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China began to implement marine economic development pilot policies from 2011 in order to promote land and marine development in a coordinated way, transform and optimize marine industrial layout, formulate and improve the policy and institutional construction of ocean development, promote marine economic power strategy, and improve the level of regional economic resilience in coastal area. Tourism industry is an important part of regional economy of coastal areas. Taking the marine economic development pilot policies as a quasi-natural experiment and based on the panel data of cities in coastal areas of China from 2007 to 2020, a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model was used to assess the impact of these pilot policies on regional economic resilience and tourism economic resilience. The results show that the implementation of marine economic development pilot policies can significantly promote regional economic resilience and tourism economic resilience. COVID-19, as a moderating variable, has significantly weakened the effect of marine economic development pilot policies on regional economic resilience. In terms of regional heterogeneity, the establishment of marine economic development pilots has a more significant policy effect on regional economic resilience in the central and southern coastal areas, while the policy effect on tourism economic resilience is more significant in the eastern coastal areas. In view of these findings, it is of great significance for cities to prevent systemic risks and improve regional economic resilience, by means of reasonably expanding marine economic development pilots and planning coastal regional economic systems according to local conditions. © 2023, Editorial office of PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY. All rights reserved.
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COVID-19 Pandemic has a profound Impact on the Indian tourism sector, especially on beach tourism. Research shows significant changes in the pattern of the ecological terrain of coastal areas and on the community dependent on tourism business and marine life, due to the imposition of lockdown for several months. The paper discusses the change in behavioral patterns of people during Pre and Post COVID-19 for visiting any beach destination in near future in terms of preferences in accommodation, selection of beaches based on crowd and other factors that will be considered in post pandemic days. This study brings out various key indicators shaping the pattern of beach holidays in the future based on the survey conducted among tourists belonging to youth population. The survey considered the tourists preferences of visits and factors they would look upon to choose beach holidaying in the Post COVID-19 years. The influence of the pandemic on quality of beaches, visitors'willingness to visit beaches in future, Post Pandemic opportunities and strategies of destinations for shaping tourism further have also been examined. ©Copyright IJHTS.
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PurposeThis paper presents a systematic review of the literature in the domain of maritime disruption management, upon which future research framework and agenda are proposed. Two review questions, i.e. the measures that are employed to manage disruptions and how these contribute to resilience performance, were pursued.Design/methodology/approachThe systematic literature review procedure was strictly followed, including identification and planning, execution, selection and synthesis and analysis. A review protocol was developed, including scope, databases and criteria guiding the review. Following this, 47 articles were eventually extracted for the systematic review to identify themes for not only addressing the review questions but also highlighting future research opportunities.FindingsIt was found that earlier studies mainly focused on measures, which are designed using mathematical models, management frameworks and other technical support systems, to analyse and evaluate risks, and their impacts on maritime players at the levels of organisation, transport system and region in which the organisation is embedded. There is, however, a lack of research that empirically examines how these measures would contribute to enhancing the resilience performance of maritime firms and their organisational performance as a whole. Subsequently, a Digitally Embedded and Technically Support Maritime Disruption Management (DEST-MDM) model is proposed.Research limitations/implicationsThis review is constrained by studies recorded by the Web of Science only. Nevertheless, the proposed research model would expectedly contribute to enhancing knowledge building in the specific domain of maritime disruption management and supply chain management overall while providing meaningful managerial implications to policymakers and managers in the maritime industry.Originality/valueThis research is perhaps one of the first studies which presents a systematic review of literature in maritime disruption management and proposes a future research framework that establishes the link between disruption management and resilience and organisational performance for empirical validation.
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Since January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread impacts on virtually every sector of the global economy, including world trade and global supply chains. [...]it has been argued that the existing globalised economies might require to be restructured in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic when governments and firms start to re-strategize their critical supply chains through various disruption and resilience management strategies. [...]other shipping intermediaries, i.e. freight forwarders and logistics service providers, who play crucial roles in connecting demand and supply of maritime supply chains also suffered due to reduced business transactions. [...]the focus of this special issue is on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various players in the maritime supply chain, as well as possible trends of global trade and maritime supply chains and strategies and policies in the aftermath of the pandemic.
