external collaborations. (3) Regression analysis indicates that the mere quantity and geographical scope of external collaborative connections do not guarantee whether a city is able to achieve technological diversification. Instead, the degree to which external technologies align with local capacities is crucial. Strong relatedness between external and local technologies could promote related diversification, while weaker relatedness might encourage unrelated diversification. This analysis underscores the importance of recognizing and leveraging the heterogeneity in external collaborations to enhance local technological diversification effectively.

Revealing the adaptive relationship between public cultural service supply and people's well-being constitutes an important issue in building a cultural power and enhancing people's quality of life. It is also a crucial link in promoting common prosperity. Based on the panel data of 26 cities at or above the prefecture level within the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration from 2012 to 2022, this study examines the adaptation mechanism between public cultural service supply and people's well-being, constructs the evaluation index systems of the two, and employs kernel density estimation, trend surface analysis, and other methods to depict the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics. The spatio-temporal adaptation relationship and interaction characteristics between the two systems is explored through a comprehensive fit model, spatial center of gravity model, and exploratory spatio-temporal data analysis. The results show that: (1) During the study period, public cultural service supply and the people's well-being index of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration rose dynamically. The development level differed significantly between the east and the west, and the inter-city disparity of the public cultural service supply index tended to converge, while the disparity of the people's well-being index continued to expand. (2) The distance between the center of gravity of public cultural service supply and people's livelihood initially increased and then decreased. The overall adaptation level of the study area rose amid fluctuations, presenting an evolution process of "low-level coupling - run-in adjustment period - high-level adaptation". The public cultural service supply has not formed a benign adaptation relationship with social well-being and health well-being. (3) The spatial correlation pattern between the public cultural service supply and people's well-being shows a certain transfer inertia, featuring strong path dependence and spatial locking characteristics, and the regional synergy effect is not prominent. The study can offer a geographical interpretation for public cultural service to enhance people's well-being and provide a scientific reference for formulating differentiated cultural development plans during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

In the context of the construction of Healthy China, the configuration of sports facilities from the environmental justice perspective (EJP) is important for enhancing the quality of life, health equity and sustainability of cities. How to embed the EJP to guide the optimization of the layout of sports facilities has emerged as a key focus. This paper constructs a research framework of "benefit evaluation-pattern mechanism-governance response", explores the feasibility of analyzing the spatial benefit of urban sports facilities (SBSF) while considering environmental "distribution" justice and spatial governance while considering environmental "distribution-recognition-ability-participation" justice, which is empirically analyzed in the context of Changsha, Hunan province. The conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) Enhancing SBSF with the EJP involves material (corresponding to distributive justice), institutional (corresponding to recognition and ability justice) and organizational layers (corresponding to participation justice). (2) The social equity (SE), functional well-being (FW) and environmental health (EH) benefits of sports facilities in Changsha are all at low to medium values. The correlation between SBSF is in weak coordinated and uncoordinated development. (3) The structural differentiation of Changsha's SBSF is the result of a combination of urban material conditions, institutional conditions, market relations and community autonomy. (4) Due to the need to improve the spatial benefits of SE-FW-EH coordination, Changsha can form a zoning and categorization governance strategy according to environmental "distribution-recognition-ability-participation" justice in eight categories: low-benefit, SE benefit, FW benefit, EH benefit, SE-FW benefit, FW-EH benefit, EH-SE benefit and coordinated benefit. This study is an attempt to construct a theoretical framework for evaluating the SBSF based on the EJP toward the SDGs. The indicator design, evaluation ideas and classified policy practices proposed by Changsha as empirical evidence can provide some references for the optimization of the layout and spatial governance of facilities in other cities.

