Urban and regional economic resilience: a manufacturing supply chain network perspective

Urban areas are increasingly interconnected, amplifying the risks associated with shock events. Therefore, it is essential to uncover the economic resilience of regions and cities from a network perspective. However, traditional methods that use enterprise supplier lists, company headquarters-branch lists, or gravity models to map urban networks fail to fully capture the economic connections between cities. This study investigated the structural shifts and resilience of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban network under the trade conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic. Results show that the network's node hierarchy, spatial structure, and topological characteristics have undergone significant changes. At the regional level, the YRD urban network demonstrates a clear temporal evolution: the period from 2018 to 2020 is characterized as a collective shock resistance phase, which subsequently transitions into a coordinated adaptation and recovery phase spanning 2021 and 2022. Interpretable machine learning analysis reveals that degree is negatively correlated with urban resilience, whereas effective size is positively correlated with urban resilience. This study can provide valuable references and insights for urban planners in assessing risks and formulating policies.