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The use of plastics in the world is increasing, but their proper final arrangement is limited. Peru made regulatory efforts to reduce its use;however, they are isolated activities that have not represented a significant change in their management. This study allows to identify the presence of microplastic on one of the busiest beaches of the city of Lima Metropolitana, during the emergency period caused by the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. To achieve the objectives of the research, it has been sampled in high tide and supra-coastal areas, applying the methodology proposed in the Ministry of the Environment's Soil Sampling Guide. This study shows the presence of microplastics, with an abundance of 43 pieces per m2, and found that the predominance of the type of microplastic found is of secondary origin (polystyrene and polypropylene);however, 20.9% correspond to primary microplastics (pellets) whose source could not be determined. Finally, it is indicated that despite restrictions on the state of emergency the number of microplastics per m2 in Agua Dulce Beach between 2019 (40 pieces) and 2020 (43 pieces) increased by 7.5%.
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The idyllic tourist atmosphere in the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANIs) nature's floating paradise, which relatively had fewer cases of the COVID-19 virus, as compared to mainland India, was suddenly shattered. The locals depend on the tourists for their livelihood and with the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the country and other nations, the government imposed a lockdown and the ensuing travel ban put everything on hold. The psycho-economic fallout had just begun as people were grappling with what was happening all around and what lay ahead. Coastal tourism, which is considered to be the world's key economic area, is a huge economy booster for the nation's GDP, and the Island tourism suddenly shut down along with the deficit revenue to the government. The worst affected were those whose livelihoods were involved with tourists on a daily basis. Thus, the initiatives of special packages by the government and NGOs are released in order to boost the tourism activities. This work mainly addresses the effect of this deadly pandemic on the lives of the people, more so its governmental implications on the psychological and socioeconomic conditions of the Islanders. The government subsidies and necessary measures for sustainability can help them tide over the crisis. Now the government has administrated the vaccination program and initiated the opening of many recreation places for the public. Gradually, the government keenly executed the necessary steps to bring life to normal. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.
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Throughout 2020, according to the Spanish Ministry of Home Office, 23,023 irregular migrants reached the coasts of the Canary Islands in Spain, 757% more than the previous year. The migrants left from the coasts of West Africa, mainly from Senegal, trying to reach the nearest European Union (EU) territory. Apart from the migrants who arrived in the Canary Islands, nearly 1,500 stayed on the way, and 594 of them died drowned or of dehydration. Behind this migratory tragedy, there is a combination of factors, with three essential ones operating synergistically: climate change, which is affecting agriculture, fishing and exacerbating coastal erosion;overfishing, which is depleting regional fisheries;and the COVID-19 pandemic, which, in addition to the victims caused, has left the region without tourism, and with an economy in recession. This paper reviews these causal factors, highlighting his influence on migration and the responsibility of migrants receiving countries – especially those in the EU – for the causes of migration.
