Urban–rural integration is an inevitable course for the transformation and development of resource-exhausted cities, and it is also an internal requirement to achieve sustainable development goals. Taking Zaozhuang city as a case study, this paper constructed an “Economic–Spatial–Social” (ESS) evaluation index system of urban–rural integration according to the connotations. We used the TOPSIS and obstacle degree (OD) models to measure the urban–rural integration level, from 2009 to 2019, and diagnosed the obstacles. The results show that: (1) The overall level of urban–rural integration in Zaozhuang improves year by year and presents two stages: in the initial stage of integration from 2009 to 2012, the total integration degree slowly increases, but the internal indicators fluctuated. The period ranging from the years 2012 to 2019 was stable for integrated development, with the overall urban–rural integration level significantly increasing and the internal indicators steadily improving year by year. (2) The urban–rural economic integration degree of Zaozhuang has a good foundation, and the degree of economic integration presents the characteristics of decreasing at first and then increasing, attaining the lowest value in 2012 and then slowly increasing; the foundation of urban–rural social integration is weak, but the social integration degree growth rate is the highest. The degree of urban–rural spatial integration has rapidly increased year by year, and urban and rural area exchanges and interactions have been strengthened. (3) According to the diagnosis results of the obstacle degrees, the main obstacles that affect urban–rural integration in Zaozhuang are concentrated at the economic level. Finally, the suggestions are put forward to coordinate urban–rural integration and sustainable development for resource-exhausted cities.

Ensuring sufficient food production and guaranteeing the safety and quality of food are crucial aspects of food security, how to achieve the balance between food production efficiency and environmental protection is an urgent problem and challenge to be solved. This study introduced an assessment system for the green production efficiency of grain, and measured China’s green production efficiency of grain by using the slacks-based measurement (SBM) model, kernel density estimation, and Tobit regression model. The findings show the following: (1) From 2000 to 2019, China’s green production efficiency of grain showed an overall upward trend, while in different regions it was shrinking. The central region has the fastest growth rate, the western region and the northeast region have the same growth rate, and the eastern region has the slowest growth rate. (2) According to the kernel density estimation, China’s green production efficiency of grain increased year by year, and the national development was relatively balanced from 2000 to 2104. However, there are obvious regional differences from 2014 to 2019; the eastern and northeastern regions are relatively balanced, and the central and western regions have further expanded over time. (3) From the perspective of whole country, the regional financial support for agriculture and the urbanization rate have a significant positive impact on the green production efficiency of grain, while the crop disaster affected area and agricultural output value have a significant negative impact on green production efficiency. (4) From the regional perspective, the impact of different factors on the level of green production efficiency of grain varies.

As a result of rapid urbanization in China, the spatial restructuring of towns and cities has significantly impacted urban compactness. The study of the spatio–temporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of urban compactness in central China is a strategic imperative and conducive to promoting regional sustainable development that is based on easing the contradiction between land resource supply and demand and reducing energy consumption. Therefore, this study focused on 80 prefecture-level cities in central China, utilizing barycenter model and GTWR model, among others, to analyze the spatio–temporal evolution pattern of urban compactness from 2006 to 2020 and its driving factors, with the aim of uncovering the intrinsic mechanisms behind enhancing urban compactness in the area. The results show the follows: (1) The urban compactness in central China has generally shown an upward trend, with a pronounced spatial clustering around provincial capital cities and the spatial changes in compactness predominantly concentrated in the north–south direction. (2) Various factors have influenced urban compactness, where government intervention and population aggregation present as bi-directional driving factors, while the effective use of land resources and high-quality industrial development, among others, present as positive driving factors. The spatio–temporal heterogeneity and agglomeration features of each driving factor are significant. (3) Further analysis indicates that the effective use of land resources is the primary factor in enhancing urban compactness, followed by technology. Therefore, we should adhere to the concept of compact cities and gradually promote the compactness of cities in central China based on the impact of the driving factors.