With the rapid advancement of science and technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a significant force driving scientific development and social progress. In the field of geographical sciences, the application of AI technology is deepening, bringing revolutionary changes to the collection, analysis, and application of big data and spatio-temporal information, and demonstrating innovative and application potential in multiple aspects. This paper systematically reviews the development and application of AI in geographical sciences, providing a detailed introduction to the development trajectories of various AI fields such as machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, planning systems, and large AI models, as well as their applications in geography. It discusses the problems and challenges of AI applications in geography and provides an outlook on the future development of interdisciplinary research between AI and geographical sciences.

Sustainable development is a significant scientific issue of global concern. Geography, as a comprehensive discipline focusing on the coupled relationship between human activities and the natural environment, provides systematic research and solutions for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive reviews. This paper summarizes the theoretical framework and research progress of Geography supporting the SDGs and explores its future key research areas. This article indicates that: (1) Geography, in conducting integrated research on human-nature systems and serving regional and global sustainable development processes, has innovatively proposed and developed theoretical frameworks such as social-ecological systems, pattern-process-service-sustainability, metacoupling, and Classification-Coordination-Collaboration. These research frameworks include elements of human-environment system interconnections, process coupling, spatial coupling, and systematic regulation oriented towards SDGs, forming a comprehensive theoretical framework supporting sustainable development research in Geography, also referred to as "sustainable geography theoretical framework". (2) Geography has made positive progress in supporting the United Nations SDGs research in areas such as multi-source data acquisition, localization of indicator systems and multi-scale progress assessment, analysis of inter-target linkage mechanisms, and SDG achievement pathways. Geography provides important theoretical and methodological support for SDG research. (3) Geography and sustainable development-related research mainly focus on climate-ecological crisis response, sustainable utilization of food-energy-water resources, regional development and planning, human well-being and social governance, and the construction of SDG assessment indicators and databases. (4) In future research, there is a need to innovate and develop sub-disciplines of Sustainable Geography, optimize the construction of SDGs indicator systems, develop SDGs assessment and decision-making models, strengthen artificial intelligence geography, deepen research on human-nature system coupling, and promote regional and global sustainable development in the process of advancing innovation in the discipline of Geography.

As an important aspect of the notion that "spatial is special", spatial heterogeneity has been a central topic of geospatial analytics. It is also closely related to the methodological tradition of geography and replicability of geographic research. The emergence of fine-grained big geospatial data and the development of Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) have brought new opportunities and challenges to spatial heterogeneity modeling. Spatial heterogeneity may refer to (1) values of geographic variables; and (2) associations, or the generation process of geographic variables, which correspond to data and process heterogeneity, respectively. Moreover, the specification of spatial heterogeneity may be categorized as continuous and discrete. Based on the dichotomies above, we summarize the main scenarios of spatial heterogeneity modeling and review corresponding methods: (1) homogeneity-based regionalization; (2) local spatial regression; and (3) spatial regime regression. In particular, we discuss approaches to delineate spatial regimes in an endogenous manner. We also review related methodological advances in GeoAI, where the principle of spatial heterogeneity is reflected in the design of neural network models. Finally, we point out several potential directions for future research. As emerging directions in spatial heterogeneity modeling, spatial regime regression and GeoAI methods need more attention from researchers.

The new wave of technological revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI) has become a competitive advantage pursued by countries worldwide, and it is also expected to bring about significant innovations in urban geography. This paper reviews the development trajectory of AI and proposes a conceptual model of the urban human-environment system oriented towards AI. It systematically outlines and summarizes the involvement of AI in urban geography research from four perspectives: data representation, scenario applications, spatial transformations, and urban development. Additionally, it identifies the challenges, contexts, exploration paths, and future prospects faced in the intelligent transformation of academic disciplines. The study finds that: (1) The interactions between elements within the urban human-environment system oriented towards AI are becoming increasingly complex. (2) The trend of AI becoming a primary tool in urban geography research is increasingly evident, offering high efficiency, low cost, and strong learning capabilities in data processing. This has significant implications for spatial perception and intelligent decision-making. AI has sparked spatial transformations, not only creating complex virtual spaces but also reconstructing social spaces. Additionally, AI supports the development of smart cities and the establishment of cutting-edge urban application platforms. (3) Urban geography research in the context of intelligent transformation faces challenges related to data and technology, as well as the broader contexts of global and local changes, technological ethics, and the development of humanistic values. Future development paths could explore overcoming technical barriers, focusing on urban spatial construction and governance, and emphasizing the research on the effects of multiple intelligence shifts. The discipline urgently needs comprehensive transformation and upgrading.

Metropolitan areas are pivotal in driving national economic growth, advancing harmonious regional development, and participating in competitive international collaboration. Consistent with international consensus, China's planning policies define metropolitan areas as a one-hour commuting circle. Simultaneously, these planning protocols particularly highlight the importance of industrial specialization and intercity collaboration, with the objective of developing modern urban agglomerations characterized by a well-defined spatial structure, complementary urban functions, and an integrated industrial division. This study uses the 2017 intercity input-output table analysis to examine patterns of industrial division and functional synergy in Chinese metropolitan areas. The findings are as follows: (1) From the perspective of industrial division and functional synergy, Chinese metropolitan areas can be categorized into four distinct spatial structures: the single-center dispersed structure, the core-periphery structure, the peripheral expansion structure, and the multi-center network structure representing an advanced phase in the spatial evolution of metropolitan areas. (2) The spatial network of industrial chains in Chinese metropolitan areas is predominantly governed by the flow of processing and manufacturing links. There is a substantial gap in the processing and manufacturing links between the Beijing and Tianjin metropolitan areas compared to similar types of metropolitan areas, and there is considerable potential for enhancing the productive service links in the Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan metropolitan areas. (3) The essence of transforming Chinese metropolitan areas into functionally complementary industrial cooperation areas is to further refine the spatial network of the industrial chains, strengthen functional synergy between cities, and encourage spatial integration in the metropolitan areas. (4) Single-center dispersed structure metropolitan areas, including Shijiazhuang, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan should initially transition toward a core-periphery structure. In contrast, peripheral expansion structure metropolitan areas such as Nanjing and Hangzhou metropolitan areas, and core-periphery structure urban agglomerations such as Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Beijing metropolitan areas should progress toward a multi-center network structure.

