Urban-rural Integration Research Articles

Innovative Internet Solutions for Suburban Community Farm Practices: A Study in Lowland Communities of Hangzhou, China

The development of permaculture follows the principle of respecting nature and protecting ecology, which is of great significance to the development of modern urban agriculture. Community planning combines urban life with traditional agricultural production, so that agricultural development and suburban urban life have symbiosis and complement each other. On the one hand, it alleviates the contradiction between the city and ecological environment protection and guides ecological and green development in the suburbs of the city. On the other hand, it creates a better living environment for the city and promotes the sustainable development of urban–rural integration. This paper combines the sustainable design concept of permaculture with the resource conditions and advantages of the comprehensive project base and applies the concept of permaculture to the development of the “air vegetable plot” urban farm. At the same time, we use the integration strategy of agriculture and tourism, through the “Internet + Agriculture” path, to build a multi-functional industry of life, production and ecology; to promote the sustainable development of rural industries with the digitization of agricultural industries; to promote the common prosperity of rural areas; and to open a new model of “Internet + Future Agriculture”.

Study on Land Use Changes in Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan under the Background of Cultivated Land Protection Policy

The Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan region has experienced rapid social and economic development over the past 40 years, and cultivated land has changed dramatically. The contradiction between built and cultivated land has intensified, for which the local government has implemented a series of policies related to cultivated land protection. However, thus far, it is not clear what the substantial effects of the cultivated land protection policies are. To this end, this paper quantitatively characterizes the changes in the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan region during the 20 years before and after the implementation of the cultivated land occupation balance policy, based on land use data from 1980, 2000, and 2020 using intensity analysis. In this paper, we examine the types of spatial land use patterns occurring in Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan since 1980 and explore the transition path of land use types in urban–rural integration. After the cultivated land protection policy, the transformation relationship between land use types and the changing trend of the cultivated land area was analyzed from the landscape scale. The influence of policy factors on the transformation of land use types was revealed. The results show that, from 1980 to 2020, the changing intensity of construction land and unused land was relatively large and was in an active state; the amount of built land in the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan region has been growing, with a net increase of 1101 km2, while the amount of cultivated land has been showing a net decrease, with a net reduction of 677 km2. Moreover, the cultivated land has mainly been converted into built land, and the lost cultivated land area in Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan has not been fully compensated elsewhere in the region, indicating that the cultivated land protection policy has not been able to maintain the cultivated land area in Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan. From 2000 to 2020, cultivated land change was mainly due to exchange, which indicates that the policy has had a particular effect on the protection of cultivated land. Still, if the government wants to achieve the “balance of cultivated land occupation and compensation” goal, it must establish a complete system for the allocation of cultivated land resources. This study can provide a scientific reference for further implementing the cultivated land protection policy, which is thus of great significance for promoting the construction of the Changsha–Zhuzhou–Xiangtan region and its high-quality economic and social development.

Linking rural settlements optimization with village development stages: A life cycle perspective

Rural decline characterized by population loss, aging, and land abandonment, has become a dilemma for sustainable development. The spatial optimization of rural settlements is considered a valuable solution for stimulating rural vitality. Rural development has different stages and trajectories, which have been overlooked in the spatial optimization process for a long time. To address this gap, this study developed a rural development index considering population, land, economy, agricultural development, and residential environment to quantitatively classify the villages in Datong County into 5 development types based on time scale changes, namely, growth type (GT), maturity type (MT), thriving transformation type (TT), phased retrogressive type (PR), and decline type (DT). We found that the differentiated development of villages results from a combination of demographic, socioeconomic, and geographical environments. The villages in GT, MT and TT have population advantages, higher income, diversified industries and good infrastructure, or location advantages. Through the above analysis, the spatial optimization of rural settlements and differentiated policy recommendations are proposed based on the stages and characteristics of rural development, which provide valuable references for the transformation of declining villages and the promotion of urban-rural integration.

