Spatiotemporal differentiation and analysis of factors influencing high-quality development of resource-based cities: An empirical study based in China

PLoS One. 2024 May 31;19(5):e0304460. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304460. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Resource-based cities often face problems such as resource scarcity and insufficient electricity to achieve complex high-quality growth. At present, there is relatively little research on the impact on the high-quality development of such cities. To study the key variables that affect the high-quality growth of resource-based cities, we adopt entropy weighted TOPSIS technology, spatial correlation analysis, and spatial econometric models. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The overall high-quality development of resource-based cities in China is on the rise year by year; The cities with the highest growth rates are those that are mature, rejuvenated, growing, and declining. (2) Resource-based cities have a positive geographical correlation in high-quality development, and different numbers of clusters are displayed by changing the Moran I index score. (3) High quality development is strongly influenced by human capital, urbanization, technological innovation, and global market openness. There are significant differences in the ways in which these variables affect various types of resource-based cities. Policy makers who strive to reduce regional inequality and encourage high-quality growth in resource-based communities may benefit greatly from the insights provided by this study.

MeSH terms

  • China
  • Cities*
  • Humans
  • Models, Econometric
  • Spatio-Temporal Analysis
  • Urbanization* / trends

Grants and funding

The authors received support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42001257 and 71874119), Philosophy and Social Sciences Research of Higher Learning Institutions of Shanxi (Grant No. 20210115), and the Shanxi Postgraduate Education Innovation Project (Grant No. 2021Y571). We also thank our anonymous reviewers and the editor for their helpful suggestions.