Yangtze River Delta, as a pivotal region where the coastal axis and the riverside axis intersect, is characterized by complexity, diversity and typicality of the spatial structural evolution. Therefore, understanding its evolutionary pattern and constructing a theoretical model has important theoretical significance and application value. According to the core-periphery structure theory, the Yangtze River Delta can be divided into a core area that is centered on the Taihu Lake Basin and remaining periphery areas. However, due to its location at the junction of the river and the sea, a gateway area has emerged within the periphery area, thus forming a spatial structure that is composed of the core area and the gateway area. In the early period, the core area was centered on Suzhou, and a five-tier central place structure became well established since ancient times. However, the gateway area kept evolving and underwent three main changes: in ancient times, the gateway area was centered on Yangzhou, forming the canal gateway cluster; in the modern age, the gateway area became centered on Shanghai, forming an offshore gateway cluster; and in the contemporary era, the gateway area became centered on Ningbo, forming an oceanic gateway cluster. Their corresponding navigation capacities were 500 t, 10,000 t, and 200,000 t, respectively. Therefore, in addition to the existing central place theory and seaport spatial structure theory, the spatial structure evolution of the Yangtze River Delta presents a new evolutionary model: namely, the fusion evolutionary model of central places and port gateways. According to this model, in the early period, it was an endogenous evolution of the core area's spatial structure, which was in line with Christaller's hexagonal structure; while in modern times, the evolution of the spatial structure of the Yangtze River Delta was no longer dominated by central places, but rather, it became dominated by the gateway areas, making the k = 3 market principle turn into the k = 4 transportation principle. In this way, the Yangtze River Delta provides a globally exemplary empirical case for validating the process test of the central place theory, analyzing functional attributes of urban centrality and gateway, and refining the relevant theoretical model.

Energy is pivotal for the operation of the global economy. It is thus critical for us to elucidate the characteristics and dynamics of the global energy industry during the process of transformation in the 21st century. Using the input-output data by the United Nations from 1990 to 2022, this study gauges the added value of the energy industry of 184 countries and regions in the world and seeks to show its distribution, asymmetric dependency, and key drivers across different industrial stages. (1) We find the value of the global energy industry grew slowly at first, then rapidly, followed by slowly again, and ended up a recession during the period covered in our analysis. This temporal trend corresponds to the cycle of the global economy for each decade. (2) Energy small countries exhibited growing dependence on energy superpowers, and likewise interdependence among energy superpowers also increased, especially in the stage of prospecting and exploitation. This signifies that our world has gradually become an interconnected community of economic coexistence and co-prosperity. (3)We saw the rise of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries as they gradually became the chain leader and hubs of the global energy industrial network. Their rise also has made the boundaries of cooperatives blur and the hierarchy of power iterate. The post Cold-War world is evolving from a unipolar one dominated by the United States into a multipolar one, and the global energy order is experiencing a profound reorganization. (4) Interdependence on the energy industry is a result of differences in attributes among countries (regions), their relative advantages, and their multidimensional proximity. Trade gaps, disparities among coporates, shared languages, colonial histories, and global organizations strengthened their interdependence, whereas geographic distance acted as a significant negative factor. Both economic gaps and institutional environments did not make any significant differences in shaping energy dependence. The role of these factors vary across different industrial stages over time.

The physical geography and hydroclimatic conditions in the arid region of in northwestern China leading to diverse flood-generation mechanisms. Under the influence of global and regional climate change, the spatiotemporal variation of floods and flood-generation mechanism in this region is still unclear and restricts flood prevention and mitigation and the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in the major regions. Based on the series of the annual maximum flood peak discharge in 58 river basins in the study area from 1961 to 2017, we analyzed and revealed the mechanisms, spatial distribution and interannual variation characteristics of flood in the basin in the past 60 years based on statistical tests and machine learning approaches. The results show that the frequency of extreme floods and the annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude are increasing, with the maximum increase in the frequency of extreme floods at about 0.84 times/10 years, and the maximum increase in the annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude at about 29%/10 years compared with the multi-year average, and the largest increase is mainly observed in the eastern Tianshan Mountains and the Qilian Mountains. There are three main flood generation mechanisms, i.e., rain (R), snow (S) and mix (M), the frequency of R and M floods increased significantly, while the frequency of S floods decreased. The contribution of flood mechanisms transformation to the increase of annual maximum flood peak discharge magnitude can reach up to 38%, which is significantly higher than the contribution of a single hydrometeorological factor such as precipitation. The results of this study emphasize the importance of attributing and predicting the changes of flood characteristics in geographically complex region from the perspective of flood mechanisms. Engineering hydrological design in the changing environment also needs to consider the influence of the heterogeneity of flood samples caused by different flood mechanisms on the flood frequency analysis, so as to provide scientific support for flood risk management and response in the basin.