Spatio-Temporal Coupling Relationship between Rural Population and Cultivated Land Changes at the County Level in Guangdong Province

Based on the data regarding the rural population and cultivated land at the county level in Guangdong Province in 2000, 2010 and 2020, this paper analyzes the changes in rural population and cultivated land area at the county level and their spatio-temporal coupling characteristics based on GIS technology and model methods such as the elastic coefficient, and reveals the transformation process of the rural “man–land” relationship in Guangdong Province. The results show that the rural population of Guangdong Province shows a continuous growth trend, and the cultivated land area and per capita cultivated land area show a trend of continuous reduction. From 2000 to 2010, the rural population grew by 1.37% annually, while the cultivated land area and per capita cultivated land area decreased by 0.09% and 1.28% annually, respectively. From 2010 to 2020, the rural population grew by 0.07% annually, while the cultivated land area and per capita cultivated land area decreased by 1.09% and 1.15% annually, respectively. The overall coupling type of rural population and cultivated land change in Guangdong Province presents a trend of mainly maladjusted types and gradually changing to coordinated types. From 2000 to 2010, 70.64% of the counties displayed maladjusted development types. From 2010 to 2020, the number of counties with maladjusted development types decreased, while the proportion of coordinated types increased. The natural environment, economic development level and governmental decision-making behaviors were all driving factors of coupled development of rural population and cultivated land, and the driving mechanisms of different factors have clear spatial differences in different regions of Guangdong Province. The governments and relevant departments should stick to the red line of cultivated protection, make intensive use of cultivated land and improve the livelihoods of farmers. Moreover, the Pearl River Delta, eastern Guangdong, western Guangdong and northern Guangdong should improve the cooperation mechanism for rural revitalization. The study is conducive to providing a scientific basis for rural population and cultivated land utilization management, rural revitalization and new rural construction, and promoting urban–rural integration development under the new situation.

Types, Distribution Characteristics, and Development Strategies of Rural Characteristic Industry in Xi’an Metropolitan Area

China’s urbanization development has entered the “second half”, which is at a critical stage of transition from the middle stages to the mature stage. The metropolitan area formed by the mega-city radiating the development of surrounding cities and counties is an important spatial carrier of urbanization. The rural characteristic industry is the main path to promote regional economic development and urban-rural integration in the metropolitan area. Exploring the development characteristics of rural characteristic industries in the metropolitan area has important theoretical and practical signifi cance for promoting the eff ective connection between urban-rural integration and rural revitalization of the metropolitan area and improving the development quality of the metropolitan area. Take the Xi’an metropolitan area as an example and adopt kernel density analysis and other methods to reveal the spatial diff erentiation rules of rural characteristic industries. On this basis, the three-dimensional development strategy of “industry-spatial-institutional” for the development of the rural characteristic industry is proposed, to provide theoretical reference for the development of rural characteristic industry in metropolitan areas.

Interlinkages among County-Level Construction Indicators and Related Sustainable Development Goals in China

Counties are the fundamental platforms of urban–rural integration in China. Indicators at the county level, however, are insufficiently investigated for their interlinkage with each other. This study focuses on the indicators in the China Statistical Yearbook (county level) and China County Seat Construction Statistical Yearbook based on the classification of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Average weighted degree and modularity are adopted to reveal the indicators with high connections to others, as well as the trends of indicator connections and network divisions as the total index increases. Construction indicators regarding green space, water supply and wastewater treatment are found to be most influential in the indicator correlation network. The inverted U curve of modularity indicates that a county may encounter a bottleneck when the total index is at the middle level, as the indicators become more isolated. This study also compares the results with those in the Sustainable Development Report 2020 and Rural Construction Evaluation Report 2020 to verify the findings at the county/county-seat level. Additional indicators regarding public services and environment protection are required in further statistics to track the comprehensive performance of SDGs at this level.

