Search Results (366)

Agricultural industrial parks have been promoted as a key instrument for agricultural modernization, yet causal evidence of their impact on raising rural residents’ income remains limited. This study evaluates the income effects of National Modern Agricultural Industrial Parks (NMAIPs) in China, clarifying the transmission mechanisms and distributional consequences for rural households and the urban–rural income gap. Using county- and household-level panel data (2014–2022), we exploit the staggered rollout of NMAIPs as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) design with two-way fixed effects, complemented by event-study analysis. Results show that NMAIP establishment raises rural residents’ income by approximately 1.83% on average. Mechanism analysis indicates that this gain operates primarily through employment expansion, technological upgrading, and capital agglomeration. At the household level, NMAIPs significantly increase wage and operating income but have limited effects on property and transfer income, reflecting constraints in rural asset markets. Furthermore, NMAIPs reduce intra-rural inequality and moderate the urban–rural income gap following an inverted U-shaped path (initial widening followed by narrowing), as benefits diffuse through value chains. We conclude that NMAIPs are an effective policy lever for inclusive rural growth, yet their distributive outcomes could be enhanced by supporting reforms in rural factor markets and public service delivery. Full article

Exploring the spatiotemporal evolution of building stock in African countries is of great significance for understanding the urbanization process, regional development disparities, and sustainable development pathways in the Global South. Integrating long-term (1975–2020), 100 m resolution building stock data for Tanzania with multi-source environmental and socioeconomic datasets, this study employed GIS spatial analysis techniques—including optimized hotspot analysis, standard deviational ellipse, and geographical detector—to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of building differentiation. The results indicate that over the 45-year period, Tanzania’s building stock underwent rapid expansion, with a 3.83-fold increase in volume and a 4.93-fold increase in area, while the average height decreased continuously by 1.04 m. This growth was predominantly driven by the expansion of residential buildings. The spatial distribution of buildings exhibited a “north-dense, south-sparse” pattern with agglomeration along traffic axes. During 1975–1990, building growth hotspots were concentrated in western and southern regions, shifting to areas surrounding Lake Victoria and central administrative centers during 2005–2020. In contrast, coldspots expanded progressively from northern, northeastern regions and Zanzibar Island to parts of the southern and eastern coasts. The building distribution consistently maintained a northwest–southeast spatial orientation, with increasingly prominent directional characteristics; the centroid of building distribution moved more than 90 km northwestward, and the agglomeration intensity continued to increase. Socioeconomic factors—including population density, road network density, and GDP density—have a significantly stronger influence on building distribution than natural factors. Among natural factors, only river network density exhibits a significant effect, while constraints such as slope and terrain relief are relatively insignificant. Full article

Against the backdrop of rapid modernization and tightening agricultural resource constraints, coordinating urbanization and grain production is a key challenge for China. Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2023, this study applies the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and a panel vector autoregression model to examine the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics and interaction mechanisms among new-type urbanization (NTU), cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE), and food security (FS). The results show that these three systems have gradually evolved toward coordinated development, with major grain-producing regions consistently leading and entering a moderate coordination stage earlier than other regions. Spatially, CCD exhibits significant positive spatial autocorrelation, characterized by stable “High–High” agglomeration in Northeast China and “Low–Low” agglomeration in southern provinces. Dynamic analysis indicates that system fluctuations are mainly driven by internal inertia, while inter-system interactions are also significant; NTU promotes CLUE, and CLUE and FS exhibit bidirectional causality with complex feedback effects. This study argues for promoting urban–rural factor mobility, advancing green and technology-enabled land use, implementing region-specific development strategies, and establishing a “human–land–grain” early-warning mechanism to safeguard food security during urban expansion. Full article