Alluvial fans are common fan-shaped depositional landforms that develop at the outlets of mountain rivers or gullies. Mature and stable alluvial fans are important areas for both human habitation and production in mountainous regions, but they also pose potential hazards associated with flash floods and debris flows. Research on alluvial fans enhances our understanding of regional environmental dynamics and geomorphic evolution, as well as contributes to the mitigation of flood and debris-flow hazards. Therefore, it holds significant scientific value and practical importance. Although considerable research has been conducted on alluvial fans, both domestically and internationally, in recent decades, much of it has focused on geomorphology (morphometry), sedimentary history and characteristics, and historical environmental reconstruction (or inversion). Investigations into the mechanisms of fan development and their geomorphic effects remain relatively underexplored. This review systematically summarizes the key advancements in the research on the dynamic processes, mechanisms, and morphodynamics of alluvial fan development. We first provide an overview of current technical approaches applied in the study of alluvial fans, including field investigations and model experiments. Then, we summarize four critical aspects of fan dynamics processes and development mechanisms: primary and secondary processes; mechanisms of flow channel avulsion; interactions between tributary and main rivers; and the impact of alluvial fan development on sediment production, transport, and geomorphic processes. Finally, we discuss several areas that require further attention in future research. Currently, field observations and monitoring of the dynamic processes of alluvial fan development are inadequate. As an essential complement to post-event field surveys and experimental model research, there is an urgent need to enhance field observations in order to expand and deepen our understanding of alluvial fan development mechanisms. This will promote scientific insights into sediment dynamics and geomorphic processes within regional river systems.

Amid the increasing global uncertainties, studying the risk structure and resilience level of global supply chains for agricultural products highlights their importance. It not only provides China with a scientific foundation for better utilizing international markets and resources and ensuring the safety of agricultural product imports, but also promotes the development of risk resilience management theories and methods for typical products across geographical spaces, thus expanding research in resource geography. This study builds a framework that consists of three sectors (export sectors, logistics and transportation sectors, and import sectors) and four stages (supply, procurement, transportation, and demand). Using two-stage DEA and CoDEA models, it evaluates the supply chain risks and resilience of soybeans, which is the typical import-dependent agricultural product in China. The findings indicate that: (1) The risk of China's imported soybean supply chain increased from 2000 to 2020, with risks predominantly from the demand and procurement stages. By contrast, the supply and transport stages are less risky but significantly increased. Trade relations with exporting countries and economic policy uncertainty are the main long-term risk factors that threaten the security of soybean import supply chains. (2) China's soybean supply chain from Brazil is more resilient than that from the US and Argentina, suggesting great potential for improving supply chain cooperation with Brazil. (3) Making the distinction between short- and long-term threats is necessary for managing the risk resilience of the global soybean supply chain. Improving the capacity to react to sudden hazards represented by trade restrictions, maritime obstructions, and trade sanctions should be the priority in the short term. Long-term exploration of system construction and strategic layout optimization is necessary to improve the discursive power of the supply chain.

Urbanization has always been a crucial area for development geography. Regional development strategies that align with urban characteristics and the scientific allocation of construction land indicators can effectively guide the high-quality coordinated development of urban agglomerations. However, the issue of whether urbanization matches the development strategy has always lacked an in-depth response in geography. Moreover, as the control over agricultural and ecological spaces becomes increasingly strict, the availability of construction land indicators is increasingly constrained. The allocation of construction land indicators is thus critical for the distribution of regional resources and the achievement of development goals of regional urban agglomeration. Based on the construction principles of development geography indicator system and the core-periphery theory, this study comprehensively considered the three subsystems of urbanization (population, economy, and land) and the spatial link intensity among cities to analyze the impacts of "siphon" and "radiation" effects on regional development, and assessed whether China's two major regional development strategies matched the comprehensive development characteristics of urban agglomerations. Based on this analysis, the quantitative allocation of construction land in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomerations was completed. The results showed that the comprehensive level index of urban (CLU) in core cities (Beijing and Tianjin) and peripheral cities differed significantly, demonstrating a clear core-periphery structure. Along with urbanization, the "siphon" effect in BTH was gradually weakening. Beijing's urban primacy decreased and the growth rate of the CLU dropped from 53.89% to 18.37% over the first and last 5 years of this study period. In contrast, the "radiation" effect in the YRD remained more obvious, exhibiting a development pattern driven by multiple growth poles in various smaller regions. As urbanization progressed, the BTH indicated a trend of coordinated development, while the integration level of the YRD continued to strengthen. Compared to the government's top-down indicator allocation data, the results of the quantitative allocation of construction land reduced volatility and increased robustness. This study confirmed the scientific basis of the coordinated development of the BTH and the integrated regional development strategy of the YRD from the perspective of development geography. It also provides empirical support for research on the allocation of construction land.

This paper reviews the social background of "pole-axis system" theory and the "T-shaped" land development and economic layout framework in China, especially the objective conditions that the country cannot implement another "strategic shift" of national development priorities, and the academic contribution of economic geography serving to national strategic development, as well as some concepts, ideas, knowledge and methods to achieve this goal. According to the significance and the scholars' comments of this theory and model in national practice, this paper describes the growth course and academic responsibility of an economic geographer to inspire the academic community to uphold the rigorous attitude of seeking truth from facts to make greater contributions to the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