Study on the “Space Gene” Diversity of Traditional Dong Villages in the Southwest Hunan Province of China

Traditional villages are essential carriers of traditional culture and ethnic culture. Hence, it is of great significance to study and protect them in the context of urban–rural integration. From the perspective of the “Space Gene”, this study proposes the identification and extraction of the space gene. Then, we examine six traditional Dong villages in the Pingtan River Basin selected as cases to quantify their space gene diversity. The results show that (i) traditional Dong villages are rich and diverse in terms of their space types. (ii) The important value of the public space reflects the social cohesion of the Dong people. (iii) However, the sample villages still have differences in their space gene diversity index values. (iv) The characteristic culture encapsulated by the spaces of traditional Dong villages is facing disappearance. Furthermore, we propose a conservation strategy for traditional villages. Through the space gene diversity index, we can examine the current state of the protection and development of the village. The main objective of this study was to deepen our interpretation of the space in order to study the cultural value behind it.

Identifying and evaluating suburbs in China from 2012 to 2020 based on SNPP–VIIRS nighttime light remotely sensed data

• China’s suburbs can be effectively identified based on SNPP-VIIRS data. • We provide a more lone-time series and fine-resolution suburb dataset in China. • China’s suburbs present a fluctuation-growth trend. • Population density, GDP, and roads are major driver factors of suburban development. Suburbs, as bridges between urban areas and rural hinterlands, are areas with the most intense urban–rural conflicts and drastic land use changes in the urbanization process. Accurate identification and evaluation of suburbs are important to effectively break the urban–rural dichotomy, improve the utilization and management of land resources, and promote urban–rural integration and coordinated development. Previous suburb identification studies have suffered from low identification efficiency owing to the influence of subjective factors, small scales, short time-series, and single data characteristics. Thus, we took China as experimental object, and attempted to identify suburbs from the Suomi National Polar-orbit Partnership’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (SNPP–VIIRS) nighttime light remotely sensed data using the K-means algorithm and subsequent series of post-processing approaches. Thereafter, our study further evaluated the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving factors of suburb development. Accuracy verification results show that suburb identification based on SNPP–VIIRS data can identify more details than the existing urban area data and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System data. Compared with traditional mutation detection methods, the proposed method has the advantages of being fast, efficient, and less subjective. Furthermore, we found that China’s suburbs present a fluctuation-growth trend, with the proportions increasing from 0.6% to 1.3% in the period 2012–2020. China’s suburb development was mainly driven by the development of population density, GDP, and road network. Our study provides an innovative way to conduct a rapid, efficient, and large-scale and accurate suburb identification over a long time series, thereby facilitating the study of socio-environmental issues in the urbanization process. The annual series (2012–2020) of suburbs in China are available free of charge at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/M5EED5 .

A Multi-Scenario Land Expansion Simulation Method from Ecosystem Services Perspective of Coastal Urban Agglomeration: A Case Study of GHM-GBA, China

Balancing urban development and ecosystem conservation in the context of natural resource scarcity can provide scientific guidance for land use planning. We integrated research methods, such as ecosystem services (ES) assessment, coastal vulnerability assessment, multi-objective linear planning, and land use change simulation, to develop a new model framework for multi-scenario urban land expansion simulation based on ecosystem services. In relation to the land use scale and constraints, we simulated three types of scenarios in 2035, including a status quo continuity scenario (SCS), economic development scenario (EDS), and ecological protection scenario (EPS), to explore the ideal land use optimization strategies to enhance ES and land use efficiency. The results indicated that the scale of construction land under the three scenarios grew, and arable land and grassland had the largest losses. The continued urban expansion in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area has already had a significant negative impact on ecosystem services and could result in a total ESV loss of USD 28.1 billion by 2035 if an economic-first development model is adopted. Based on the hotspots of urban construction land expansion in the ecological–economic priority game, we proposed a classification and optimization strategy for land use, including proactive restoration of damaged ecological spaces with high ESVs (Zhaoqing City and Huizhou City), optimization of green space quality and formation of ecological corridors (Guangzhou City, Shenzhen City, Hong Kong, and Macao), and implementation of natural resource conservation planning and spatial regulation in the urban–rural integration area (Foshan City and Dongguan City). This research framework scientifically allocates the “quality” of ecosystem values and “quantity” of natural resources and provides a reference for regional “bottom-up” territorial spatial planning.

