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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (8): 1750-1763.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.638

• Urban and Rural Development • Previous Articles    

Multi-dimensional evaluation and temporal evolution of urban-rural integration development in Xinjiang from the perspective of “people-land-industry”

LU Zhiqiu1,2(), LYU Mingyang1,2, LI Zhihui1,2, XU Liping1,2()   

  1. 1 College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
    2 Key Laboratory of Ecological Corps of Oasis Town and Mountain Basin System, Shihezi 832000, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2025-10-18 Revised:2025-11-04 Online:2026-08-25 Published:2026-08-21
  • Contact: XU Liping E-mail:15090026922@163.com;xlpalw@163.com

Abstract:

Counties are crucial entry points for urban-rural integration development. They form the primary arenas for implementing the rural revitalization strategy and advancing urban-rural integration development. This study takes 83 counties in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the research subjects and constructs a three-dimensional indicator system that encompasses “people-land-industry”. We employ the entropy weight method for the measurement of the level of urban-rural integration development in Xinjiang’s counties from 2001 to 2021. Kernel density analysis and transition matrices are adopted to explore the characteristics of the evolution of this development level. A coupling coordination degree model is used to investigate the coordination and constraints across the different dimensions. The results indicate that: (1) From 2001 to 2021, all of the dimensions and the comprehensive level of urban-rural integration in Xinjiang counties improved significantly, exhibiting a pattern of “higher in the north and lower in the south”, with distinct evolutionary characteristics. The degree of “people integration” shifted from “low across all regions” to a “gradient differentiation” pattern; the “land integration” level improved relatively slowly, showing a significant gap between northern and southern Xinjiang. The disparity in the level of “industrial integration” among counties has narrowed, and spatial clustering in regions that have higher values intensified; the comprehensive level gap between northern and southern Xinjiang exhibits a trend of “first expanding, then narrowing”. (2) The urban-rural integration development in Xinjiang counties from 2001 to 2021 can be divided into three stages: A “slow development phase (2001—2006)”, a “transition stage (2006—2016)”, and a “rapid development stage (2016—2021)”. (3) From 2001 to 2021, the coordination level of “people-land-industry” continued to improve, exhibiting a spatial pattern that is “higher in the north and lower in the south”. The systemic coordination structure has significantly improved, which is reflected in: The elimination of severely imbalanced counties, a sharp decrease in moderately imbalanced counties, and the emergence of well-coordinated counties. From this, it is recommended to precisely identify the development gaps and lagging dimensions in weaker regions, promote targeted resource allocation, and foster all of the dimensions that coordinate development. Simultaneously, regional growth poles should be cultivated and urban-rural integration development should be “driven by a point-to-area approach”.

Key words: county territory, Xinjiang, urban-rural integration, “people-land-industry”, coupling coordination degree