During the Republic of China (1912-1949), Zhongshan Roads rapidly emerged in major cities and towns across the country, and hundreds of them remain today, primarily in affluent areas. To investigate this uncommon road-naming phenomenon, a comprehensive study was conducted on their construction process and spatio-temporal characteristics (within the scope of county-level and above administrative regions), using toponymy, historical geography, and GIS. Historical documents and maps were re-examined, combined with data from the China National Geographical Name Information Database, OpenStreetMap, and Historical GIS techniques such as spatial measurement, spatial analysis, and visualization. The results showed that: (1) Zhongshan Roads were initially named to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen. During the Republic of China era, 599 Zhongshan Roads were established, primarily in Taiwan, Henan, Shaanxi, and along the southeast coast. (2) Today, there are 653 Zhongshan Roads, except in Xizang, Hong Kong, and Macao. (3) Among these, the Zhongshan Highway in Taiwan is the longest, while Zhongshan Street in Emei township, Hsinchu county, is the shortest. Tainan has the largest number of Zhongshan Roads overall, whereas Shanghai's Huangpu district has the highest concentration and density of these roads across China. (4) Spatial analysis revealed that historically, Zhongshan Roads were mostly found in the centers of old cities and towns. However, since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, new Zhongshan Roads have gradually moved away from city centers. (5) Over the past century, there have been four significant periods of road-naming popularity: following Dr. Sun Yat-sen's passing, commemorating the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the recovery of lost territories, restoring place names altered during the 1966-1976 period in the 1980s, and naming new roads at the start of the 21st century. Zhongshan Road, with its century-old tradition, symbolizes the collective remembrance of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and his enduring legacy among the Chinese people. It also reflects China's pursuit of modernization and national rejuvenation in modern times. The data analysis in this paper may require partial refinement as more historical materials are unearthed and quantitative methods are updated, but it does not affect the overall conclusions.

Rural attraction is an important indicator of the functions of the rural regional system during flow situations. This theoretical topic in rural development has been discussed within multiple disciplines, but lacks systematic research. Nevertheless, it has become a cutting-edge theoretical research topic in the field of rural geography. Following the research progress and theoretical foundations of rural attraction, this paper constructs a theoretical framework for rural attraction from a geographical perspective, and explains five of its most important issues. (1) The research literature on rural attraction has shifted from fragmented elaborations on the qualities of attractive villages and the unidimensional analysis of rural attraction to the exploration of its concept, mechanism, and evaluation system in terms of urban-rural interactions. The theories underlying the rural regional system of human-environment interactions, gravity, population migration, and attraction property rights, can provide a theoretical foundation and inspiration for the research on rural attraction. (2) Focusing on scientific issues in rural attraction, such as "what is-how-why-how to", and moving toward the framework goal of "theoretical innovation, serving practice, and methodological guidance," a theoretical framework for rural attraction is constructed with the support of spatiotemporal considerations, a comprehensive theoretical paradigm, and the methods used in the field of rural geography. (3) Five important issues experienced during efforts to improve rural attraction were analyzed. First, we analyzed the conceptual connotations of rural attraction based on the background of rural regional systems and spatial interactions from the perspective of spatiotemporal processes. Second, we constructed a measurement framework for rural attraction based on these conceptual connotations and evaluation principles. Third, we identified the regional types and spatial structures of rural attraction from the perspectives of spatial correlations and scale transformation. Fourth, following the theories of human-regional system of human-environment relationship and scale transformation, we explored the mechanisms of rural attraction's endogenous development and exogenous embedding processes. Fifth, considering historical processes and spatial heterogeneity, we explored the pathways and policy insights for enhancing rural attraction. Overall, this research attempts to construct a "what is-how-why-how to" research framework for rural attraction based on a comprehensive "spatiotemporal human-environment" perspective. This study aims to deepen and expand the theoretical research on rural attraction, in addition to providing theoretical references and policy insights for the implementation of rural revitalization strategies in the construction of harmonious and beautiful rural areas.

As China progresses in its high-quality development and new urbanization, the spatial development pattern of large cities is evolving from expansion of scale to optimization of existing stock. The polycentric system is widely utilized in guiding the macro-structure of spatial planning, playing a critical role in transforming urban development strategies, increasing urban efficiency, alleviating "urban diseases" and promoting urban renewal. This study establishes a framework for analyzing spatial performance in urban polycentric systems. With Hangzhou as the focal example, the evaluation proceeds across four dimensions of spatial performance, examining the city's internal spatial organization and the mechanisms of its formation. The results indicate that: (1) The polarization effect of the main center outweighs its diffusion, leading to a development pattern characterized by "strong primary and secondary centers, weak tertiary centers; concentration in the old cities, dispersion in the outskirts, differentiation of tertiary centers", with distinct disparities in the effectiveness of planning guidance; (2) Centers in the urban core and principal development directions generally exhibit high performance, with spatial forms moving towards "integration" or "central dissolution"; (3) Activity density performance maintains a balanced state at lower levels, with centers in tertiary areas and primary development trajectories achieving greater equilibrium; (4) Industrial upgrading and the construction of significant facilities drive the functional differentiation of the polycentricity, displaying patterns of horizontal and vertical divisions among center functions; (5) Travel efficiency performance aligns with the polycentric configuration, incrementally revealing the balanced nature of employment distribution across centers; (6) The evolution of the center system is shaped by a confluence of historical path dependence, natural geographic characteristics, economic and industrial development, advances in social demand, and government policy directives, especially those driven by government administrative efforts including development strategies, spatial planning, resource distribution policies, and major events, all of which have a pronounced guidance effect. Future initiatives should concentrate on the cooperative division of functions within the polycentric system, adapting spaces to meet the specific needs of different industries related to spatial and transaction costs, thereby forming both comprehensive and specialized centers. Utilizing major events and infrastructure-driven mechanisms should elevate the energy levels of centers. Moreover, the needs of micro-entities should be addressed by capitalizing on the economic effects of aggregation and market mechanisms to facilitate the orderly emergence and growth of autonomously formed centers. Strategic allocation of crucial resources through government administrative capabilities and policy instruments is essential to boost the development potential of peripheral secondary and tertiary centers.