Demand Response Transit Scheduling Research Based on Urban and Rural Transportation Station Optimization

To reduce the operating cost and running time of demand responsive transit between urban and rural areas, a DBSCAN K-means (DK-means) clustering algorithm, which is based on the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) and K-means clustering algorithm, was proposed to cluster pre-processing and station optimization for passenger reservation demand and to design a new variable-route demand responsive transit service system that can promote urban–rural integration. Firstly, after preprocessing the reservation demand through DBSCAN clustering algorithm, K-means clustering algorithm was used to divide fixed sites and alternative sites. Then, a bus scheduling model was established, and a genetic simulated annealing algorithm was proposed to solve the model. Finally, the feasibility of the model was validated in the northern area of Yongcheng City, Henan Province, China. The results show that the optimized bus scheduling reduced the operating cost and running time by 9.5% and 9.0%, respectively, compared with those of the regional flexible bus, and 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively, compared with those of the variable-route demand response transit after K-means clustering for passenger preprocessing.

Understanding the characteristics and mechanism of land use transition in mountainous economic zone: A case study of the Chengdu-Chongqing region in southwestern China

Land use transition results from economic and social transformations. Land use in the mountainous Chengdu-Chongqing region is disturbed by multiple natural factors and economic activities, contributing to the difficulty in space governance in this area. Clarifying the transformation process and mechanism of land use transition and proposing solutions for special regions can help achieve the goal of urban-rural integration development at the national level. This study applied the land use transfer matrix (LUTM), exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), and spatial centers of gravity (SCG) and spatial econometric models to explore the characteristics and mechanisms of land use transition in mountainous the Chengdu-Chongqing region. Our findings indicated that: 1) the characteristics of structural transition of land use in this region showed similarity in two phases. In both phases, the size of cultivated land decreased, while that of construction land increased. The increase in construction land area occurred primarily due to the transfer of cultivated land to construction land. The areas of woodland and unused land fluctuated, while the areas of grassland and water body decreased slightly. 2) The characteristics of spatial transition of land use in the Chengdu-Chongqing region showed significant spatial aggregation in different phases. In this period, the gravity center of land use types in the region changed frequently with time. The gravity center of cultivated land moved northwest, while those of woodland moved northeast first and then southwest, that of grassland moved northeast constantly, that of water bodies moved southeast first and then northwest and that of unutilized land moved northwest. 3) The land use transition in the Chengdu-Chongqing region was driven by many natural and socio-economic factors. The growth of construction land in this region was significantly impacted by the available resources, economic growth, urbanization rate, population migration, and policies. With the expansion of regional economic differences, economic growth and the evolution of industrial structures played crucial roles in the transition of construction land. The transfers from cultivated land to woodland and grassland were primarily affected by the policies regarding land use and ecological protection. 4) The mechanism of land use transition in the Chengdu-Chongqing region showed significant coupling. The land use transition in the Chengdu-Chongqing region was a transitional process from conflict to coordination guided by national and regional policies. The conflict in this process was mainly the change in land supply and demand caused by regional economic activities. The quantity of land supply in this region depended heavily on the land use policies for living, production, and ecology. The land use transition in this region was a dynamic coupling system resulting from the interdependence and restriction of natural conditions, social economies, and policy systems.

Identification of urban-rural integration types in China – an unsupervised machine learning approach

PurposeDevelopment of urban-rural integration is essential to fulfill sustainable development goals worldwide, and comprehension about urban-rural integration types has been highlighted as increasingly relevant for an efficient policy design. This paper aims to utilize an unsupervised machine learning approach to identify urban-rural integration typologies based on multidimensional metrics regarding economic, population and social integration in China.Design/methodology/approachThe study introduces partitioning around medoids (PAM) for the identification of urban-rural integration typologies. PAM is a powerful tool for clustering multidimensional data. It identifies clusters by the representative objects called medoids and can be used with arbitrary distance, which help make clustering results more stable and less susceptible to outliers.FindingsThe study identifies four clusters: high-level urban-rural integration, urban-rural integration in transition, low-level urban-rural integration and early urban-rural integration in backward stage, showing different characteristics. Based on the clustering results, the study finds continuous improvement in urban-rural integration development in China which is reflected by the changes in the predominate type. However, the development still presents significant regional disparities which is characterized by leading in the east regions and lagging in the western and central regions. Besides, achievement in urban-rural integration varies significantly across provinces.Practical implicationsThe machine learning techniques could identify urban-rural integration typologies in a multidimensional and objective way, and help formulate and implement targeted strategies and regionally adapted policies to boost urban-rural integration.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to use an unsupervised machine learning approach with PAM for the identification of urban-rural integration typologies from a multidimensional perspective. The authors confirm the advantages of this machine learning techniques in identifying urban-rural integration types, compared to a single indicator.