Rapid urbanization has driven land-use transitions, leading to the continuous replacement of land-use types with high carbon storage capacity by those with lower capacity. A deeper analysis of the drivers behind these changes and predictions of their future development is essential for optimizing land-use patterns and enhancing regional carbon sink functions. This study takes the Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration (GPUA) as a case study. It employs the PLUS and InVEST models to simulate land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics from 2000 to 2020 and to project the LULC and associated spatial clustering characteristics of carbon storage in 2030. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, LULC changes in the region were dominated by the conversion of cropland to built-up land, primarily concentrated in urban areas and along the Wei River corridor. By 2030, built-up land is expected to continue expanding along transportation corridors and urban peripheries, further reducing the area of cropland. (2) Changes in carbon storage were mainly driven by LULC transitions, with an overall declining trend observed from 2000 to 2020 (decreasing from 2754.69 Mt to 2741.79 Mt) despite the buffering effect of ecological restoration, and a projected continued decrease to 2734.28 Mt by 2030. (3) The spatial distribution of carbon storage was characterized by a strengthening polarization. The proportion of hotspot areas increased from 30.38% to 32.33% over the 2000–2020 period, with a concentration in ecological function zones such as the Qinling Mountains, Ziwuling, and Huanglongshan. Concurrently, coldspot areas also expanded. Future efforts should prioritize the protection of high-carbon-sink mountainous zones, strictly control the outward expansion of built-up land, and enhance carbon storage capacity in agricultural areas to support low-carbon development and spatial optimization in the GPUA. Full article

Rapid development and scale expansion of cities are the core characteristics of the urbanization process, which effectively promote the formation of agglomeration economies, infrastructure sharing, and social mobility improvement. However, it also brings various negative effects such as unequal public services, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution. The principle of isobenefit urbanism proposes that walking accessibility of various service facilities is an important indicator for measuring whether a city is livable, fair, and sustainable. This study specifically examines the impacts of environmental factors on the implementation of isobenefit urbanism in the central urban area of Beijing, a megacity. By obtaining open-source data and performing ArcGIS (10.8.1) analysis, using 183 blocks in Beijing’s core area, we normalized Strava pedestrian heat by road area and regressed it on 12 built environment indicators. The final model (R = 0.650, R² = 0.422, and adjusted R² = 0.381) identifies five significant predictors: block area (β = 0.215, p = 0.001) and average building height (β = 0.299, p = 0.012) are positively associated with walking heat, while building density (β = −0.235, p = 0.003), intersection density (β = −0.321, p < 0.001), and average distance to bus stop (β = −0.196, p = 0.003) are negatively associated. Land use mix and facility supply show positive but nonsignificant effects after controls. These estimates provide actionable levers for isobenefit urbanism in megacity cores. Full article

Under the dual pressures of rapid urbanization and climate change, urban expansion in high-density estuarine urban agglomerations has intensified economic–ecological trade-offs in the aquatic–terrestrial ecotone, necessitating land-use planning that reconciles economic growth with ecological protection. Here, we integrated linear programming with the CLUE-S model and incorporated marine–terrestrial integration objectives and typical natural disturbance factors. With this approach, a landscape pattern simulation framework capable of jointly optimizing ecological and economic benefits was developed. The framework was applied to the estuarine aquatic–terrestrial ecotone of the Pearl River Delta. This study drew on a land-use dataset, landscape dynamics, socioeconomic and biophysical drivers, and regional planning constraints to conduct simulation experiments under alternative development scenarios. The model achieved a Kappa coefficient of 0.904. From 2010 to 2020, built-up land expanded rapidly and encroached on ecological space. Simulations indicated that the natural evolution scenario increased fragmentation and ecological conflicts despite economic gains, whereas the sustainable development scenario balanced expansion and protection, reduced forestland fragmentation, safeguarded key ecological spaces, and improved ecological benefits while maintaining economic growth. Ecological benefits in the coastal aquatic–terrestrial ecotone from −0.2 to 0 km increased by 283.3%. The framework embeds land-use dynamics and spatial constraints, providing decision support for territorial spatial planning and ecological security pattern optimization. Full article

In the context of new-type urbanization and high-quality development, this study aims to construct a multi-objective synergistic land-use mechanism to tackle the “growth-equity-ecology” trilemma in the Chengdu–Chongqing Urban Agglomeration (CCUA). By building an economic–social–ecological benefit evaluation index system and applying TOPSIS with entropy weighting, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, and the spatial Durbin model (SDM), we systematically explore the spatiotemporal patterns of land-use benefit synergies and their driving mechanisms. The results reveal the following: (1) From 2015 to 2023, CCUA’s land-use CCD generally improved but showed marked core–periphery polarization. Chongqing’s economic agglomeration worsened regional gaps, while Sichuan’s intra-regional policies boosted internal balance; cross-jurisdictional collaboration eased border disparities but failed to stop overall polarization. (2) Spatial clustering identified hotspots in Chongqing’s main urban and suburban areas and cold spots in eastern Sichuan, reflecting the coexistence of factor agglomeration and cross-border policy synergy. (3) Road network expansion directly hindered CCD, and neighboring ecological protection triggered resource-competition spillovers, emphasizing the key role of cross-regional governance in balancing the “ecology-development” trade-off. This study puts forward spatially differentiated strategies and cross-jurisdictional coordination mechanisms to optimize land-use structures and advance sustainable development in urban agglomerations. Full article

