In recent years, the empirical economic research from different perspectives generally argues that China’s large cities should re-agglomerate population to achieve the density effect, which has led to a policy decision divergence of “re-agglomeration or dispersion” with the urban planners. Therefore, this study reviews the new configuration of population density control in Chinese cities and related statistical facts and found that the population density in the core areas of representative cities has rapidly declined, which may impose adverse effects on the development of the service industry, consumer economy, and domestic demand. Based on reviewing classic economic theories, this study introduces new discussions on urban density by economic schools, including the Consumer City Theory, which emphasizes the important role of urban population density on the demand and consumption side. Although urban governance requires the integration of multidimensional performance such as economy, ecology, and society for planning and decision-making, at the current stage, China’s economy is facing the main pressure of “insufficient domestic demand”. Urban planners should fully pay attention to relevant academic findings in economics and critically review the potential negative effects of China’s urban population planning and control policies.In recent years, the empirical economic research from different perspectives generally argues that China’s large cities should re-agglomerate population to achieve the density effect, which has led to a policy decision divergence of “re-agglomeration or dispersion” with the urban planners. Therefore, this study reviews the new configuration of population density control in Chinese cities and related statistical facts and found that the population density in the core areas of representative cities has rapidly declined, which may impose adverse effects on the development of the service industry, consumer economy, and domestic demand. Based on reviewing classic economic theories, this study introduces new discussions on urban density by economic schools, including the Consumer City Theory, which emphasizes the important role of urban population density on the demand and consumption side. Although urban governance requires the integration of multidimensional performance such as economy, ecology, and society for planning and decision-making, at the current stage, China’s economy is facing the main pressure of “insufficient domestic demand”. Urban planners should fully pay attention to relevant academic findings in economics and critically review the potential negative effects of China’s urban population planning and control policies.

Scientific identification of semi-urbanized areas and exploration of their development law are of great significance for economic development, social stability, and improvement of the living environment. Based on urban development boundaries, urban structural systems, and administrative boundaries, this paper proposes three dimensions for spatial identification of semi-urbanized areas: physical urban built-up area, control and management of planning, and administrative management. This paper deepens the judgment based on the proportion of physical urban built-up area and the degree of planning implementation, and identifies accurately the scope of semi-urbanized areas from the perspective of governance through a two-step approach. Through indicators including population, economic, and facility evaluation, this paper differentiates two levels of the quality and efficiency evaluation scales of semi-urbanized areas, and researches rationally the aggregation trends of elements such as people, land, finance and facilities, in order to promote scientific and orderly allocation of resources under spatial governance system and high-quality regional development. Scientific identification of semi-urbanized areas and exploration of their development law are of great significance for economic development, social stability, and improvement of the living environment. Based on urban development boundaries, urban structural systems, and administrative boundaries, this paper proposes three dimensions for spatial identification of semi-urbanized areas: physical urban built-up area, control and management of planning, and administrative management. This paper deepens the judgment based on the proportion of physical urban built-up area and the degree of planning implementation, and identifies accurately the scope of semi-urbanized areas from the perspective of governance through a two-step approach. Through indicators including population, economic, and facility evaluation, this paper differentiates two levels of the quality and efficiency evaluation scales of semi-urbanized areas, and researches rationally the aggregation trends of elements such as people, land, finance and facilities, in order to promote scientific and orderly allocation of resources under spatial governance system and high-quality regional development.

As populations in Chinese urban regions become increasingly concentrated, adopting high-density morphological strategies has emerged as a critical path to addressing urban challenges. This paper focuses on density as a quantitative concept and form as a spatial concept. Employing a futurist “wavefront” methodology, it examines the four iterative density paradigms throughout the evolution of modern urban forms, thereby revealing the dialectical, multi-dimensional progression toward complexity. By considering digital twin technology as the intelligent engine for building future highdensityhuman habitats, this paper elucidates the quantitative and formal categories of density and form, as well as their coupling mechanisms. It proposes the conceptual model of a “Form-Digital Twin” (FDT). Based on this model, the research analyzes the four-dimensional digital linkages of density, human-scale, space, and performance, along with three mechanism modules of sampling, evaluation, and optimization. These findings hold promising implications for the management and design of future high-density urban forms.As populations in Chinese urban regions become increasingly concentrated, adopting high-density morphological strategies has emerged as a critical path to addressing urban challenges. This paper focuses on density as a quantitative concept and form as a spatial concept. Employing a futurist “wavefront” methodology, it examines the four iterative density paradigms throughout the evolution of modern urban forms, thereby revealing the dialectical, multi-dimensional progression toward complexity. By considering digital twin technology as the intelligent engine for building future highdensityhuman habitats, this paper elucidates the quantitative and formal categories of density and form, as well as their coupling mechanisms. It proposes the conceptual model of a “Form-Digital Twin” (FDT). Based on this model, the research analyzes the four-dimensional digital linkages of density, human-scale, space, and performance, along with three mechanism modules of sampling, evaluation, and optimization. These findings hold promising implications for the management and design of future high-density urban forms.