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Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted livelihood options and systems of people from all walks of life. In this study, we explored the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic on small-scale coastal fisherfolk in the Winneba community of the Central Region of Ghana. The study used quantitative data from a questionnaire survey (n = 50) and qualitative data from in-depth interviews with key stakeholders including chief fishermen, community leaders, and district members (n = 12) to examine the stated objectives. The empirical results showed that the overwhelming majority of fisherfolk are aware of COVID-19 and the risks it poses to their health with their main source of information on the pandemic being the radio. Most of the respondents reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had and continues to adversely transform their livelihood systems. Further analysis showed that their socio-economic vulnerabilities have further been worsened because of the extra financial costs incurred in the purchase of personal protective equipment such as face masks and hand sanitisers in response to COVID-19. The frequency and number of crews per fishing trip have decreased resulting in lower fish landings and decreased income. The volume of fish processing and trading activities has also decreased because of the increase in prices of fish and low patronage. Commonly mentioned local coping strategies against COVID-19 infection include drinking and bathing with seawater as well as the use of seawater as a desired enema solution for general detoxification. In response to declining fish catches, fisherfolk are resorting to illegal fishing activities and engaging in casual work like masonry and carpentry to supplement their income. The study urges relevant stakeholders to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on coastal fisheries' livelihoods toward designing and implementing sustainable and practical resilience-enhancing strategies. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Urbanization of coastal areas worldwide has increased due to an increase in the global population. The production of sustainable aquaculture is greatly impacted by a surge of this urbanization. In certain countries, particularly for individuals with more limited space in metropolitan areas, such as along Johor's coastal area, aquaculture might well be a good strategy to maintain food availability (continuous production plus high-quality meals). Consequently, the adoption of aquaculture along the Johor's coastal area has lead to Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB). This paper examines the evolution of the aquaculture industry of Malaysian Johor coastal areas in relation to HABs. In addition to HABs, the aforementioned metropolitan regions confront diverse economic and geographical obstacles when attempting to increase their aquaculture production sustainably. Those problems are therefore addressed using a variety of operations as well as surveillance techniques in this brief overview. Lockdowns and border prohibitions caused by the continuous COVID-19 infection have had a global impact. These logistical difficulties in the seafood industry have increased dependency on imported supplies. It is suggested that international decision- making, supervision, and knowledge exchange can successfully solve the challenges urbanized areas have in ensuring sustainable food security through the evolution within the aquaculture sector.
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Since the reform and opening up, coastal tourism has been rising and developing, and it has become one of the important marine industries. This paper selected the added value and gross marine product of coastal tourism industry from 2001 to 2020, constructed direct contribution rate, indirect contribution rate and marginal contribution rate model, and calculated the contribution degree of coastal tourism to marine economic development. The results showed that the direct contribution rate of coastal tourism was on the rise, and the indirect contribution rate was mostly about 2%~4%.In the selected study period, the marginal contribution rate of coastal tourism to GROSS marine product was 40.44%. The study found that the overall development level of coastal tourism was good, and the coastal tourism made a great contribution to the development of marine economy, but it was difficult to take accurate measures in the face of sudden crises such as COVID-19, and sometimes it took a lot of time to recover to the normal level. Based on the above situation, suggestions were proposed to increase policy support for the post-epidemic era, promote the supply-side reform of coastal tourism and build coastal tourism products with characteristics in the post-epidemic era, increase the publicity and marketing of coastal tourism, and train and introduce high-quality tourism talents, etc..
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Su, B.;Guan, C.;An, Q., and Wang, Q., 2020. Analysis and countermeasures of the influence of COVID-19 on the commodity category of port export in China: Taking Shanghai Port as an example. In: Liu, X. and Zhao, L. (eds.), Today's Modern Coastal Society: Technical and Sociological Aspects of Coastal Research. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 111, pp. 298–301. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Since the end of 2019, the novel coronavirus has spread rapidly, which has affected the economy, social interaction, and foreign trade, both in China and around the world. Import and export trade has become an organic part of China's national economy. Import and export trade accounts for nearly 35% of the national economy, which is a major part of China's economic growth. This article takes Shanghai Port as an example, collecting and analyzing the exporters of Shanghai Port in China from January to May 2020. Compared with the relevant data of the same period in 2019, this article discusses the major commodity categories that are affected by the epidemic situation in the export trade volume of Shanghai Port, giving countermeasures according to the influence situation in order to stabilize the quantity of this category in the future and reduce the risk of lower port trade volume of the export commodity categories affected by public health emergencies in China's port trade. At the same time, some suggestions and countermeasures are given to the ecological environment problems affecting the sustainable development of ports.