Against the backdrop of China’s slowing urbanization and increasing regional disparities, existing research on the spatiotemporal evolution and multidimensional drivers of urban–rural transformation (URT) requires further elaboration, particularly regarding county-level differentiation and the dynamic interactions among these drivers. This study integrates spatiotemporal hot spot analysis with a multi-factor geographical detector model to systematically examine China’s URT from 1990 to 2023. The findings reveal the following: (1) The area of urban–rural construction land increased by 149.54% overall from 1990 to 2023, but the annual average growth rate dropped sharply to 4.32% during 2000–2023, indicating overall deceleration in spatial expansion. (2) Significant structural adjustments occurred at the county level: the proportion of counties with high spatial expansion degree decreased by 20%, while counties experiencing spatial contraction increased by 6%, suggesting that growth dynamics have become increasingly concentrated in limited counties. (3) Spatially, a clear “northern contraction and southern expansion” divergence emerged, which was primarily driven by the synergistic effects of policy reorientation, market-driven factor mobility, and differential natural endowments. (4) Expanding counties benefited from urban agglomeration plans, population influx, industrial upgrading, and favorable terrain, whereas contracting counties were constrained by rigid ecological and farmland conservation policies, population outmigration, undiversified industries, and topographical limitations. These findings provide an important premise for formulating feasible policies on differentiated spatial governance and urban–rural sustainable development. Full article

With the acceleration of urbanization in China, the spatiotemporal effects of transportation development have profoundly influenced urban expansion, potentially posing challenges to the sustainable development of urban economic, social, and ecological systems. Existing research has primarily focused on the relationship between transportation systems and urban expansion at the city, urban agglomeration, and regional levels, but studies from a broader spatial scale and spatiotemporal heterogeneity perspective remain relatively scarce. This study examines 364 cities in China, using the proportion of urban construction land area and nighttime light data to characterize urban expansion levels. The geographically weighted regression model is employed to analyze the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the correlation between transportation development and urban expansion, while the spatial Durbin model is used to explore spatial spillover effects. The results reveal significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the relationship between transportation development and urban expansion. From 2010 to 2020, the spatial heterogeneity of the correlation between transportation development and the Percentage of Construction Land Area increased, while the spatial heterogeneity of its correlation with Nighttime Lights decreased. Among the ten transportation development indicators, National Road Density and Density of Street Light showed the most significant correlations with urban expansion. Additionally, some transportation development indicators exhibited notable spatial spillover effects on urban expansion, with Provincial Road Density and Density of Road with Lights having the most prominent impacts. This study provides scientific evidence for planners and policymakers to formulate more precise urban development strategies and promote high-quality, sustainable urban development. Full article

This paper explores the café–gym symbiosis mode in Xi’an and its key influencing factors. Taking 63 sub-districts in the seven main urban districts of Xi’an as an example, based on the Dianping.com data of 753 cafés and 335 gyms and survey data from 492 questionnaires, this paper uses methods such as the symbiotic degree, symbiotic coefficient, and binary logistic regression model. On the basis of evaluating the symbiotic model between cafés and fitness centers, it explores the key factors influencing the symbiotic model of cafés and fitness centers. The results showed that cafés and gyms in Xi’an have a variety of characteristics, including agglomeration, correlation, complementarity, and combination, laying the foundation for a symbiosis between them. Among the subject symbiosis modes in Xi’an, point symbiosis was the main symbiotic organization mode. Simultaneously, the proportion of the point symbiosis mode was higher in the urban–rural transitional area than in other areas (traditional inner-city areas, mature built-up areas, emerging expansion areas). An asymmetric reciprocal symbiosis mode dominated the symbiotic behavior mode of entertainment industry objects in Xi’an. In terms of the total weekly entertainment consumer and the additional entertainment consumer dimensions, in the asymmetric reciprocal symbiosis mode, the proportion of cafés having a large impact on gyms was the highest: 60.00% and 62.86%, respectively. However, from the composite index dimension, in the asymmetric reciprocal symbiosis mode, the proportion of gyms having a large impact on cafés was the highest: 39.13%. From the symbiotic interface, the physical space within urban residential areas, office areas, commercial areas, and other main material spaces was the important basic support force for the symbiotic development of urban culture and the entertainment industry. The influence of the symbiosis mode of the culture and entertainment industry has stability. From the perspective of the symbiotic environment, cultural and creative elements, government policies, and consumer spending on entertainment foster the formation of an asymmetrical mutualistic symbiosis model between cafés and gyms. Conversely, factors such as marketization, globalization, and demographic factors inhibit its development. These findings offer valuable insights for urban planners and businesses, which help optimize the layout of the urban entertainment industry. Full article