Based on the diverse nexus between humans and nature, exploring innovative pathways and regional models for rural revitalization stands as a strategic cornerstone and a cutting-edge focus within rural studies. Following a systematical review on the shift of rural development paradigms, we in this paper propose an innovative pathway of rural neo-endogenous development driven by knowledge through the integration of concepts such as social innovation and rural transformation. Essentially, "knowledge-driven" can be understood as a process-based innovation, wherein various stakeholders participate in the generation, dissemination, feedback, and regeneration of scientific knowledge and local wisdom. This process ultimately precipitates shifts in behaviors and attitudes of both local and extra-local actors, thereby giving rise to collective insights and solutions for rural development. Regarding the functioning mechanisms, "knowledge-driven" typically facilitates the iteration of technological paths for rural development via four interconnected means: constructing novel discourses for rural transformation, empowering local communities, forging connections between local and extra-localities, and innovating rural governance. In practice implementation, "knowledge-driven" engages multiple stakeholders and unfolds across three sequential stages, they are, knowledge/experimentation searching, diffusion and expression of interest, collective learning and co-ordination. In conclusion, we contend that transcending the urban-centric "core-periphery" mindset, broadening the initial impetus and the cohort of pioneer actors, and streamlining the channel from "niche innovation" to "collective learning" hold significant promise for expediting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas.

The low-carbon transformation of the energy system has emerged as a key strategy for addressing climate change risks, promoting high-quality development, and ensuring energy security. However, the clean transformation of the energy system faces significant uncertainties and challenges due to the complex constraints of multiple goals. This paper provides a comprehensive review and integrated analysis of the basic concepts, research methods, and challenges associated with energy transformation, drawing the following conclusions: (1) Shifting focus of energy transition: The energy transition in the context of carbon neutrality has evolved from being primarily technology-driven to problem-driven. The pace and success of energy transitions vary greatly across regions and nations, with policy regulation, technological innovation, market mechanisms, and behavioral factors playing pivotal roles in driving change. (2) Quantitative research on energy transition primarily centers on assessing the extent of the transition and forecasting its future trajectory. However, due to the intricate interconnections and mutual influences among multiple systems, including energy, economy, environment, and society, the predictive simulations often exhibit a pronounced "black box" effect, making interpretation and transparency more challenging. (3) Controversies and future research directions: There is ongoing debate within the international community regarding the comprehensive effects of energy transformation. The development model and pathways that balance low-carbon goals, economic growth, and energy supply security still require further theoretical and empirical exploration. While significant attention has been paid to the environmental, economic, and safety benefits of energy transformation, the social impacts have received less focus, which may undermine the long-term sustainability of the transition. Future research should integrate the dual objectives of climate change mitigation and economic development, adopt diversified transformation strategies, emphasize supply-demand coordination, and promote regionally coordinated transitions. Furthermore, strengthening multi-scale, cross-sectoral analyses will enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of energy transformations. This research aims to deepen understanding of the epistemology and methodology surrounding energy transformation, offering geographical scholars new perspectives and avenues for further investigation into this critical area of study.

The integration of large-scale Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations (hereinafter referred to as "LEO constellations") and artificial intelligence (AI) technology presents a historic opportunity for a paradigm shift in geography research, heralding a new era for geography to evolve from qualitative geography, quantitative geography, and digital geography into the "LEO constellation-AI-driven Geography". Under this framework, future geographic research can rely on the high spatio-temporal resolution monitoring data provided by LEO constellations to accurately capture the high-frequency dynamic changes of geographic elements at multiple scales, particularly at the global scale. By coupling physical models with AI, it becomes feasible to conduct simulation experiments on the complex interactions between natural and human elements, system states, and interface changes. This will facilitate a deeper understanding of core geographic issues such as variable coupling, multi-process cascading effects, and teleconnection mechanisms. To propel "LEO constellation-AI-driven Geography", there is an urgent need to establish a new-generation data acquisition and sharing platform relying on LEO constellation, seamlessly creating a "dynamic map" of global geographic resources and elements. Additionally, a geographic process simulator that couples physical models and AI needs to be developed to intelligently simulate and predict changes and impacts of geographic elements and landscapes.

The relocation of urban administrative centers plays a crucial role in optimizing urban spatial structure and advancing the modernization of the national governance system and capabilities. A thorough analysis of the spatiotemporal patterns, driving mechanisms, and development trends of administrative center relocations in China is not only a practical necessity for supporting the modernization of national governance but also a foundational requirement for the standardization and scientific advancement of administrative center relocations. This study utilizes spatial analysis methods to comprehensively examine the relocation of administrative centers in cities at or above the prefecture level in China from 1978 to 2022. The results show that there have been 81 instances of administrative center relocations across the country since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s. These relocations peaked between 2003 and 2007 and showed significant regional disparities. These relocations are predominantly short-distance and mainly aimed at promoting the development of new urban districts, often resulting in a separation from the geographical center. The relocation of urban administrative centers is a complex process influenced by an interplay of multiple factors, including national policies, governmental guidance, power distribution, resource reallocation, and planning adjustments. The regulatory role of national policies and the guidance provided by city governments are critical components in this multidimensional negotiation. In the context of the current strict national regulation of administrative division adjustment, the relocation of urban administrative centers will continue to reinforce traditional driving factors while aligning with socio-economic and technological shifts, presenting new directions driven by ecological governance, transportation development, and the evolution of innovative industries. In the future, it is essential to carefully evaluate the necessity of relocation while maintaining the fundamental stability of administrative centers. Implementing top-level design for administrative center relocations, adhering to standardized approval processes, and rigorously evaluating the rationale are key to promoting all-encompassing urban advancement. This study provides a reference for scientifically understanding the patterns and intrinsic mechanisms of urban administrative center relocation.