Study on the extension of the dynamic benchmark system of per capita carbon emissions in China's county.

County is the center of China’s socio-economic development and the key node for urban–rural integration. Also, the county is an important carrier for promoting urban and rural green development. Improving green and low-carbon development capabilities and formulating county-level low-carbon standards will play a significant role in promoting China’s new people-oriented urbanization and rural revitalization. Although there have been extensive studies on low-carbon benchmarks, over half of the benchmarks tend to ignore the development stage of the evaluated region and its needs. When the region’s economy reaches a certain level, constraints from low-carbon targets may limit the local development process. This study firstly allocated county carbon intensity reduction targets (CIRT) by considering the differences in county carbon reduction capacity and responsibility. Secondly, a dynamic benchmark system of per capita carbon emissions (PCCE) in counties in China is constructed. Finally, we took Changxing County in Zhejiang Province as a research case to verify the dynamic benchmark of PCCE. According to the carbon intensity target reduction rate (CITRR), China’s counties can be divided into three categories: low carbon emissions reduction capability-responsible counties (L-CERCRC), medium carbon emissions reduction capability-responsible counties (M-CERCRC), and high carbon emissions reduction capability-responsible counties (H-CERCRC). The results show that (1) due to the national CO2 emission reduction target in 2030, the carbon intensity will be 60% lower than in 2005, the CITRR for China’s 1510 counties range from 8.36 to 137.83%; the average CITRR is 48.40%. (2) Changxing County’s CITRR is 57.71%, which belongs to the H-CERCRC. The PCCE of Changxing County will be much higher than the benchmark when the carbon peak is reached in the future. (3) For reaching the aiming benchmark, Changxing County is suggested to adjust its relevant influencing factors of PCCE for converting local’s PCCE reaching to the benchmark within a certain time period. The dynamic benchmark system for PCCE in China’s counties established in this study is economically sensitive, which not only takes the differences of counties into account, but also meets the needs of counties’ diverse development form stages. This system provides counties a few coordinated directions which can improve the local’s economic development and reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions through the development progress.

Spatial Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Homestays in Chongqing, China

As an emerging business form of tourism development, homestays also play an important role in China’s rural revitalization and tourism transformation and upgrading, and has attracted increasing social attention. At present, Chongqing is the city with the largest number of homestays in China. Taking Chongqing as a case-study area, based on the homestay data of the Baidu map, this paper comprehensively uses the methods of spatial analysis, multiple regression and geographical weighted regression to thoroughly analyze the regional characteristics and influencing factors of homestay distribution in Chongqing. The results show that: (1) the nearest-neighbor index R of homestay distributions in Chongqing and all regions is one, which shows an obvious agglomeration type. (2) In addition to being highly concentrated in the central urban area, three secondary high-density areas are also formed in the surrounding areas of the central urban area, and there is a trend of concentration and contiguity. The spatial distribution densities of the two urban agglomerations in Southeast and Northeast Chongqing are very low, and the overall distributions are extremely uneven. (3) The factors, such as tourism resource endowment, economic development, service industry development, traffic location, consumption demand and social development conditions, have significant impacts on the distribution pattern of homestays, and the impacts of each factor on the layout of homestays has obvious spatial heterogeneity. Analyzing and revealing the temporal and spatial characteristics and dynamic mechanism of homestays has an important theoretical value and practical significance for better serving the new urbanization plan and implementing the strategy of urban–rural integration and rural revitalization.