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Abrasion causes coastal areas to have a very high level of dynamics and often has an impact on environmental damage, so it needs to be anticipated. In the last 2 years, the whole world has faced a crisis caused by the pandemic due to Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19). During the pandemic, the environment where coastal communities live is still threatened with abrasion. Some mangrove planting and rehabilitation activities had to be stopped to suppress the spread of the virus. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of community groups (Tourism Awareness Group) as a key factor in overcoming abrasion events during the Covid-19 pandemic at Bungin Beach. Interviews and direct observations were conducted to obtain survey data. Additional analyzes were then carried out through relevant journals and literature reviews. As a result, from 1997 to 2021 there has been abrasion on Bungin beach. The Tourism Awareness Group plays a role in post-pandemic recovery, especially in the economic sector. Through mangrove planting activities, not only to restore the economy of coastal communities during the pandemic but also to protect coastal ecosystems from the threat of abrasion on Bungin Beach.
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Context and aims. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of environmental development in the seashore waters of Maluan Bay on the current situation of sustainable development of coastal villages. Methods. We used SPSS statistical software (ver. 26.0) to analyse the data with statistical verification, Student's t-test and ANOVA, the used the inverview method to solicit opinions on the questionnarie results, and, finally, conducted multivariate inspection and analysis to explore the results. Key results. The development of seashore waters can effectively enhance people's positive perceptions of the current economic, social, environmental and coastal ecological development, and increase their willingness to revisit and purchase property. Also, the insufficient number of security guards in villages can be improved, the environmental awareness of residents and their willingness to participate in decision-making can be enhanced. Conclusions and implications. Providing tourists with better tourism facilities, transportation, hotel and restaurant management and planning will increase leisure opportunities and solve environmental and waste problems such as in this scenic location. It will help achieve the goal of sustainable circular economy of water.
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The development of coastal shipping (CS) in Africa has been identified as a way to bolster the continent's freight transport network. Thus, our study examined the recent CS experiences of three regional shipping lines in sub Saharan Africa (SSA)-Ocean Africa Container Lines, Adom Mbroso Transport and United Africa Feeder Line-operating respectively in Southern, West and East Africa. We employed an in-depth case-study approach involving semi-structured interviews with senior managers, which enabled us to discover and understand the real-life phenomenon of successfully operating CS services in SSA today and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the three companies. Our study revealed gaps that need to be addressed in order to develop maritime transport in Africa's subregions, namely by clarifying the predicted appropriateness and credibility of different policies and which elements are more likely to generate positive behavioural change in regional shipping lines. It also revealed major barriers for CS, including customs, a lack of intra-regionally traded cargo and high tariffs and low efficiency at port. Although the establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and 2050 Africa's Integrated Maritime Strategy have clearly had positive effects, African states need to implement the policies in concert as well as improve the performance of ports. Last, concerning the pandemic, COVID-19-related restrictions have decreased transport demand for CS in SSA and limited crew changes, shore leaves and cargo operations. Although business viability has been negatively affected as a consequence, freight rates have increased across SSA and thus improved the sustainability of CS.
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The effects of 9 precipitation events in Suzhou City in Anhui Province, China, on the air quality index (AQI), PM2.5, and dry deposition flux of PCDD/Fs (polydibenzo-p-dioxins and polydibenzofurans) were investigated. A total of 7 precipitation events were positive contributes to the reduction of AQI;among them, the AQI were between 23 and 216, with an average of 75, the PM2.5 concentrations were between 5.0 and 169 mu g m-3, with an average of 25 mu g m-3, while the total-PCDD/F-TEQ dry deposition flux ranged from 149 to 1034 pg WHO2005-TEQ m-2 day-1 and averaged 315 pg WHO2005-TEQ m-2 day-1. By comparing the average AQI and PM2.5, respectively, during and after rainfall with that before rainfall, the results indicated that the average reduction fractions of AQI were 26% and 44%, respectively, while those of PM2.5 were 58% and 43%. In addition, the effect of precipitation on the average reduction fraction of total PCDD/F-TEQ dry deposition flux was 31%. However, in the other 2 AQI elevation events, the AQI were between 23 and 100, and averaged 51;when comparing the average AQI and PM2.5 concentrations, during and after the rain with that before the rain, the increases in AQI were 42% and 49%, respectively, while the increases in PM2.5 concentration were 26% and 29%, respectively. The above results show that, on the whole, rain and snow improved the air quality. This is because rainwater removes particles or dissolved gaseous pollutants from the atmosphere and brings aerosols to the ground. However, in some cases, the increase of source emissions and atmospheric vertical convection, the effect of precipitation or air humidity increased the AQI and elevated the concentration of PM2.5, and dry deposition flux of PCDD/Fs. The results of this study provide useful information for both scientific communities and air quality management.
