A two-stage system analysis of real and pseudo urban human settlements in China

Abstract

Urban human settlements have an important impact on human health, livability and economy. To facilitate objective regionalization and identify impact factors, we established a two-stage model with spatiotemporal analysis and factor analysis. The suitability of urban human settlements and temporal and spatial changes in their characteristics were analyzed using the urban real human settlements (RHS) index and pseudo human settlements (PHS) index. Annual RHS and PHS values were calculated using panel data for 31 Chinese provinces and cities and Baidu search query data covering 2557 days. The findings were as follows: (1) The urban RHS and PHS indexes decrease from the southeastern coastal area to the northwestern inland area (excluding Beijing City). (2) The urban RHS index is larger than the PHS index, and the two indexes have a positive correlation, with an average correlation coefficient of 0.7 over 7 years. (3) Population size, social development and environmental governance are the main factors affecting the urban RHS and PHS indexes. (4) The urban RHS and PHS indexes fluctuate, and the values vary unevenly across space. Our research results can help policymakers identify the key factors affecting urban human settlements so that they can make better decisions.