The rational allocation of planning power in the vertical government system is a difficult issue in both theoretical and practical fields of China’s spatial planning. Through policy analysis and literature analysis, the paper studies the strategy of decentralization and centralization, the design of rules and systems, the implementation measures and the operational guarantee of the UK planning system. It is found that by balancing the decentralization and centralization of planning power, both the simplification of planning content and the enhancement of planning efficiency have been realized. Meanwhile, the planning objectives of the upper government have been effectively conveyed. Considering China’s spatial planning, we propose that: firstly, stimulate local autonomy through systematic decentralization to enhance the governance effectiveness of planning; secondly, focus on the limited key affairs and areas of decentralization to balance the guiding and mandatory requirement from the upper government; lastly, make full use of public-private collaboration and public participation to solve the contradiction between decentralization and centralization.

It has become a mainstream policy in many countries to integrate targets and demands of climate change adaptation into spatial planning. This paper summarizes the characteristics of the four types of spatial governance tools (climate adaptation regulation zone, climate adaptation spatial corridor, climate function map and climate adaptation technical regulations) for climate adaptation in Germany by exploring their usages and applications in spatial planning at different levels. The results show that the spatial governance tools for climate adaptation in Germany can apply to multiple spatial scales, emphasize NbS (Nature-based Solution), and provide refined hierarchical spatial governance policies. Based on the practical requirements of spatial planning in China, this paper proposes optimization suggestions on the improvement of spatial governance tools for climate adaptation in China from three aspects: creating the spatial governance toolbox for climate adaptation matching the spatial planning system, strengthening the integration of blue-green-grey infrastructure for climate adaptation, and innovating refined climate adaptation spatial policies with spatial adaptability.

The urban renewal of residential historical districts has the characteristics of small scale and progressive. Facing the problems that morphological structure is difficult to identify and space regeneration is difficult to decide, this paper applies the method of spatial configuration to build an integrated cognition of the street network structure and its structure with the plot area. Firstly, based on the clustering of three indicators of depth, connectivity and low connection rate, the configuration level of the street network is divided. On this basis, the configuration level of the plot area is obtained by combining the structural relationship between the plot and the street. Secondly, this method is applied to the Hehuatang and Diaoyutai areas in Nanjing, and the characteristics of morphological structure are quantitatively presented. Finally, it makes judgments and suggestions on the practical problems of upper planning implementation, commercial development site selection, community facilities improvement, and historical resource utilization, and it provides planning implementation suggestions for pre-development and guides the selection and distribution of building types. This method can not only provide a scientific basis for the morphological understanding and renewal design of residential historical areas, but also has the potential to be further applied to development of technical tools such as early decision-making, multi-role participation and interaction, and dynamic continuous control.?

China’s economically developed cities continue to face the dual pressure of expanding urban residential land and solving the side effects of rapid urbanisation, but the traditional path of outward expansion or large-scale demolition-construction in the past thirty years no longer meets today’s requirements for intensive and compact land use and low-carbon energy-saving urban development. The new situation calls for a new model of urban land development, and the redensificationof existing residential areas using residue-spaces from previous urban expansions in German economically developed cities offers a new way for the inward development of cities. This study analyses the socio-historical background, operational mechanisms and design strategies of the “Reside Alongside the Middle Ring” (Wohnen am Mittleren Ring) project in Munich, a typical example of this type of development. The study shows that re-densification not only offers a new option for increaseing urban residential land, but is also a sustainable solution to existing urban problems in built-up areas, and thus has a great referential value for possible future re-densification in Chinese Cities.