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This work studied the antioxidant and anti-breast cancer properties of hyaluronidase, extracted from a potential marine strain, Staphylococcus aureus (CASMTK1), isolated from Parangipettai coastal waters in southeast coast of India. The Staphylococcal enzyme production was tested under different carbon and nitrogen sources;and recorded the maximum production when the microbial strain was cultured with starch as the carbon source and ammonium sulphate as the inorganic nitrogen source with the enzyme production of 92.5 U/mL and 95.0 U/mL, respectively. The hyaluronidase enzyme production was also tested in different pH and temperature;and recorded the maximum yield of 102.5 U/mL in pH 5 and that of 95.5 U/mL in 45 °C. The partially purified enzyme was subjected to FTIR and FT Raman technique and found the presence of the amide- I and II, Carboxyl, N-H bending, C-H stretching and α-helices and β-sheet proteins between wave number 1500–1700 cm−1. The partially purified enzyme also exhibited strong antioxidant and in-vitro breast cancer properties. The enzyme showed the highest hydroxyl radical scavenging activity of 79% at the 50 µg/mL concentration, and this activity increased in a dose-dependent manner. The enzyme inhibited proliferation of the breast cancer cell line of MCF-7, and it caused 100% cell death at the concentration of 80 µg/mL. The enzyme generated capacity of producing free radicles that damage the cancer cells, and this effect was very nearer to the standard drug, paclitaxel. The enzyme damaged the cancer cells and induced apoptosis in 78% of cancer cells as evident by condensed or fragmented chromatin at 40 µg/mL. Further purification of the enzyme, analysis of its molecular aspects, and elucidation of exact mechanisms of its biological activities will throw new light on the utility of staphylococcal hyaluronidase in anticancer chemotherapy.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has considerable mental health impacts. Immersive nature-based interventions, such as swimming or snorkeling, may help mitigate the global mental health crisis caused by the pandemic. To investigate this, we collected cross-sectional data from residents of coastal villages (n = 308) in Kepulauan Selayar, Indonesia. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used with mental well-being as the outcome variable, operationalized as the Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores from the SF-12 (12-item Short Form Health Survey). After adjusting for covariates, the activity of sea swimming or snorkeling was found to be significantly associated with better mental well-being (2 = 0.036;p < 0.01). Predictive margins analysis revealed that those who engaged in sea swimming or snorkeling for one to three days a week gained a 2.7 increase in their MCS scores, compared to those who did not. A non-linear dose-response relationship was detected: for those swimming or snorkeling more than three days per week, there was only an increase of 1.7 MCS score compared to the 0-day. Overall this study contributes to the expanding of evidence base, showing that interactions with blue spaces can be beneficial for mental health, especially in a potentially stressful time such as the current pandemic.