ARCHITECTURE AS SOCIAL LABORATORY: Modernity, Cultural Revival, and Architectural Experiment in Peri‐urban China

AbstractThis article engages with the emerging scholarship on experiments in urban and regional contexts to investigate an architectural experiment overseen by Wang Shu, a renowned Chinese architect, in Wencun Village, a peri‐urban village on the fringe of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. In particular, we examine how architectural projects are mobilized to provide a solution to rural decline amidst deepening urban–rural integration. Architecture is supposed to generate knowledge about the relationships between built forms and positive social and cultural changes, in this case involving the revival of rural cultures and identities. Empirically, this article provides a novel study that investigates culture‐based interventions into the revival of peri‐urban regions in the context of intensifying urban–rural interactions. Theoretically, it contributes to the study of experiments in urban and regional contexts by, on the one hand, correcting the urban bias inherent in this corpus and arguing for the relevance of experiment to peri‐urban and rural contexts. On the other hand, while this study reaffirms the importance of using relatively bounded sites of study and controlled parameters to produce plausible knowledge about regional transformation, it equally calls for attention to the contingencies and surprises that exceed and destabilize preconceived theories, epistemological frameworks and hypotheses.

Analysis on Modernization Measures of Regional Governance Ability of Xi 'an Urban and Rural Integration

With the development of urbanization, the urban scale of Xi'an continues to expand, and the surrounding counties and villages are administratively divided into the urban development planning of Xi'an. However, the traditional urban-rural dual economic situation has not changed, especially in the urban-rural junction area, the residents' income gap is large, the distribution of infrastructure and public facilities is obviously unbalanced, and the regional governance capacity is significantly different from the main urban area. Through the analysis of the problems in the regional governance of urban-rural integration in Xi'an, and with the help of advanced artificial intelligence technology, the measures to improve the regional governance capacity of urban-rural integration, such as changing the governance concept, enhancing the people's collaborative participation, accelerating the construction of professional personnel, and promoting the modernization of urban governance by accelerating the construction of digital intelligence technology infrastructure, are proposed to change the status quo of Xi'an's dual economy and realize real urban-rural integration, and build a modern pattern of urban governance in Xi'an metropolis.

An Evaluation and Optimization of the Spatial Pattern of County Rural Settlements: A Case Study of Changshu City in the Yangtze River Delta, China

The development model of rural settlements in economically developed regions has reference and guiding significance for other developing rural settlements. The study was conducted to discuss the spatial distribution and scale structure evolution characteristics, in order to understand the development process and the problems of rural settlements in Changshu City, Jiangsu Province. Then, based on the multi-stage goals of Rural Revitalization of “pole–field–zone–network”, a multi-stage rural settlement spatial structure was revealed to promote the optimization of settlement layout and promote urban–rural integration. The data of rural settlements were extracted from the land use data of nearly 20 years from 2000 to 2020. Different research methods were utilized for the study. The results revealed that the spatial pattern and scale structure of rural settlements in Changshu had experienced two periods of drastic changes and stable adjustment in the past 20 years. The rural settlement density generally presented a spatial pattern of dense in the north, sparse in the South and sparse in the East. The scale system of rural settlements tended to disperse from centralization, but the spatial agglomeration was enhanced. Finally, based on the above research results and problems, a “pole–field–zone–network” multi-stage settlement structure was revealed, which helps to form a reasonable urban and rural network.

The influence of migrant children's identification with the college matriculation policy on their educational expectations.

Based on the theoretical framework of cultural reproduction theory and ecosystem theory, this paper explores the impact of migrant children's identification with the college entrance examination policy on their educational expectations and the associated underlying mechanisms from the micro, meso, and macro levels. In total, 1,770 questionnaires were collected from students, and 436 people were interviewed, including students, their teachers, and their parents. They are all from China. Through multidimensional analysis, the results indicated that both individual academic achievement and family social capital have positive impacts on migrant children's educational expectations and that social class segregation in school and perceived social discrimination have negative impacts on their educational expectations. Migrant children's identification with the policy has a significant positive impact on these children's educational expectations. Their identification with the policy enhances the positive impact of individual academic achievement and family social capital on their educational expectations and partially weakens the negative impact of social class segregation in school and perceived social discrimination on their educational expectations. The analysis suggests that college matriculation policy for migrant children drives a compensation mechanism that involves the “principle of justice”, a cultural mechanism that involves “promoting learning through examinations”, and an institutional mechanism involving “urban-rural integration” to increase educational expectations. This study enriches and develops the expectation theory of migrant children and provides a policy reference for local governments to improve their policies for college entrance examinations for migrant children and to promote household registration system reform.