The construction of urban ecological security patterns (ESPs) is an effective approach for managing ecological space and preventing the uncontrolled expansion of urban areas, thereby safeguarding the ecological security of urban agglomerations. This study focuses on the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration (CZTUA), utilizing an ESP framework based on ecosystem services, ecological sensitivity, landscape connectivity, and resistance surfaces (SSCR). The spatio-temporal evolution and driving forces of ESP were analyzed for 2010, 2015, and 2020. Based on this, the ecological control zones of the CZTUA were delineated according to ecosystem importance, and appropriate ecological improvement strategies were proposed. The findings revealed the following: (1) The number of ecological sources in the CZTUA decreased from 26 to 23, while their total area expanded from 1113.6 km² to 3013.96 km², indicating a “point-to-patch” development trend. Ecological corridors showed a “decrease–increase”trend in number, but their total length consistently contracted from 1025.69 km to 536.25 km, with greater emphasis on the efficiency and effectiveness of connecting habitats. Ecological nodes decreased from 14 to 5, while their aggregate area increased from 290.6 km² to 1796.48 km², mirroring changes in ecological sources. (2) Ecological sources, corridors, and nodes in the CZTUA are primarily located in the eastern mountainous and hilly regions, with a trend of expansion toward the western areas. The spatial distribution of corridors and nodes is shaped by these sources, with dense areas exhibiting short-distance networks and dispersal areas showing long-distance linear patterns. Node distribution shifts from entry/exit areas of ecological sources and corridors to the sources themselves. (3) The spatio-temporal evolution of the ESP in the CZTUA is driven by a dual-wheel mechanism of “natural foundation-policy regulation,” where precipitation and potential evapotranspiration serve as the primary natural drivers, manifested through water conservation. (4) The region is divided into three control levels: the core protected areas focus on ecological protection in the eastern mountainous and hilly regions; the ecological buffer areas emphasize ecological coordination in transitional landforms such as hills, medium-undulating mountains, and platforms; the intensive development areas, mostly located in platform, plain, and some hilly areas, prioritize ecological optimization. The three-tier control zones implement strategies of strict protection, buffering and coordination, and optimized development, respectively, providing a direct basis for the refined management of ecological spaces. Full article

Spatial mismatches between ecosystem services and human demands pose critical challenges for sustainable land use in ecologically fragile regions. Rapid urbanization intensifies land-use conflicts in ecologically fragile regions, threatening ecosystem services and habitat sustainability. This study addresses this challenge by quantifying spatial mismatches between landscape resource functions (LRFs: natural, traditional, and humanistic) and service demands (LSFs, e.g., catering and public facilities) in Xinxian County, in China’s Dabie Mountains, using multi-source data (DEM, POI big data, and remote sensing) and spatial analysis (nearest neighbor indices, kernel density, and multi-ring buffers). The results reveal that concentrated natural LRFs in high-elevation single-core clusters exhibit low dispersion, thus increasing vulnerability to land conversion, while agglomerated LSFs in urban cores exacerbate ecosystem service inequalities. Crucially, service deficits beyond 3 km buffers and the fragmentation of traditional agricultural zones indicate potential erosion of regulating services, as inferred from spatial mismatches (e.g., soil retention and water regulation), and cultural resilience. These spatial mismatches act as proxies for habitat risks, in which humanistic landscape expansion competes with ecological corridors, amplifying fragmentation. To mitigate risks, we propose (1) enhancing connectivity for natural resource corridors to stabilize regulating services, (2) reallocating LSFs to peri-urban buffers to reduce pressure on critical habitats, and (3) integrating ecosystem service trade-offs into landscape planning. This framework provides an actionable pathway for balancing development and habitat conservation in mountainous regions undergoing land-use transitions. Full article