The optimal allocation and scientific management of rural logistics resources is the key to unblock the domestic transportation cycle, and it is also the focus of the construction of a powerful transportation country and the integration of urban and rural transportation. From two perspectives of driving and walking, this study constructs a research framework for the evaluation of rural logistics terminal distribution with accessibility and equity. This study analyzes the accessibility of 440000 administrative villages in China and their nearest rural logistics terminal facilities. By using the online map tool, this study reveals the spatial distribution pattern and regional differences of rural logistics terminal facilities, and evaluates the spatial equity of rural logistics terminal facilities at the county level with Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients. The results show that: (1) Accessibility of rural logistics terminal facilities presents significant regional difference, and it declines from the coast to the interior, which is consistent with the socio-economic development pattern in China. (2) Accessibility of logistics terminal facilities presents significant urban-rural differences. According to the comparative analysis of travel distance, travel time, and travel modes, the urban-rural differences have been widened on travel time and by walking. (3) Based on the analysis with rural population distribution, the distribution of rural logistics terminal facilities presents the transport-related exclusion. The above findings can provide scientific support for the scientific layout of rural logistics terminal facilities so that we could promote the people-oriented integrated development of urban and rural transportation, and assist rural revitalization, so as to achieve common prosperity.

Major productive forces are crucial to the country's long-term stability and sustained prosperity, and are also a powerful means of improving economic efficiency, promoting coordinated regional development, and strengthening international competitiveness. This paper summarizes the layout of China's major productive forces and their spatial patterns in different periods by collecting multi-source data such as historical documents, regional socio-economic statistical data and remote sensing of light, and borrowing technical methods such as MCR model, kernel density analysis and standard deviation ellipse, etc. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The layout of China's major productive forces follows the law of economic geography agglomeration and diffusion cycle evolution, and has experienced the evolution of balanced development - decentralised development - centralised development - coordinated development-high-quality complementary development. This is manifested in the concentration of 156 projects to a few geographic spaces in the western region of China, dispersion in the central and western regions during the Third Front Movement, concentration along the eastern coast, and a gradient advancement toward the inland. However, the focus of development has always been in the southeast region along the Hu Huanyong line. (2) The results of the spatial pattern simulation of major productive forces follow the theory of regional development stages. During China's high-level development process, different spatial patterns have emerged successively: points (core poles), point-axis, and point-axis system (network), forming a multi-level pole-axis system with a "T" main framework along the coast and the Yangtze River, supplemented by other central cities and transportation arteries, in order to promote the balanced development of territorial space. (3) The main influencing factors of the development layout of China's major productive forces vary from time to time, with the geo-environment influencing the spatial layout in the early stage, and then the combined force of national strategies, policies and markets; GTWR further reveals that there is significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the factors influencing the development layout. The GTWR further reveals that there is significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the factors affecting its development layout. This study focuses on the layout and spatial patterns of the major productive forces, which can provide practical references for optimizing the layout of major productive forces and constructing a regional economic layout and national spatial system with complementary advantages and high-quality development.

Streamflow from the Lena River is one of the major sources of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean and has a significant impact on the Arctic atmosphere, sea ice thermal processes and ocean thermohaline circulation. In recent years, streamflow in the Lena River basin is changing significantly with intensified global warming. In order to investigate the response of streamflow to climate change in the Lena River basin, the study firstly analyzed the trends of precipitation, air temperature and streamflow in the basin from 1975 to 2014 using the M-K trend test. Then, we constructed the abcd-cr hydrological model by considering a coupled snowmelt and permafrost module. Based on the abcd-cr model, we simulated climatic scenarios and quantitatively estimated the relative changes of annual and seasonal streamflow and the elasticities of annual and seasonal streamflow to changes in air temperature and precipitation respected to different climate scenarios. Results showed that: (1) Both the annual and seasonal air temperatures in the Lena River showed increasing trends from 1975 to 2014; The annual, summer, and autumn precipitation presented increasing trends while the spring and winter precipitation showed decreasing trends; The annual, spring, autumn, and winter streamflow had significant increasing trends while the summer streamflow showed a non-significant decreasing trend. (2) The climate scenario simulation results quantified the variations in annual and seasonal streamflow resulting from changes in precipitation and air temperature. (3) The results of sensitivity analysis showed that annual streamflow increases with the increase of precipitation and decreases with the increase of air temperature; The impact of precipitation change on seasonal streamflow is similar to that of annual streamflow change. However, the impacts of air temperature varied in different seasons. Specifically, the relative change of summer streamflow is the largest, while that of winter streamflow is the smallest. The impact of air temperature on seasonal streamflow is more complex than that of annual streamflow due to the interactions between seasonal evaporation and freeze-thaw processes. With increasing air temperature, spring streamflow increases, while streamflow in other seasons decreases.

With the advancement of urbanization and the profound transformation of socio-economic development in China, land use transition has become a complex research field involving multiple disciplines and dimensions. This paper comprehensively uses bibliometric analysis and systematic review methods to systematically sort out the research progress of land use transition in China from following dimensions: development context, theoretical framework, model and methodology, effect and mechanism, and regulation path. The study finds that: (1) Since the introduction of land use transition research to China in 2001, the field has flourished in the aspects of project funding, publication of monographs, and talent cultivation. Through hotspot analysis, it is found that research has shifted from being technology-driven to policy and economic-driven, and finally focused on multi-functional synergy and sustainable development. (2) Theoretical research can be divided into three levels: description-explanation, process characterization and diagnosis, and mutual feedback mechanism and regulation, forming a research paradigm of "dominant morphology-recessive morphology" coupling. The transition measurement method presents a three-dimensional characteristic of integration of 3S technology, mathematical model simulation, and field investigation. (3) Driven by the dual strategies of rural vitalization and food security, the socio-economic effects of land use transitions are manifested as a cascading response of farmers' livelihoods, factor flow, and industrial upgrading; related ecological and environmental effects show the bidirectional characteristics of negative effects and positive synergistic effects. (4) The driving mechanism of land use transitions is analyzed from the "element-structure-system" perspective, and its regulation system is discussed from multiple dimensions such as engineering technology innovation, institutional innovation, policy intervention, and multi-dimensional collaborative governance. (5) Future research needs to focus on breakthroughs in multi-scale transition threshold identification, complex system feedback simulation, regional model extraction, and optimization and regulation of transition through theoretical and methodological innovations. This study provides not only knowledge support for the construction of a land use transition research theoretical system with Chinese characteristics, but also decision-making support for the modernization of national territorial space governance and urban-rural integrated development.