The future industry serves as a critical platform for cultivating new quality productivity forces. Based on panel data of 284 prefecture-level and above cities in China, this study analyzes the spatio-temporal characteristics of future industry enterprise entry. On this basis, the impact effects and mechanisms of the national new generation artificial intelligence innovation and development pilot zones on such entry are empirically explored. The findings are as follows: (1) From 2011 to 2022, the number of future industry enterprises entering the market in China shows an upward trend, with future information industry and future manufacturing industry dominating the landscape. The spatial distribution of future industry enterprise entries gradually evolves from a pattern of "high in the east and west, with a collapse in the central part" in 2011 to a “two-tier echelon structure of east and central-west regions" by 2022. (2) The pilot zone policy can significantly promote the entry of future industry enterprises. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that pilot zone policy exerts a stronger promotional effect on future industry enterprise entry in the central and western regions, normal-grade cities and low-policy-intensity cities compared to the eastern region, higher-grade cities, and high-policy-intensity cities. (4) Mechanism tests indicate that the pilot zone policy promotes future industry enterprise entry mainly by facilitating the clustering of breakthrough technologies, attracting inflows of venture capital, and promoting the clustering of talents. (5) The spillover range of the pilot zone policy in attracting future industry enterprises is approximately 100 km. Compared to pilot zones in the central and western regions, normal-grade cities, and low-policy-intensity cities, those in the eastern region, higher-grade cities and high-policy-intensity cities exhibit a broader spillover range of policy. The study provides empirical supports for optimizing future industry layouts and advancing new quality productive forces, as well as enriching the research perspectives of economic geography on enterprise location decisions.

The global value chain (GVC) is a key force shaping the international division of labor and an important perspective for understanding global economic dynamics. This paper constructs a long-term global value chain network dataset based on multi-regional input-output tables and input-output analysis techniques. By integrating advanced network analysis algorithms such as core-periphery profile, disparity filter, and simulation attacks, this study characterizes the macrostructure and spatiotemporal evolution of the GVC network. The paper analyzes the topological structure features of the GVC network and measures its structural resilience and evolutionary characteristics in multiple dimensions. The research findings are as follows: (1) The value flow scale of major global economies forms a hierarchical structure, and value distribution exhibits a highly spatially uneven characteristic. The global value chain network has been expanding and densifying, with the value flow scale in East Asia increasing, evolving from a "dual-center" structure of Europe and North America to a "tri-polar" structure of Europe, North America, and East Asia. (2) The core-periphery structure of the GVC network is significant, and the network position of a node is determined by both the scale of its participation in the global value chain and the degree of diversification of its value links. Countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain remain at the core, while Asian countries such as China, Japan, India, and the Republic of Korea are gradually rising. (3) The backbone structure of the GVC network has shifted from a single convergence core centered on the United States to a dual-core system driven by China and the United States, with Europe and Japan playing a stabilizing role in the network structure. Over time, the backbone structure has evolved with a trend of eastward shift and increasing globalization characteristics. (4) The resilience level of the global value chain network is generally limited, shows a four-stage evolutionary characteristic taking international impact events as turning points, and key economies such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, China, and India have strong influences on network resilience. Based on the research conclusions, this paper discusses the node and structural characteristics of the global value chain network and proposes potential measures to enhance China's resilience and position within the network, aiming to provide insights for understanding the dynamics of economic globalization in the new era and optimizing China's global value chain participation strategy.

