Spatial Pattern of the Vitality of Chinese Characteristic Towns: A Perspective from Nighttime Lights

Yuqing Zhang,Zhipeng Shi,Hui Wang,Kun Shang,Xueming Li

doi:10.3390/land11010085

Abstract

Nighttime light images are valuable indicators of regional economic development, and nighttime light data are now widely used in town monitoring and evaluation studies. Using the nighttime light data acquired through Luojia1-01 and the geographic information system spatial analysis method, this study analyzed the spatial vitality pattern of 402 characteristic towns in six geographic divisions of China. The average DN (Digital Number) value of Guzhen, having the highest vitality level, was 0.05665221, whereas that of Xin’an, having the lowest vitality level, was 0.00000186. A total of 89.5% of towns have a low level of vitality. The regional differences were significant; high vitality towns are concentrated in economically developed coastal areas, mainly in two large regions of east China and south central. The average lighting densities of the towns in east China and south central were 0.004838 and 0.003190, respectively. The lighting density of the towns in west central was low, and the vitality intensity was generally low. A spatially significant positive correlation of small-town vitality was observed, and “high–high” agglomeration was primarily distributed in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Fujian coastal areas in east and south China. The towns with high vitality intensity had similarities in their geographical location, convenient transportation conditions, and profound historical heritage or cultural accumulation along with many industrial enterprises. This research empirically demonstrates the feasibility of using the 130-m-high resolution of the nighttime lighting data of Luojia1-01 to evaluate the vitality at the town scale, and the vitality evaluation focuses on the spatial attributes of the town, which is meaningful to guide the development of the town in each region given the vast area of China and the large differences in the development of different regions.

Highlights

Since the beginning of the 21st century, urbanization in China has been increasing at an accelerated pace, and the urbanization rate has increased from 36.22% in 2000 to63.89% in 2020
The difference in the intensity of vitality reflects the result of the combined effect of various factors, such as the level of economic development, location advantages, and tourism resources of different towns
This study developed an innovative method by not constructing an index evaluation system to characterize the specific vitality value of each town

Summary

Introduction

Since the beginning of the 21st century, urbanization in China has been increasing at an accelerated pace, and the urbanization rate has increased from 36.22% in 2000 to63.89% in 2020. A vast number of rural areas and small townships are not sufficiently dynamic; their development is encountering bottlenecks, and the gaps between urban and rural areas and the rich and poor are widening In this context, China released its first urbanization plan—the New Urbanization Plan (2014–2020)—in 2014, aiming to promote the healthy and sustainable development of large, medium, and small cities; small towns; and villages. The development of small towns has become an important topic in the study of new urbanization In this context, characteristic towns are spatial platforms with evident industrial characteristics, cultural connotations, tourism, and certain community functions, and are relatively independent from urban areas.

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