Evaluating the Carrying Capacity and Spatial Pattern Matching of Urban and Rural Construction Land in a Representative City of Middle China

Abstract

Evaluation of the carrying capacity and spatial pattern matching of urban–rural construction land is critical for solving problems associated with irrational land use and the destruction of ecosystems. Here, we present a case study exploring the spatial matching relationship between the carrying capacity and current development status of urban–rural construction land in Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi Province, China. Land suitability evaluation for urban and rural construction was performed using the analytic hierarchical process and restrictive coefficient method. The spatial matching degree between current construction land and available construction land was obtained by a spatial overlay analysis. Results show that the area most suitable for construction land development (19.2% of the total) is mainly concentrated in the central urban districts, while the relatively suitable area (17.5% of the total) is present around the most suitable area. The ultimate development intensity (i.e., carrying capacity threshold) of construction land in the study region is 41.4%, and the residual development intensity (i.e., development potential) is 24.2%. The available construction land (including most suitable and relatively suitable areas) is generally abundant. The spatial matching degree of construction land ranges from 69.5% to 99.1% in different counties (districts). Pearson’s correlation analysis reveals that the spatial matching degree is positively correlated with the carrying capacity threshold of construction land (r = 0.926; p < 0.01) and the abundance of available construction land (r = 0.732; p < 0.05). The results could be useful for the rational development of urban–rural construction land and the optimization of land space at the city scale.