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With the increasing need for and emergence of research on ocean and coastal issues in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ocean & Coastal Management journal presents this Special Issue with relevant articles within the scope of Coastal Management in times of COVID-19. This Special Issue received 43 tentative abstracts, 29 manuscripts were submitted, and finally, 12 articles were accepted. We provide a wide panorama of those twelve articles that integrate the special issue, covering a diverse range of topics regarding coastal management in the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven papers are studies that discuss environmental and social problems during this time in coastal zones, while the other five explore the use of technology to face COVID-19 on beaches. These twelve articles give some insights to improve coastal management, focused on tourist beaches, natural disasters, and fisheries. In sum, this special issue offers an organized compendium of high-level articles, as a contribution to evolve towards the better ocean and coastal management within the rapid emerging of publications about COVID-19.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic socio-economic impact on mankind;however, the COVID-19 lockdown brought a drastic reduction of anthropic impacts on the environment worldwide, including the marine–coastal system. This study is concentrated on the Mar Piccolo basin of Taranto, a complex marine ecosystem model that is important in terms of ecological, social, and economic activities. Although many numerical studies have been conducted to investigate the features of the water fluxes in the Mar Piccolo basin, this is the first study conducted in order to link meteo-oceanographic conditions, water quality, and potential reduction of anthropic inputs. In particular, we used the model results in order to study the response of the Mar Piccolo basin to a drastic reduction in the leakage of heavy metal IPAs from industrial discharges during the two months of the mandated nationwide lockdown. The results show the different behavior of the two sub-basins of Mar Piccolo, showing the different times necessary for a reduction in the concentrations of heavy metals even after a total stop in the leakage of heavy metal IPAs. The results highlight the high sensitivity of the basin to environmental problems and the different times necessary for the renewal of the water in both sub-basins. © 2023 by the authors.
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Key points This analysis is based on data from the 2011 and 2016 censuses, and does not take into account the redistributions and changes that may have occurred with COVID-19. This report can be seen as providing a baseline for subsequent analysis of the changes that have occurred and continue to occur, identifying the trends and conditions across regional Australia's urban centres prior to 2020. Populations in regional urban centres are growing overall—however, this growth is differentiated. Regional urban centre population growth is associated with proximity to major cities, and to coastal locations. Regional urban centre population decline is associated with remoteness and exposure to the resource economy. Capital cities are the main source of migration to regional urban centres, principally coastal and satellite centres with regional-to-regional-centre migration highly self-contained. International migration follows similar distribution. Commuting between regional centres and proximate capital cities increased over 2011–2016, indicating increased peri-metropolitan dependency on metropolitan interactions. Employment growth is associated with population growth, particularly for the larger metropolitan satellite and coastal regional cities—however, this is also associated with lower wage growth due to the employment mix. Health, community service, construction, hospitality and accommodation increased their share of regional employment. Industries associated with agglomeration economies are concentrating in fewer urban centres, while those associated with population services are becoming more dispersed. National economic growth factors appear to expert greater influence on employment growth in regional urban centres, while industry factors exert very limited influence. Regional effects exert greater influence than industry effects, although these are unevenly distributed. In 135 of 198 cases, a regional urban centre exhibits employment growth along with its surrounding functional economic region. For 33 regional urban centres there is positive divergence, while for 25 there is negative divergence. Four regional urban centres are declining within a declining functional economic region. Factors associated with stronger employment growth include employment factors, industry factors (especially those dependent on population growth), while income growth was less associated with employment growth. Population change exerted a strong influence on employment growth, as did human capital factors. Housing market (i.e. price) growth is strongly associated with population growth, while locational factors exhibited low associations. Cluster analysis identified nine distinctive regional urban centre groups: metro-satellites;large regional cities;medium growth cities;regional service centres;ageing population centres;agricultural centres;mining centres;industrial centres, and northern Queensland centres. Policy development should consider the following: Policy and planning measures to address the phenomenon of growth in metropolitan satellite regional urban centres, and the need to ensure coherent population, housing and employment distribution and linkages. Coordinated economic and social development approaches to emerging low-income service economies in coastal regional urban centres. Long-term transition planning to address resource-dependent