Regional spatial organization of urban functional zones in the Yangtze River economic Belt based on co-location patterns mining

As urban areas expand, understanding the spatial organization of urban functional zones becomes crucial for efficient urban planning and sustainable growth. The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), a significant economic region in China, is an exemplary case to investigate these dynamics. The regional spatial organization of urban functional zones in cities can play a pivotal role in influencing interrelationships, collaborative interactions, and resource allocations among different functional zones within the city. Using the YREB as a case study, this research leverages "points of interest" (POI) data and co-location patterns (CPs) mining techniques to uncover these dynamics. The method involves identifying candidate patterns of functional zones through neighboring instances and filtering and storing them to derive second-order co-location patterns for different zones. Distinct spatial organization forms across the YREB are subsequently identified. The study also introduces metrics such as industry spatial association graph density and industry spatial association distinctive ratio to quantify spatial associations and their relevance. An industry spatial association graph is formulated to delineate interconnections among urban functional zones. Cities within the YREB are categorized based on their competitiveness levels, followed by a thorough analysis of the spatial organization of their functional zones. Key findings include: (1) Catering services, business residences, financial insurance services, and shopping services exhibit the most prevalent distribution co-location patterns. (2) Government agencies, social groups, healthcare services, and renowned tourist sites emerge as isolated nodes in the spatial layout. (3) Out of the 130 cities within the YREB, 75 are identified as Multi-isolated node cities, 51 as Single isolated node cities, and 4 as Mixed function cities, each with specific co-location rules and notable PI values. (4) Economic volume and urbanization levels demonstrate a complex, varied influence on the spatial organization of urban industrial functions within the YREB.