Modeling the Built Environment’s Role in Shaping Innovation-Oriented Productivity Through a Spatially Heterogeneous Lens

Innovation-oriented productive forces are increasingly concentrated in cities, but the multiscale mechanisms through which the built environment shapes these forces remain insufficiently understood. This study develops a spatial analytical framework linking firm-level new quality productive forces (NQPF) to fine-grained urban spatial structures. Using 89 A-share listed firms in the Xiamen–Zhangzhou–Quanzhou (XZQ) urban agglomeration, we first construct an entropy-weighted NQPF index from eleven financial indicators related to R&D human capital, advanced capital stock, intangible assets, and operational efficiency. Kernel density estimation is then used to transform discrete firm-level NQPF values into a continuous 600 m × 600 m grid surface as the dependent variable. On the explanatory side, 27 built-environment variables are organized into an integrated indicator system covering urban form, natural conditions, jobs–housing structure, and service infrastructures. We combine cross-validated recursive feature elimination (RFE-CV) with multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) to construct two model specifications: a 7-variable parsimonious subset and a 14-variable highest-performing subset. This dual-subset design allows us to distinguish core structural drivers from more context-dependent spatial mechanisms. The results reveal three mechanisms. First, ecological adaptation reflects the scale-dependent enabling and constraining effects of infrastructure and natural-foundation variables. Second, structural coordination shows that mature cores may experience crowding-related suppression when functional and institutional resources become spatially mismatched. Third, boundary activation indicates that transport, public-service, and leisure-related facilities can activate peripheral and cross-jurisdictional interface zones when supported by network connectivity and institutional coordination. By coupling variable-specific bandwidths with local coefficients, this study advances the analysis of spatial heterogeneity and provides evidence for differentiated, innovation-oriented urban regeneration.