regional urban centres facing cyclical economic changes based on the labour intensity of construction relative to ongoing economic activity. Opportunities and mechanisms to leverage high-wage economic development from existing regional city industry clusters. Opportunities and mechanisms for regional spatial coordination of fiscal policy to optimise development of high-wage employment in suitable regional urban centres. The study Purpose The contribution of regional urban centres to Australia's economic and population growth has been a topic of growing policy interest in the past two decades, as a result of rapid growth in the major cities and concerns for parts of regiona Australia that have experienced population decline. Associated with these trends is the distribution of economic activity and employment—particularly as traditional regional strengths such as agriculture, manufacturing and mining have declined as sources of employment in recent decades. Over the same period, metropolitan areas have prospered because of concentrations of high-skill, high-wage knowledge work, indicating diverging regional fortunes as a result of wider economic trends. The purpose of this research is to investigate patterns and dynamics of population, migration and economic change in Australian regional urban centres 2011–2016. The research is principally an empirically focused investigation identifying patterns and dynamic processes of regional change using advanced spatial analytical techniques, but provides an information base that will support future policy development efforts. Inquiry This research is part of a wider AHURI Inquiry into population growth in Australia's smaller cities. The Inquiry asks two overarching questions: First, what is the capacity of Australia's smaller cities to assist in managing national population growth, including international and national migration? Second, which policy instruments and programs are most likely to redirect population movements to these locations? Study This research investigates two overarching questions related to the Inquiry: How can we differentiate Australia's regional urban centres according to economic profile, population trajectory, industry structure and geography? What are the current mobility and settlement patterns of migrants, including those arriving from other parts of Australia and from other nations, across these smaller cities? Three further research questions are posed by this project: 1. How can a typology of smaller cities assist to understand their role in regional, state and national economies? 2. How are Australia's regional urban centres differentiated in terms of economic profile, population trajectory and industry structure? 3. What demographic, economic and spatial factors are associated with economic and population growth, and what attributes are associated with better economic performance of regional urban centres? Approach and methods For Research question 1: the project undertakes longitudinal measures of social, demographic and industry change in regional cities 2011–2016 using Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census data. Next, flow analysis and mapping of migration is applied to identify key migration patterns. Migration flows are used to construct migration regions via modularity analysis. Similar techniques are used to identify journey to work flows from which functional economic regions are constructed. Shift share of employment change and location quotient analysis of employment is used to understand economic change and industry structure. For Research question 2, to understand how Australia's regional urban centres are differentiated the project applies hierarchical cluster and discriminant analysis to construct a typology of regional urban centres. This is based on a combination of economic, demographic and geographic factors. These are compiled into summary data and descriptive explanations. For Research question 3: the study applies structural equation modelling (SEM) to identify the relationships between economic, social and demographic factors affecting population change and economic growth in regional urban centres. Key findings Differentiating Australia's regional urban centres Australia's regional urban centres are heterogeneous in terms of size, location within the Australian continent and settlement structures, level of employment, industrial mix and degree of interaction with regional, metropolitan, national and international economic processes and dynamics. In 2016, there were 198 Australian regional urban centres that had populations greater than 5,000 residents. Most are experiencing population growth. However this growth is differentiated across a range of factors, including: t e existing size of the centre location relative to the coast location relative to an existing major capital city. A small number of regional urban centres are experiencing population decline. These centres are largely associated with the resource economy. They are typically positioned in remote locations in Australia. Migration Migration is a major factor in population change within regional urban centres. Migration patterns are clearly structured at the regional scale, with distinct geographies of intra-regional movement that include discernible levels of self-containment. There is a sizeable phenomenon of major city to regional urban centre migration, especially in the south-east of Australia. Beyond the major metropolitan zones, there are larger internally connected migration regions, which often involving movement between adjacent regional urban centres. Some regional urban centres lose and receive populations across long distances. For example, the Northern Territory (NT) operates as a single migration region, partly because of its relatively small population and large scale—although the volumes of movement are relatively small. © Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited 2022.