In the context of “space of flow”, urban interaction has become the key force impacting urban landscape evolution and urban sustainable development. Current research on urban interaction analysis is mainly conducted based on the interaction of geographical elements, the virtual flow of information in cyberspace has not been given sufficient attention, particularly the information flows with explicit geographical meaning. Considering the dramatic population migration and the explosive growth of cyberspace in China’s main urban agglomerations, we constructed the information flow of migrant attention (IFMA) index to quantify the urban information interaction derived from public migrant concern in cyberspace. Under the framework coupling spatial pattern analysis and spatial network analysis, exploration spatial data analysis (ESDA) and complex network analysis (CNA) were adopted to identify the urban interaction features depicted by IFMA index in the three main urban agglomerations in China. The results demonstrated that, in the study area: (1) The IFMA index presented a reasonable performance in depicting geographical features of cities; (2) the inconformity between urban role in the network and development positioning confirmed by national planning existed; (3) in the context of New-type urbanization of China, urban interaction feature can be a beneficial reference for urban spatial reconstruction and urban life improvement. Using the cyber information flow with geographical meaning to analyze the urban interaction characteristics can extend the research angle of urban relationship exploration, and provide some suggestion for the adjustment of urban landscape planning.

As the dominant area in regional competitions, the urban agglomeration has experienced a dramatic urban land evolution, which has had a significant impact on regional socio-economic development and ecological environment. Conventional simulation models mainly explore the dynamic change of urban land based on the situation of a single city. The urban interactions, which linked separate cities into an organic urban agglomeration area, have not been sufficiently concerned, especially the urban interaction in the context of intermediate intervention. In this paper, we employ the radiation model to measure the urban interaction under intermediate intervention, and further spatially explicitly express the spatial network and influence of such an interaction. A simulation model coupling improved urban interaction is proposed to model the collaborative evolution of urban land in urban agglomeration by considering the influence of improved urban interactions into the basic framework of the cellular automata model. Taking the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China as a case study, the validity and suitability of the model are evaluated. The results show that, the proposed simulation model exhibits better performance in capturing the networked evolution of urban land. Considering urban interactions under intermediate intervention is necessary for modeling the collaborative evolution of urban land in urban agglomeration areas. The distribution of the urban interaction’s influence can be a beneficial reference for guiding the optimal allocation of urban land in a networked way.

Integrative development is an effective way to enhance urban potential and implement resource-optimal relocation, especially in urban agglomeration regions. Conventionally, the evaluation of urban integration is usually studied from one aspect of urban interaction intensity or urban functional similarity, but considering both together can better reflect the integrative condition of urban agglomeration. This paper introduces the symbiosis theory into the exploration of urban integration. The production–living–ecological function is taken to analyze urban function, and the improved radiation model is adopted to measure urban interaction. Under the framework of symbiosis theory, we integrate urban function and urban interaction to indicate the integrative condition of urban agglomeration from a production–living–ecological aspect. Urban agglomeration in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration is taken as the study area. The results show that (1) spatial variations occur in high-value areas with distinct functions. The east emphasizes production and living, while the west leans towards ecology. (2) Urban agglomeration is in its early developmental stages without stable symbiosis. Interactions among counties mostly show sporadic point symbiosis, lacking stability. It mainly radiates outward from the central area, with more stable interactions in high-value areas, often causing inter-city competition. (3) Urban agglomeration integration is generally low, with distinct high-value production and ecological areas. The central, eastern, and southern regions exhibit strong production and living interactions, while the west benefits from ecological interactions. These findings can offer some insights for informing relevant policies and fostering the integrated development of urban agglomerations.

Rapid population migration has been viewed as a critical factor impacting urban network construction and regional sustainable development. The supervision and analysis of population migration are necessary for guiding the optimal allocation of urban resources and for attaining the high efficiency development of region. Currently, the explorations of population migration are often restricted by the limitation of data. In the information era, search engines widely collect public attention, implying potential individual actions, and freely provide open, timelier, and large-scope search query data for helping explore regional phenomena and problems. In this paper, we endeavor to explore the possibility of adopting such data to depict population migration. Based on the search query from Baidu search engine, three migration attention indexes (MAIs) are constructed to capture public migration attention in cyber space. Taking three major urban agglomerations in China as case study, we conduct the correlation analysis among the cyber MAIs and population migration in geographical space. Results have shown that external-MAI and local-MAI can positively reflect the population migration inner regions and across regions from a holistic lens and that intercity-MAI can be a helpful supplement for the delineation of specific population flow. Along with the accumulation of cyber search query data, its potential in exploring population migration can be further reinforced.

As a zone lying adjacent to urban areas, construction land development in suburbs includes urban expansion caused by urbanization and rural construction land increments caused by rural development. Given the necessity of satisfying urban and rural development demands while protecting the ecological environment, goals of land use efficiency, socio-economic coordination, and ecological benefit need to be ensured simultaneously, which indicates that the coordinative development of suburban construction land is of great significance, thereby raising the need for a reasonable evaluation for the coordinative level from multiple dimensions. However, the evaluation of suburban construction land coordination considering spatial, socio-economic, and ecological factors is insufficiently studied. To fill the research gap, this study comprehensively evaluates the coordination of suburban construction land at the town level. Specifically, four indicators from spatial, socio-economic, and ecological dimensions, including landscape pattern, accessibility, socio-economic symbiosis, and ecological functional suitability, are selected. By utilizing coupling coordination degree estimation, the coordination among the four selected indicators is evaluated. By adopting a case study of suburban Wuhan, different coordinative levels regarding suburban construction land development are identified and respondent suggestions to promote the coordination of suburban construction land under current China’s land use policies are provided. This study contributes to understanding the coordinative development of suburban construction land and proposing a method to estimate the coordination.

A key challenge is how to effectively conserve habitats and biodiversity amid widespread habitat fragmentation and loss caused by global urbanization. Despite growing attention to this issue, knowledge of the seasonal dynamics of habitats remains limited, and conservation gaps are still inadequately identified. This study proposes a novel integrated framework, “Habitat Suitability–Risk–Quality”, to improve the assessment of the seasonal bird habitat quality and to identify priority conservation habitats in urban landscapes. The framework was implemented in Wuhan, China, a critical stopover site along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. It combines the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model to predict the seasonal habitat suitability, the Habitat Risk Assessment (HRA) model to quantify habitat sensitivity to multiple anthropogenic threats, and a refined Habitat Quality (HQ) model to evaluate the seasonal habitat quality. K-means clustering was then applied to group habitats based on seasonal quality dynamics, enabling the identification of priority areas and the development of differentiated conservation strategies. The results show significant seasonal variation in habitat suitability and quality. Wetlands provided the highest-quality habitats in autumn and winter, grasslands exhibited moderate seasonal quality, and forests showed the least seasonal fluctuation. The spatial analysis revealed that high-quality wetland habitats form an ecological belt along the urban–suburban fringe. Four habitat clusters with distinct seasonal characteristics were then identified. However, spatial mismatches were found between existing protected areas and habitats of high ecological value. Notably, Cluster 1 maintained high habitat quality year round, spanning 99.38 km², yet only 46.51% of its area is currently protected. The remaining 53.16 km², mostly situated in urban–suburban transitional zones, remain unprotected. This study provides valuable insights for identifying priority habitats and developing season-specific conservation strategies in rapidly urbanizing regions, thereby supporting the sustainable management of urban biodiversity and the development of resilient ecological systems.