This paper applies a spatial econometric model to measure the impact of environmental regulation on urban innovation capacity from a spatial interaction perspective by using panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2009 to 2018. The study findings are as follows: first, environmental regulation has a significant positive impact on urban innovation capacity and a significant positive spatial spillover effect; second, innovation capacity has significant positive spatial dependence; third, city informatization level, government expenditures on science and technology, city economic scale, and industrial development level all positively affect the innovation capacity of neighboring cities and all have positive spatial spillover effects on the innovation capacity of neighboring cities; and finally, city expansion reduces the innovation capacity of a city and has negative spatial spillover effects on the innovation capacity of neighboring cities.

To promote the development of the western region in China, it is necessary to build an indicator system to scientifically measure the level of sustainable development in Western China. Based on the construction of a sustainable development level evaluation indicator system, this study employs the panel data entropy model to evaluate the sustainable development level of four state-level urban agglomerations in Western China from 2009 to 2018. Then, the geographical detector model is used to measure the spatial heterogeneity degree of the sustainability index and detect the factors influencing the spatial heterogeneity. The results show that (1) the innovation environment and economic growth are the core factors influencing the sustainable development level. (2) The sustainable development level of the cities within the urban agglomerations varies considerably. The sustainability level of central cities and provincial capital cities is significantly higher than that of outlying cities. (3) From the perspective of time, the sustainable development level of the Chengdu–Chongqing urban agglomeration and Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration shows a rising trend; the Lanzhou–Xining urban agglomeration fluctuates greatly; and the Hohhot–Baotou–Ordos–Yulin urban agglomeration is decreasing. (4) The spatial heterogeneity level of sustainable development among cities in the western urban agglomerations is high, economic factors play a leading role in the spatial heterogeneity of sustainable development, and the western region needs to emphasize regional coordinated development.

This paper uses the Super SBM-DEA model and GML index method with undesirable output indicators to measure GTFP in 288 cities in China. Furthermore, we divide Chinese land into east, central, west, and northeast parts, and analyze their temporal and spatial evolution trends. It is shown that, firstly, China’s overall GTFP shows an upward fluctuating trend, in which green technical efficiency contributes more to the improvement of GTFP in Chinese cities, while green technological progress contributes less. Secondly, the urban GTFP in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions shows obvious differences, with the source of GTFP growth in the eastern region being mainly green technological progress, the source of growth in the central region being green efficiency improvement in the early stage and green technological progress in the later stage, while the source of growth in the western and northeastern regions is green efficiency improvement. Finally, combined with spatial distribution characteristic maps and kernel density estimation, GTFP shows spatial disequilibrium characteristics in China.

This paper theoretically analyses the mechanism of the ratchet effect of land finance and adaptive expectations on residential land prices and discuss the distort factors and spatial characteristics of residential land price in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) from 2008 to 2018. It is found that:(1) Land finance and adaptive expectations significantly drive the long-term growth of residential land prices and maintain the ratchet effect under the interaction. (2) There are significant spatial spillover benefits of residential land prices, and land finance and adaptive expectations not only drive the increase of local residential land prices but also have significant positive benefits on residential land prices in neighbouring areas. (3) Land price distortion is significant in municipalities directly under the central government and provincial capitals. However, residential land prices in cities farther away from large cities are lower than their reasonable values, and the distortion correction coefficient shows a spatially graded distribution spreading from large cities to the periphery. Land finance and adaptive expectations do not make residential land prices in all cities higher than their reasonable values. The above findings have some theoretical and policy implications for optimizing land administration.

Urban agglomerations play a pivotal role in regional economic growth by fostering industrial clustering and attracting firms, thereby enhancing urban productivity and efficiency. However, existing research on spatial sorting and selection in urban settings-primarily based on quantitative spatial models-often overlooks the dynamic strategic adaptations of firms with varying skill levels. This gap leads to an incomplete understanding of how firms interact and adjust their spatial positioning over time in response to evolving urban economic conditions. To address this, we develop a tripartite evolutionary game model to investigate the spatial sorting and selection mechanisms among high-, medium-, and low-skill firms in urban settings. The model simulates firms’ strategic choices-whether to enter or avoid central cities-under varying initial conditions, such as participation willingness, skill disparities, and urban costs. Extensive simulations reveal that although these factors influence the process and equilibrium rates, they do not change the ultimate strategic outcome: high-skill firms consistently gravitate toward central cities, whereas low-skill firms tend to remain in peripheral areas, especially when urban costs are high. These findings provide significant insights for urban policy. The concentration of high-skill firms in large cities poses challenges for smaller cities attempting to attract these industries, potentially exacerbating regional disparities. Policymakers are thus encouraged to prioritize firm quality over quantity to drive sustained economic growth across regions. Additionally, reforming restrictive household registration policies could reduce entry barriers for high-skill labor, improve urban resource allocation, and facilitate more balanced development. The ongoing interaction between spatial sorting and selection fosters agglomeration economies in urban centers, underscoring the need for policy frameworks that accommodate firms’ diverse needs and skill levels across the urban landscape.