As crucial nodes in the illegal wildlife trade and trafficking network, transportation hubs play an important role in combating wildlife crime globally. Based on the data of China Judgements Online, this study utilizes mathematical statistics and spatial analysis to investigate wildlife trafficking patterns and their differentiation mechanisms involving transportation hubs in China from 2005 to 2019. It is found that: (1) The inter-annual variation in wildlife trafficking cases involving transportation hubs presents an 'M-shaped' pattern, with the inter-month occurrence peaks in January and April, and the intra-month peak at the beginning of the month. (2) Spatially, the distribution of wildlife trafficking involving transportation hubs exhibits a decline pattern from east to west: "gathering in coastal and border regions, scattering in central regions and sparse in the northwest", characterized by a main concentration of air transport in Beijing, Guangdong, and Shanghai, while road transport is concentrated in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong. (3) The wildlife trafficking involves 51 families of species, with a focus on elephants, pangolins, rhinoceroses, and bears. Airports and customs ports tend to facilitate the disassembly and transport of large animals, while inspection checkpoints, service areas, and toll stations are more likely to handle live transport of small to medium-sized animals. (4) The patterns of wildlife trafficking vary across different transportation hubs: airports and customs ports favoring luggage and postal concealment as well as disguise techniques, while road inspection checkpoints, toll stations, service areas, train stations and bus terminals mainly relying on luggage and vehicle concealment. This differentiation mechanism reflects the traffickers' rational adaptation: choosing the way of trafficking based on origin-destination pairs and species categories, determining the trafficking routes depending on regional law enforcement efforts, and then tailoring concealment strategies to the characteristics of each transportation hub on the way. Finally, this paper combines the situational crime prevention theory to construct a prevention strategy framework of wildlife trafficking in China from five dimensions.

The growing recognition of bidirectional urban-rural resource flows reveals the inadequacy of the traditional urbanization model, which conceptualizes development as a one-way rural-to-urban transition, in explaining the complex evolution of county-level rural-urban relations. This study proposes an "Urbanity vs. Rurality × Development" double pyramid framework that unifies villages and communities within a single assessment system, enabling a comprehensive analysis of rural-urban relations. Using villages and communities in Shanting district, Zaozhuang city as the basic evaluation units, this study draws on multi-source data, to develop a methodology for assessing individual and network indices through comprehensive evaluation and social network analysis; and then it conducts a three-level spatial structure analysis of the study area via a "grading-categorization-zoning" approach. The results are shown as follows. (1) Within the individual index of Shanting district, urbanity exhibits a multi-polar and scattered distribution, whereas rurality forms contiguous high-value clusters across the plains. Development is shaped by multiple interacting factors, resulting in an overall spatial equilibrium accompanied by localized dispersion. (2) After accounting for village-community network connections, the three-dimensional indices reveal a more pronounced spatial pattern: urbanity forms multi-polar linkages, rurality diffuses west to east, and development exhibits multi-directional diffusion. (3) In terms of grading, "middle development-high urbanity" areas account for the largest share; in terms of categorization, integrated development areas are the dominant type; and in terms of zoning, the pilot zones for urban-rural integration hold the highest proportion. A spatial system centered on factor linkage and functional agglomeration is thus initially established. The study concludes by proposing context-specific strategies, providing theoretical and practical insights into urban-rural restructuring, especially in evaluating unified villages and communities and analyzing their multidimensional interactions.

Emerged as a cutting-edge research agenda in urban studies more than half a century ago, gentrification remains an evergreen and debatable topic in the practices and research of urban and rural governance in contemporary China. In response to the lasting and heated debates within the international and domestic academic communities, it is of vital significance to examine and clarify the prevalent discourse of "Chinese-style gentrification" and conduct in-depth exploration and reflections on its historical evolution, conceptual boundaries, research approaches, and theoretical value. This paper situates Chinese-style gentrification into the broader context of the Global East by highlighting its unique features to be distinguished from the Western contexts. We dissect the historical evolution and contemporary identity of the "gentry" class in China under the framework of state-society relationship. The research contends that studies on Chinese gentrification should grasp three fundamental elements: "dynamism", "scale", and "process", namely, to understand the spatiotemporal variations of "the right to the city" conjuncturally, to develop a multi-faceted comprehension of the multi-scalar relationships in urban and rural governance, and to systematically examine the historical evolution of local experiences. Grounded in the specific "state-market-society" interactions in the Global East and China, the inherent complexity and diversity of Chinese-style gentrification will transcend the paradigms of Western gentrification research and make distinctive contributions to international debates. Currently, the processes of gentrification in China have engendered more profound social and spatial ramifications compared to that in the Global North. Balancing efficiency and equity will be a key task for promoting effective governance in urban and rural communities in China. In this new era, exploring innovative approaches to enhancing urban and rural governance and residents' well-being, engaging in comparative studies and constructive dialogues with international researchers should be our utmost tasks. In light of this, researchers should re-examine Chinese-style gentrification in an open-minded yet rigorous, critical yet scientific manner, drawing on but not being constrained by local experiences to make significant contributions to this ever-green and ever-evolving research field.