In the context of digital transportation, the relationship between ride-hailing services, public transport usage, and the built environment is a crucial area of research in urban geography and transportation geography. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of research in quantifying the impact of ride-hailing on public transport travel from the spatio-temporal dimensions, and the role played by the built environment in this context has not been clarified. To address these limitations, a spatio-temporal measure method of the substitution effect of ride-hailing travel was proposed by introducing demand elasticity theory and big data technology. Additionally, an efficient, dynamic, and refined measure method of the built environment was developed. On this basis, by integrating random forests with interpretable machine learning models, this paper focused on analyzing the multi-factorial nonlinear interactions and spatio-temporal coupling effect that influence the substitution effect. The empirical study of Chengdu shows that: (1) Travel efficiency is key to the competitiveness of public transport. For the same trip, the travel time of public transport is typically 2.0-3.5 times that of ride-hailing. Specifically, taking public transport often requires a 10-min walk to complete the first/last 1 km and involves 0-2 transfers. (2) There is a significant substitution effect of ride-hailing travel on public transport in the central city, with 28.69% and 27.08% of ride-hailing trips substituting public transport on weekdays and weekends, respectively, and the substitution effect is significantly enhanced during peak periods. (3) Destination accessibility has the highest positive impact on the substitution rate, followed by demographic socioeconomic factors, with urban spatial form and public transport accessibility having a relatively small degree of influence on the substitution rate. (4) The influence of built environment on the substitution effect exhibits a nonlinear interactive characteristic, with threshold ranges and interaction strengths showing significant variation over time. This study not only breaks through the limitations of traditional static "space-behavior" research, but also provides application references for the optimization of urban traffic and refined regulation of the built environment.

China is deeply interwoven with the world, which has an important impact on the economic geographical pattern of Chinese-style modernization. The economic geographical pattern of Chinese-style modernization is mainly configurated by three relations: relations between urban and rural areas, relations between the eastern and western regions, and relations between China and foreign countries. It is the foundation of the new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country. Using strategic-relational approach, this paper analyzes the characteristics of pattern evolution dialectically from the perspective of political party discourse and multi-scale spatial characteristics. After 1840, the capitalist world system disintegrated China's unified pattern, and the regional imbalance and rural-urban gap became prominent in China. At the beginning of the 20th century, the imbalance and gaps intensified in China amid the world's multipolar conflicts. The Communist Party of China created the path of the rural areas to encircle the cities and won the victory of the Chinese revolution, which also changed the world pattern. After 1949, under the Cold War, China began to embark on the path of independently building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The relations between urban and rural areas, between eastern and western regions, between China and foreign countries are shifting to balance. Since the reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, globalization and multi-polarization have propelled the transformation of Chinese-style modernization. The imbalance has shifted from worsening to easing, and China has quickly become an important pole in the world. The world is undergoing profound transformation unseen in a century, uneven development between urban and rural areas, between the eastern and western regions, between China and foreign countries is fraught with uncertainties. Coordinating the three relations is the key to the realization of Chinese-style modernization. China-world relations have a U-shaped cycle of 50 years, regional relations play an intermediary role, and rural-urban relations are the easiest to change. It is necessary to strengthen the research of the economic geographical pattern of modernization, and integrate the three relations into a new development pattern. The H-shaped pattern should integrate spatial development strategies and reshape an open oriented, inside-out pattern through institutional innovation and the empowerment of talent resources.

A key approach to improving the predictive capability of territorial space planning is to effectively analyze the common challenges and governance experiences of pioneering countries. China serves as a notable example, with its increasing emphasis on integrating rational evolution of territories into spatial planning. In this study, we examined the spatiotemporal structure of Japan's territorial space, spatial transformation, and the spatial and temporal evolution of spatial conflicts from 1976 to 2021 on a national scale. We also simulated the future spatial evolution of Japan's territorial space based on the identification of the key driving factors. The results reveal the following: (1) Over the past 45 years, approximately one-quarter of Japan's territorial space has undergone structural transformation. Considerable urban space expansion and continuous ecological environment optimization have been accompanied by a marked decline in agricultural space and food production. This has created substantial food security challenges due to the degradation of agricultural production capacity. Concentration of the population in economically developed plains and topographically flat bay areas has exacerbated conflicts.(2) Japan's territorial space evolution exhibits distinct stages. Although national economic fluctuations and demographic changes do not substantially affect the overall trajectory of territorial space evolution, they can influence the rate and process of evolution. At the late stage of urbanization, the driving forces of spatial evolution are expected to be more concentrated on demographic, economic, and natural background factors. (3) Simulation results across various scenarios suggest no major structural changes in Japan's future territorial space pattern. Agricultural areas will continue to be encroached upon, exacerbating the national food security crisis as the challenges of rural depopulation and aging population deepen. In the next 10 to 15 years, Japan may form a world-class mega-aging urban agglomeration by linking the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Kansai.

