What kind of shrinkage differences do urban agglomerations at different stages of development lead to in the era of negative population growth?

Abstract

Currently, the phenomenon of localized urban contraction has brought challenges to the high-quality development of the region. Based on the study of urban contraction in the Chinese context, we explore the phenomenon and characteristics of contraction in the city clusters of the Yangtze River Delta and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, comparatively analyse the contraction patterns, temporal and spatial patterns and other changes presented by city clusters with different development processes. It also explores what kind of contraction differences mature and developing city clusters show in their respective development stages, taking the Yangtze River Delta city cluster and the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as examples.