Spatial–Temporal Pattern of Urban Land Green Use Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors in Guizhou Province, China, Based on County Units

Abstract

Urban land is an important and indispensable support for urban development. However, the continued development of urbanization and industrialization has given rise to many problems, increasing the burden of urban land and leading to inefficient urban land use. The study of urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE) helps to explore the path to alleviate urban land-use pressure and enhance the land green utilization efficiency, and provides important decision-making references for urban greening construction and development. In this paper, 88 districts and counties in Guizhou Province were taken as the research units. Then, their efficiency values and spatial–temporal evolution characteristics were analyzed by applying the non-expected output super-efficiency SBM model, the kernel density estimation method, and spatial autocorrelation analysis, respectively. In order to identify its influencing factors, the main correlation analysis was carried out using the Tobit model. The research findings are summarized as follows: (1) From the time-series evolution characteristics, the ULGUE among the 88 county cities in Guizhou Province had obvious polarization characteristics. In terms of the numbers, there was a gradual downward trend in the number of high-efficiency cities. (2) Based on the spatial evolution characteristics, there was a positive correlation in the ULGUE among county cities in Guizhou Province, and the high- and low-value areas were comparatively more widely located in the central–east and west sides of Guizhou Province, respectively. (3) Among the factors influencing the level of the ULGUE, the level of economic development, industrial structure upgrading, and environmental regulation mainly played a positive facilitating role, while the material standard of living of the population, the GDP content, the green development level, government financial support, and the population size played a negative inhibiting role. The study of the ULGUE in Guizhou Province provides ideas for urban construction and is of great significance for the green transformation of urban development. At the same time, it can provide a reference for China’s western development.