Over sixty years of global research on gentrification geography have revealed that there is a "planetary" gentrification phenomenon with diverse forms and regional characteristics. This necessitates local theoretical discussions on gentrification in academic and practical contexts. In China, gentrification research has evolved from an initial concept introduction to empirical analysis. It urgently needs to transition from the stage of phenomenon explanation and Sino-Western comparison to the stage of theorizing Chinese-style gentrification patterns. Addressing the current gaps or inadequacies in discussions about gentrification in the Chinese context, this study undertakes a review and rational reflection on the phenomenon of Chinese-style gentrification from various perspectives, including concept description, phenomenon definition, type classification, driving mechanisms, effect assessment, and guiding strategies. It proposes that gentrification is a phenomenon of class upward replacement and socio-spatial renewal within a certain district. Gentrification processes should be understood from a spatiotemporal dynamic perspective. The complex and intertwined types of contemporary gentrification should be classified based on the spatial resource attributes that act as "attractions" for gentrifiers. The core driving force of the gentrification process is the exploration of the potential rent gap of high-quality and scarce spatial resources. Furthermore, the understanding of gentrification effects, dominated by the critical tone from Anglo-Saxon studies, should be reevaluated. Instead, aligned with China's realities, guiding gentrification should adhere to the principles of not exploiting the interests of the displaced, not encroaching on public resources, and not reducing the comprehensive value of space. This approach aims to achieve a win-win displacement, making gentrification an effective tool for promoting urban renewal, rural revitalization, common prosperity, and high-quality development, which are national strategic implementations. Gentrification is an inevitable product and an insurmountable developmental process at a certain stage of China's economic and social development. Chinese scholars should regard it as an important topic that benefits the implementation of national strategies and delve deeper into it. This study hopes to advance the construction and improvement of the gentrification theoretical system and research paradigm through academic reflection in the context of China. Additionally, it aims to actively guide and expand the social recognition and application fields of Chinese-style gentrification.

Gentrification is a phenomenon characterized by the concentration of high socioeconomic status groups within specific spaces, leading to the upscale reconstruction of social spaces. Existing domestic studies have primarily focused on describing the characteristics and processes of gentrification and analyzing its mechanisms and effects. However, there has been limited research utilizing quantitative methods to identify gentrified spaces at a refined urban scale and to categorize them by type. Taking Beijing's central urban area as a case study for the period 2016-2023, this research employs socioeconomic data from a 100-m grid database provided by Baidu Map's spatiotemporal big data platform, Baidu Huiyan. Indicators related to income level, educational attainment, and occupational characteristics are selected. Using semi-supervised clustering and ensemble learning methods, urban spaces with typical gentrification features are quantitatively identified. The study then applies a genetic growth algorithm to analyze gentrification types and compare differences between types. Key findings include: (1) Gentrified spaces within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road account for approximately 16.8% of the total area, primarily concentrated between the second and fifth ring roads in the northwest, with scattered distribution in southern Fengtai and northern Daxing. These areas mainly consist of high-end gated communities and villa complexes near transit lines (subway stations, urban expressways, and highway exits). (2) By considering social attribute similarity and spatial connectivity, a spatial clustering analysis of nine dimensions and 64 indicators in typical gentrification spaces identifies 14 types without predefining the number of regions. (3) Based on resource dependency attributes, six types of gentrification are proposed for Beijing, including core location-oriented, rapid transit-oriented, landscape environment-oriented, institutional unit-oriented, employment-oriented, and high-quality education-oriented types. (4) An uneven distribution and even polarization trend exists in gentrification spaces, reflecting residential spatial differentiation in Beijing. This study aims to enhance the methodological approach to spatial identification and typological classification of gentrification, advancing the quantitative, standardized, and scientific transition of Chinese-style gentrification. It provides insights for guiding sustainable gentrification development and offers references for identifying and predicting gentrified spaces and their developmental stages.

