SUS Lab Member ZHENG Hao Published Research on Environmental Drivers of Urban Shrinkage in Habitat International.

We are pleased to announce that ZHENG Hao and SUS Lab supervisor Professor Zhang Runsen together with their colleagues,  published a paper in Habitat International titled “Environmental drivers of urban shrinkage in the Tokyo metropolitan area: A machine learning analysis of nonlinearity and spatial heterogeneity“. The study investigates how environmental conditions shape urban shrinkage in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. By integrating nighttime light data with an interpretable machine learning framework, the research offers a new perspective on how shrinkage and growth coexist within Japan’s largest metropolitan region.

By revealing the environmental drivers behind metropolitan shrinkage, this study provides a data-driven framework for urban planners and policymakers. The findings highlight the need for spatially differentiated planning strategies to respond to demographic decline and changing urban conditions in large metropolitan regions.

The full study can be accessed here:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2026.103795