In the context of rural revitalization strategies and humans’ increasing leisure pursuit, leisure agriculture starts to act as a new engine of rural economic growth and industrial upgradation. Unraveling the agri-leisure developmental regularity from a spatial perspective facilitates urban-rural integration and poverty alleviation in rural regions. Given the lack of spatially analyzing agri-leisure (e.g., sightseeing picking orchards) especially at the macro-spatial scale (e.g., the national scale), this study aims to explore the spatiality of leisure agriculture and its fundamental driving mechanisms based on geo-visual (spatially visualizing) analytical tools looking at 20,778 picking orchards in China. Results show that: (1) Picking orchards are distributed in the form of clusters with striking disparity at multiple spatial scales; (2) Five spatial agglomerations are found involving the regions around Beijing and Tianjin, Shandong hinterland, Henan hinterland, the core district of the Yangtze Delta, and the core district of the Pearl River Delta; (3) The driving mechanisms are revealed, and the spatial pattern of picking orchards is found to be largely influenced by morphology, distance to central cities, traffic conditions, economic level, and tourism resources. This study is conducive to optimizing the spatial planning of rural eco-tourism towards sustainable agro-development.

As the key tool for land use management in China, land use planning (LUP) is characterized by the advantage of being state-led, quota-oriented, and easily monitored. Nevertheless, increasing research has doubted its effectiveness, particularly in controlling urban expansion, while few studies have empirically confirmed it. To this end, we construct a planning constraint index (PCI), supported by land use quota, for evaluating the pressure from LUP on urban expansion, and then analyze the spatial equilibrium of PCI. We also explore the spatial effects of PCI on urban expansion via the geographically weighted regression model (GWR) by collecting the spatial data of 280 prefecture-level cities in China from 2009 to 2016. The results show that: (1) most cities present a shortage of urban land quotas, and spatial disequilibrium exist among regions; (2) PCI has significant negative effects on urban expansion for all of the 280 cities, and spatial disparity of these effects occurs as well; (3) PCI has a stronger influence in southwest China where the economy is relatively backward. This study aims to provide a reference for land use planners and policymakers to help improve the effectiveness of LUP.

As the spatial carrier of urban development, construction land is a fundamental element for achieving high-quality urban development (HQUD). This study examines the impact of construction land supply on HQUD across 285 Chinese cities. A HQUD evaluation model is created to assess each city’s development level. The GTWR model is then applied to explore the dynamic spatial effects of land supply on HQUD level. The results show the following: (1) The construction land supply exhibited a fluctuating trend accompanied by notable spatial disparities, with hotspots concentrated in coastal areas and cold spots in the northwest and northeast. (2) The HQUD levels consistently increased, forming a stepwise spatial pattern—highest in the east, followed by central and western regions—with localized spatial convergence. (3) The factors influencing HQUD are highly volatile. Industrial agglomeration, resource optimization, and land investment returns drive commercial land supply, investment intensity, and land prices, fostering positive development. However, excessive population density and inadequate public service land may impose pressure on resources and strained public services, hindering progress. Industrial land supply has supported industrial upgrading, shifting its impact from negative to positive. Over-reliance on real estate development can cause resource waste, social instability, and hinder sustainability, reversing the positive effects of residential land supply. This paper clarifies the complex relationship between construction land supply and HQUD, providing empirical guidance for region-specific land supply strategies.