Work

Putting Urban Resilience in Geographical Context: The Case of City Regions in Hainan, China, in the Wake of COVID-19 and Beyond

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Urban resilience has gained significant further attention since the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in various assessments comparing cities’ ability to respond to, and recover from, diverse shocks. This paper responds to the call for grounding urban resilience in context by examining a case study of the city regions on the island of Hainan Province, China, following the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. After content analysis to trace the lineage of urban resilience in the Chinese context, an exploratory study, including analysis and mapping of statistical data, was conducted to examine the city’s economic and social performance from 2018 to 2021 and beyond. Our study suggests a largely positive trend in the bouncing back and forward of city regions shortly after the pandemic began, as well as a rural–urban gap and growing regional disparities that need to be addressed to enhance resilience for all. This study provides a contextualized understanding of Hainan as it navigates pandemic stresses and builds capacities during state-supported structural transformations in its development as a free trade port. Furthermore, this study suggests a valuable city region analytical lens and a geographical perspective for implementing the urban resilience concept and building urban resilience efforts in China and elsewhere.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17198697

Authors: Guo Chen, Qianlin Chen

Institution: Michigan State University

Language: English

Topic: Regional resilience and development

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896