The operation and impact of gentrification vary significantly across nations/regions. As global scholars increasingly advocate for a governance-oriented approach to gentrification studies, reexamining these disparities becomes urgent. Although Western theories have been extensively cited, the contextual specificities of gentrification in China remain insufficiently explored. This article examines gentrification in peri-urban communities, aiming to bridge the theoretical gap between urban and rural studies by adopting a governance perspective that fosters a comprehensive analytical framework. The case study of Xiaozhou village in Guangzhou provides the empirical evidence for this research. We found that (1) Government, market, and social actors collectively influence the trajectory of gentrification. When the existing state of the community deviates from desired conditions, governance interventions actively reshape the gentrification trajectory. (2) The government's obstruction of local livelihoods and lenient oversight of informal activities set the stage for gentrification. Conversely, administrative measures rooted in laws and planning documents fundamentally suppress the gentrification trend. (3) The market agents, particularly the gentrifiers, propel gentrification through their preferences for cultural or natural landscapes, creating exclusive class environments. However, their respect for local culture, compliance with institutional norms, and involvement in consultative governance mitigate the effects of displacement. (4) Social actors such as villagers may actively support gentrification when it brings them economic benefits. At the same time, place-making actions driven by a strong attachment to their homeland counteract gentrification. China's institutional environment facilitates the acceptable gentrification process, underscoring the urgency for scholars to pay attention to the emerging practices of proactive community-making. Such attention is crucial for informing geographical research that aspires to promote social justice.

Gentrification has emerged as a pervasive phenomenon and driver of urban socio-spatial restructuring globally. Existing studies, however, often rely on a rigid production-consumption dichotomy. While scholars have emphasized the need to integrate both perspectives to fully reveal the mechanisms of gentrification, few have examined the interaction between producers and consumers from a unified rather than simultaneous analytical standpoint. Moreover, despite the centrality of media and communication systems in capitalist societies since the beginning of the 20th century, their role remains underexplored in gentrification research. Despite increasing acknowledgment of social media's impact on urban change, little empirical attention has been paid to its operational role in driving gentrification. Through the theoretical lens of prosumption, a concept blending production and consumption, this paper argues that social media platforms play a distinctive role in promoting and amplifying gentrification. Users of digital platforms effectively become prosumers, actors who simultaneously produce and consume content. This study draws on a case study of a renovated commercial street, Nantaixiang, located in Nanjing's core business district, which has gained popularity through online attention. Findings indicate that social media, particularly Xiaohongshu, one of China's most influential lifestyle platforms that enhances the visibility of these areas and generates rent gaps by reshaping local image and consumer tastes. This process encourages investment and draws consumers back, ultimately accelerating the commodification of urban space. The dynamic interplay between users' offline experiences and their online sharing not only reconstructs the identity of place but also accelerates its physical and symbolic transformation. Consequently, production and consumption practices led by young middle-classes contribute to the territorialization of place, further displacing grassroots businesses and marginalizing long-term elderly residents. This paper contends that, through digital prosumption labor, social media users become embedded in the restructuring of urban space, performing dual roles as both consumers and co-producers. The study contributes to gentrification theory by introducing prosumption as a mechanism that transcends the conventional production-consumption binary. It highlights social media's capacity to reconfigure urban space in the absence of large-scale capital investment or direct state intervention, and calls for greater scholarly attention to digitally mediated urban restructuring and its implications for spatial injustice.