The coordinated development of Production-Living-Ecological (PLE) spaces has emerged as a core challenge for regional sustainability amid rapid urbanization processes. This study examines the Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration (2001–2021) using an integrated Markov-PLUS model coupled with Random Forest algorithms and 17 driving factors to construct 4 policy scenarios for future projections. The results reveal dramatic spatial restructuring: living space expanded 73.89% while production and ecological spaces contracted 7.47% and 8.94%. Evolution occurred through four distinct phases—rapid expansion, structural adjustment, quality improvement, and green transformation—each corresponding to national policy transitions with regional lags. Driving mechanism analysis identified environmental factors contributing 45–55% of variance, population density driving 24.2% of living space expansion, and elevation thresholds constraining urban growth above 1000 m. Multi-scenario simulations revealed fundamental trade-offs: urban development scenarios achieved 55.34% built-up expansion but sacrificed 15.4% ecological space, while ecological protection scenarios maintained 92% food production capacity with optimal connectivity (0.63) and maximum carbon storage (1287 Mt C). Model validation achieved exceptional accuracy (Kappa = 0.91, FoM = 0.24). This research emphasizes three strategic imperatives: (1) differentiated spatial governance (urban priority in cores, farmland protection in plains, ecological restoration in mountains); (2) temporal coordination mechanisms accounting for 3–5-year policy transmission lags; (3) adaptive management approaches addressing nonlinear evolution characteristics. This framework provides scientific foundations for balancing economic development, food security, and ecological protection in rapidly urbanizing regions. Full article

The land use dynamics of urban, agricultural, and ecological spaces are critical factors influencing land surface temperature (LST); however, the existing methods for describing the spatial carriers of land surface temperature evolution face issues such as granularity effects and projection sensitivity, which hinder effective comparisons across different regions and categories, thus limiting the progress of current research. This study introduces a quadtree-based spatial framework to achieve unified measurements of scale and fragmentation across Urban–Agricultural–Ecological spaces, with an empirical analysis of the Middle Yangtze River Region. Results show that between 2000 and 2020, urban and agricultural spaces expanded while ecological spaces declined, with all three types becoming increasingly fragmented. Urban agglomeration and expansion significantly elevated LST; agricultural spaces exerted relatively limited effects; and ecological fragmentation generated localized cooling but weakened core regulatory functions, ultimately leading to warming within ecological spaces themselves. This study proposes a robust method for spatial identification and fragmentation quantification, revealing the dual role of scale and morphology in regulating regional thermal environments and underscoring the importance of balanced Urban–Agricultural–Ecological configurations for climate-adaptive land use planning. Full article

Rapid and uncoordinated urban expansion in arid oasis city clusters intensifies land use conflicts and ecological pressure, threatening regional sustainability. This study investigates the Urban Agglomeration on the Northern Slopes of the Tianshan Mountains (UANSTM) in Xinjiang, northwestern China—an arid region urban cluster. A multi-source spatial data framework was established to delineate urban built-up areas and to construct land use efficiency (LUE) indicators, thereby facilitating an integrated analysis of the spatial coupling between urban expansion intensity (UEI) and LUE from 2000 to 2020. The results indicate that: (1) The urban built-up area expanded from 322 km² to 1096 km², shifting northward and northwestward, producing fragmented and decentralized patterns; (2) LUE improved but exhibited clear spatial disparities. Core cities like Urumqi showed strong synergy between rapid expansion and rising efficiency, whereas peripheral cities such as Wusu expanded quickly without corresponding efficiency gains, reflecting evident trade-offs; (3) The relationship between UEI and LUE exhibited a nonlinear evolution—trade-offs dominated during 2000–2005, synergy strengthened from 2005 to 2015, and trade-offs resurged again after 2015.These findings reveal the cyclical vulnerability of arid region urbanization and highlight the effectiveness of the proposed framework for diagnosing spatial mismatches and guiding compact, efficiency-oriented urban development toward long-term sustainability. Full article