Spatial Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Night Cultural and Tourism Consumption Agglomeration Areas in China

Abstract

China suffered from severe economic stagnation and urban decay during the COVID-19 pandemic, even public mental health was threatened. To create a favorable public consumption environment for enhancing the economic development, and meeting the needs of public life, the Chinese government has transformed and built a series of national night cultural and tourism consumption agglomeration areas as a new type of functional area in cities. The present study uses spatial analysis methods such as nearest neighbor index, nuclear density analysis, and coefficient of geographic association to quantitatively analyze the spatial distribution characteristics, equilibrium status, distribution density, and internal influential factors. The results showed the following. 1) The spatial distribution of night agglomeration areas in China is unbalanced, with a “rhombus-shaped structures, regional cluster distributions, and single nucleus aggregation points” combination of spatial distribution characteristics. 2) Eight different types of night agglomeration areas with distinctive features, large differences in spatial density, and significant geographical differentiation were identified. 3) The formation of spatial distribution patterns of night agglomeration areas was the result of the joint influence of five factors: resource endowment, economic level, transportation location, guest market, and policy environment. Understanding the current development of night agglomeration areas in China can lay the foundation for future in-depth studies on the spatiotemporal evolution of China's night tourism economy, as well as provide an urban renewal idea and experience for other global countries and regions that are facing economic crises, low urban land use efficiency, and obstruction in promoting new urbanization.

Keywords

• Night agglomeration areas
• night tourism economy
• public consumption environment
• tourism urbanization
• urban form and development mode
• urban renewal