Rural development in the new era has ushered in material development opportunities but it is still faced with significant problems of imbalance and inadequacy. Rural social innovation is not only an important endogenous driving force to promote socioeconomic development and reform, but also a key force to break the dual "exogenous-endogenous" structure in rural areas, realize their neo-endogenous development, and promote the full implementation of the rural revitalization strategy to build a livable, viable, and beautiful countryside. This study interprets the conceptual characteristics of social innovation and rural social innovation in the theoretical perspective, sorts out the practical evolution of rural social innovation at home and abroad, explains the internal logic of rural social innovation and rural revitalization in the new era, summarizes the pathway for the realization of rural social innovation to promote rural revitalization, and looks ahead to the future key research areas of rural social innovation. The results show that the essence of rural social innovation lies in enhancing the active capabilities of rural society to achieve sustainable social benefits and promote rural sustainable development. From the perspective of social innovation theory, China's rural development has gone through an initial trial stage, a tortuous exploratory stage, a formal practice stage, and an innovative development stage. Rural social innovation plays a positive role in promoting rural revitalization and neo-endogenous development through innovation initiatives, processes, representation, and goals. In addition, rural revitalization can also react to and strengthen rural social innovation. According to the strategic and practical needs of rural revitalization, one method for promoting rural revitalization through rural social innovation is to reconstruct the relationships among the government, markets, and society. Future research into rural social innovation in the new era should be focused on examining its logical evolution and theoretical exploration, identifying its key elements and invisible thresholds, summarizing its network evolution and driving mechanism, and realizing its dynamic tracking and effect evaluations to provide theoretical guidance and a practical reference for the neo-endogenous development of rural revitalization in China.

With the transformation of the economy from material product reproduction to data, information, knowledge, and intelligent reproduction, the Krugman Core-Periphery Model, which focuses on traditional tangible material product factors, is no longer able to systematically explain the phenomenon of spatial agglomeration of economic activities and the mechanism of talent regional migration in China. This article constructs a new core-periphery model based on the theory of new spatial economics, which includes qualities of space and its premium effect. The study finds that: Firstly, the new model has new characteristics such as quasi-burst aggregation, asymmetric maintenance points, and spatial differences in completely free trade; Secondly, non-agricultural labor tends to be in areas with higher qualities of space, and the larger the gap in qualities of space, the more obvious the trend of mobility; Thirdly, narrowing the gap in qualities of space requires comprehensive consideration of various factors such as the level of convenience facilities in each region and the cost of intra-regional and inter-regional travel. The research results indicate that promoting high-quality and coordinated regional development in the future requires a scientific understanding of the impact of qualities of space on the spatial location of economic activities. It is necessary to grasp the theoretical logic of narrowing the gap in qualities of space and attach importance to regional integration construction of qualities of space.

"Form-flow integration" is an important theoretical concept proposed for understanding the complex human-land relationships in metropolitan regions with highly concentrated human activities. Existing research on regional spatial patterns has gradually shifted from a single perspective based either on physical spatial forms or on elemental flows to a comprehensive analysis. The new paradigm of region spatial analysis has focused on the balance between physical spatial forms and elemental flows. However, an in-depth analysis of the interaction mechanism between physical spatial forms and elemental flows is still needed. Especially, it is crucial to explore the territorial spatial optimization of a metropolitan region based on the perspective of "form-flow integration". Drawing on the theoretical joint of "central flow" and "central place", and the theory of human-land interaction, this paper aims to figure out the theoretical foundation for the concept of "form-flow integration". Combining the dynamic changes of human activities and the system of geographical environment against the background of globalization, industrialization, and urbanization, this paper analyzes the connotation and mechanism of the interaction between physical spatial forms and elemental flows. Furthermore, it explores the theoretical framework and specific path of metropolitan spatial optimization from the perspective of "form-flow integration". This paper concludes that while the human-land relationship is an important theoretical basis for "form-flow integration", the "form-flow integration" is a prominent manifestation of human-land relationships, which provides an important perspective for understanding the complex human-land relationships in regions with highly concentrated human activities. Addressing the practical needs of ecological civilization construction and territorial spatial planning, this paper explores the establishment of comprehensive metropolitan evaluation, spatial layout guidance, simulation, and optimization control system for the integration analysis of physical spaces and flow elements. Besides, through optimizing the territorial space of metropolitan regions from the perspective of "form-flow integration", it helps to form a metropolitan region coordinated development path integrating elemental flows and local resources.

Through the lens of industrial transfer, this study leverages data spanning from 2004 to 2020 to empirically investigate the spatial interrelationships of the division of labor among prefecture-level cities in China. The research constructs a spatial Origin-Destination (OD) model to scrutinize the determinants influencing the urban division of labor. The findings elucidate several key points: (1) A substantial network autocorrelation attribute is prevalent in the urban industrial division of labor. In comparison to the destination network autocorrelation, the source network autocorrelation exerts a more potent influence on the division of labor, whereas the source-destination network autocorrelation imparts a detrimental effect on the division of labor. (2) The intensity of network autocorrelation in urban industrial division of labor is intertwined with the geographical locations of the industrial transfer "city pairs" and the disparity in economic development levels, exhibiting industrial idiosyncrasies and temporal phases. The network autocorrelation of industrial division of labor is more conspicuous within and among cities in the eastern and central regions, as well as between cities with substantial disparities in economic development. The network autocorrelation of spatially mobile industries and the urban industrial division of labor prior to 2012 is also more discernible. (3) The urban industrial division of labor is propelled by a myriad of factors, encompassing spatial distance, the digital economy development levels of both the source and destination cities, the extent of openness to the global market, human capital reserves, environmental regulations, energy consumption structure, financial constraints, and innovation capacities. These factors influence the division of labor and manifest spillover effects. Consequently, in discerning the paradigms of urban industrial labor division and facilitating the metamorphosis and enhancement of urban industries, it is imperative to consider the asymmetrical ramifications engendered by industrial transfer and its concomitant network interdependencies.