Spatial heterogeneity of urban–rural integration and its influencing factors in Shandong province of China

Based on nighttime light data and statistical data, this study calculated the level of urban–rural integration (URI) of Shandong province, researched spatial heterogeneity of URI levels by local spatial autocorrelation analysis, Geodetector, and geographically weighted regression, and analyzed its influencing factors and spatial heterogeneity. The results concluded that: (1) The spatial pattern of urban–rural integrated level is consistent with the level of regional economic development in Shandong province. The level of URI is higher along the Qingdao–Jinan railway and along the coast, whereas the level is lower in southwest Shandong and northwest Shandong. (2) The cities of Yantai and Weifang are High–High cluster areas of urban integration, and Jining is a Low–Low cluster area. The spatial agglomeration characteristics are not significant in other cities. (3) Among the main factors affecting URI, the explanatory power of the rural population with high school or technical secondary school education or above, the area of urban construction land, and the secondary and tertiary industry GDP to the spatial pattern of URI in Shandong province are 73.58%, 62.08%, and 58.66%, respectively. As the key factors, spatial heterogeneity, such as north–south differences, southwest-to-northeast differences, and east–west differences, is evident.

Spatiotemporal Differentiation Characteristics of Land Ecological Quality and Its Obstacle Factors in the Typical Compound Area of Mine Agriculture Urban

Mining activity combines industrialization, urbanization, and urban-rural integration in the compound area of mine agriculture urban. The land ecological environment has become a major hidden problem, restricting the sustainable development and ecological security of the region. It is imminent to understand the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of land ecological quality and its obstacle factors to scientifically carry out land ecological restoration. Here, the Macun coal area in Jiaozuo City, Central China, was selected for the case study, and an evaluation index system including four criteria layers of ecological foundation, structure, benefit, and stress was established. The multiperiod evaluation index data were acquired by utilizing remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technology. Based on the multi-objective comprehensive evaluation method, a comprehensive evaluation of land ecological quality was conducted, and the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of land ecological quality were explored. Moreover, an obstacle factor diagnosis model was constructed to confirm the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of obstacle factors affecting the change of the land ecological quality in the study zone. The results showed the following: (1) From 1980 to 2020, the land ecological quality index in the study zone showed a downward trend, and the proportion of the regional area with general and poor land ecological quality increased from 6.55% to 35.02%. (2) The areas with lower land ecological quality in each period of the study zone were mainly distributed in the mining areas with long mining history in the west and the areas with continuous urbanization and industrialization in the south. In contrast, the compound area of mine agriculture urban with short mining history in the east and southeast had higher land ecological quality. The aggregation of the land ecological quality index also showed similar spatial distribution characteristics. (3) The diagnosis results of obstacle factors showed that, due to the poor land ecological foundation and interference of mining activities, the land ecological quality of the mountain area in the north and west of the study area has been low. It is suggested that the land ecological quality of the area should be improved through measures such as terrain regulation, soil reconstruction, afforestation, and forest land conservation. Under the influence of mining activities and the continuous promotion of urbanization in the south of the study area, the regional ecological quality has been reduced. It is suggested that the regional land ecological quality should be improved by building ecological agriculture and ecological communities. The northeast of the study area is still in the mining area, and the ecological quality of the land tends to deteriorate. The ecological restoration in this area should be conducted by the combination of pre-mining planning, while-mining control, and post-mining restoration. The methodology of this study can provide reference for the identification and restoration of land ecological problems in the compound area of mine agriculture urban.