Affected by multiple factors, differentiated capital investment and power games have led to the uneven regional development of rural areas at cultural heritage sites. Therefore, it is urgent to reflect on the spatial equity and justice of heritage sites from the perspective of social space. This study took the territorial function of rural areas (TFRA) as its research objective, utilizing the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site—the Qinshihuang Mausoleum—and the Qianling Mausoleum and the Qiaoling Mausoleum in Shaanxi Province as cases. Based on the theory of spatial production, an index system of TFRA was constructed using social and spatial dimensions. Factor analysis and social–spatial differentiation indices were employed to identify the spatial structure and differentiation of TFRA. The results show the following: (1) the case areas reflect eight principal components, and these components have obvious spatial differentiation characteristics; (2) the principal components related to heritage display and utilization have had a sustained impact over the past decade, which have driven the development of related industries, but the scores of principal components related to the restrictions of heritage protection have been decreased; (3) six functional type zones are designated, and the spatial pattern of TFRA presented a concentric circle with a core-periphery structure, which is influenced by heritage protection zoning; (4) high-value-added functional spaces form and expand along transportation lines; (5) the inherent demand for capital proliferation is the fundamental driving force for the differentiation and evolution of TFRA at heritage sites. Based on the results of the above analysis, strategies of coordinated development between society and space are proposed to address the issue of uneven regional development at heritage sites.

The examination of land-use change simulations across a range of scenarios represents a pivotal research avenue for the advancement of sustainable development analysis. Nevertheless, the extant research merely categorises all building land in a land-use classification into a single category, which is unable to provide a detailed analysis of the dynamic internal spatial form of the city. This paper analyses 17 LCZ land-use types in Guiyang City in 2013 and 2022, and reclassifies them into 7 RLCZ land-use types based on the height of urban building sites. It also proposes three possible scenarios of BAU, WLC, and SPC in 2040 and simulates their land-use changes using the PLUS model. The results demonstrate that (1) the size of low-rise buildings in Guiyang has declined significantly over the past decade; (2) built-up land within cities is significantly affected by drivers such as night-time lighting, topography, elevation, and roads; (3) the SPC scenario emphasises a development pattern of land intensification and a focus on high density in urban built space. It also protects the stability of the ecosystem. The scenario can provide informative suggestions for spatial pattern changes in rapidly developing cities such as Guiyang.

The unique geo-ecological conditions of karst river basins (KRBs) heighten rural vulnerability to compound disturbances; therefore, enhanced rural resilience (RR) is critical for regional ecological security and sustainable development. In this study, the Wujiang River Basin was chosen as the study area. A comprehensive evaluation index system was first established to assess RR. Key driving factors were identified using the Optimal Parameters-based Geographical Detector (OPGD) mode. The Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model was then applied to analyze the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the driving mechanisms of RR. Our results show that from 2010 to 2022: (1) RR in the study area increased significantly, and disparities among counties decreased notably, indicating a trend toward more balanced regional development. (2) RR displayed strong positive spatial autocorrelation, with spatial clusters evolving dynamically under the influence of policy interventions and environmental constraints. (3) The main drivers of spatial heterogeneity in RR included urban–rural income disparity, road network density, agricultural machinery power, etc. Their driving mechanisms exhibited significant spatiotemporal non-stationarity. The findings inform the development of targeted strategies to enhance regional resilience. Additionally, the methodology and empirical insights can serve as valuable references for RR research and practice in other similar KRBs worldwide.

Developing regions rich in ethnic cultures face structural tensions between cultural heritage preservation, ecological conservation, and economic development. Yet existing research analyzes village types in isolation, overlooks non-additive factor interactions, and lacks frameworks connecting spatial heterogeneity to differentiated sustainability pathways. This study addresses these three gaps through integrated spatial analysis of 4083 characteristic villages across five nationally designated types in Southwest China, a region harboring over 40% of China’s Traditional Villages and high densities of Forest Villages, Key Tourism Villages, Ethnic Minority Characteristic Villages, and Historic and Cultural Villages. Kernel Density Estimation, Average Nearest Neighbor analysis, Standard Deviational Ellipse, and Geographical Detector methods are employed in a three-stage analytical progression. Spatial characterization reveals pronounced heterogeneity with “large-scale dispersion, small-scale agglomeration” patterns and systematic cross-type spatial co-location in high-heritage, high-vulnerability zones. Mechanism quantification shows that intangible cultural heritage (q-values 0.66–0.78) and GDP per capita (q-values 0.68–0.82) are dominant drivers whose pairwise interactions exceed individual effects by 40–60%. Sustainability classification translates q-value-weighted composite indices into four context zones across 506 counties, Culture-Ecology Tension Zones (22.7%), Economic Isolation Nodes (17.0%), Tourism-Driven Development Corridors (19.6%), and Balanced Development Potentials (40.7%), each exhibiting a distinct configuration of cultural, ecological, and economic conditions that necessitates differentiated pathways. The “culture-ecology-economy” tripartite framework advances sustainability science in three ways: it empirically identifies non-additive spatial interactions as generative mechanisms of heterogeneity, achieves a methodological progression from pattern description to sustainability diagnosis, and reconceptualizes cultural heritage from a development constraint into a measurable sustainability asset. The framework is transferable to analogous mountain regions globally where heritage-rich communities confront coupled ecological and economic vulnerabilities.

This study investigates the spatial characteristics and influencing mechanisms of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and culture relic protection sites (CRPSs) in Southwest China. Through quantitative analysis of national-level ICH and CRPSs in the region, it reveals the spatial distribution patterns of both and their interrelationships. The research indicates that both ICH and CRPSs in Southwest China exhibit significant spatial agglomeration, yet there are differences in their specific distribution patterns. CRPSs form a high-density area centered on Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, and radiate outward, while the high-density areas of ICH are mainly located in Qiandongnan and Qiannan prefectures of Guizhou Province, with secondary-density areas centered on Chengdu City and Lhasa City. The analysis of spatial relationships shows that the deviation distance between the distribution centroids of ICH and CRPSs is relatively small, indicating a strong spatial coupling. Grey relational analysis further confirms a strong correlation between the two. Through spatial correlation analysis, it is found that ICH and CRPSs display a significant positive correlation in spatial distribution, especially in "high-high" cluster areas where they mutually influence and develop synergistically. The analysis of influencing factors reveals that both natural geographical factors (such as altitude, slope, and climatic conditions) and human geographical factors (such as urbanization rate, economic development, and transportation) have significant impacts on the spatial distribution of ICH and CRPSs. Based on the research findings, recommendations are proposed, including implementing holistic protection strategies, strengthening the cultivation of the cultural and ecological environment, giving full play to the subjectivity of inheritors, and constructing diversified pathways for collaborative utilization, to promote the integrity and sustainability of cultural heritage in Southwest China.