In order to revealed the spatial-temporal correlation characteristics and interaction relationship of multifunctional land use in the county of Jiangsu Province, which could provide theoretical support for the spatial planning of the county. This paper constructed multiple functional identification system from three dimensions of production-living-ecological, and quantitatively measures 55 counties’ spatial equilibrium state and space-time effect of “production-living-ecological” function in 1996, 2005 and 2015 by means of coupling coordination degree model, Theil coefficient and its decomposition, and LISA time path analysis. The results showed that spatial equilibrium level of multifunctional land use function in the county of Jiangsu Province was relatively low from 1996 to 2015, presenting the spatial characteristics of the overall dispersion and local agglomeration. The coordination degree of multifunctional land use had spatial differentiation characteristics,which were closely related to the stage of social economic development. The time-space transition of multiple functional coordination degree was generally consistent with the cold-hot spot pattern. The regions with relatively long LISA time path were scattered in southern Jiangsu (Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Yangzhou). The regions with relatively short LISA time path were scattered in northern Jiangsu, central Jiangsu. The multiple functional coordination degree was relatively low in these areas.The county with the largest LISA time path curvature were Zhenjiang, Xinghua, Yancheng, Guanyun etc. Nevertheless, the curvature of LISA time path in most parts of central Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu was generally small. It can be seen that the path locking effect of development of multifunctional land use coordination degree was strong.

The quality of human settlement environment (HSE) is related to people’s well-being. Since the implementation of the Western Development Strategy and the Grain to Green Program, the HSE in northern Shaanxi has undergone a major transformation. In order to explore the evolution pattern and seek a coordinated development strategy for all systems in the whole region, this paper, from the perspective of “production–living–ecological”, evaluates the HSE niche breadth of northern Shaanxi based on the ecological niche theory, analyzes its spatial differentiation characteristics, and identifies the development barrier factors, with the help of ArcGIS spatial analysis tools and the barrier degree model. It is found that: from 2000 to 2020, (1) the niche breadth of HSE in northern Shaanxi is high in the north and low in the south, showing obvious spatial unevenness; (2) the development of transportation promotes the improvement of HSE, but also intensifies the spatial unevenness, and the uncoordinated development rate of transportation and production and living systems has seriously restricted the further development of HSE; (3) the niche breadth of the ecosystem for each county is much lower than that of the production and living systems, and the ecological environment becomes the short board of the improvement of HSE in northern Shaanxi. Based on the patterns and problems found in the study, this paper proposes a strategy to improve the HSE of northern Shaanxi by prioritizing the balanced development of production, living systems, and transportation, strictly implementing the concept of ecological priority, dynamically adjusting the hierarchy of policies, vigorously optimizing the industrial layout, and focusing on the joint improvement of the human settlement environment in the whole region. This study expands the theories and evaluation methods of HSE to a certain extent, and the results have guiding values for promoting the sustainable development of HSE in northern Shaanxi and even the whole Loess Plateau region.

The spatial mismatch between the supply and demand of rural values is a key cause of the rural identity crisis. Promoting a shift in rural value research from a resource-oriented to a subject-perception-oriented approach is a crucial pathway to addressing this crisis. From the perspective of subjective perception, this study introduces the concept of rural social values (RSVs). Taking Yangzhong City, Jiangsu Province, as a case study, the SolVES model, comparative analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to investigate the spatial matching between RSV supply and demand. The main findings are as follows: (1) RSV supply exhibits a complex pattern characterized by “ecological baseline constraints” and “urban–rural boundary differentiation”; (2) RSV demand is shaped by both the collective expectations of subjects and the actual supply level of rural areas; (3) RSV supply–demand matching exhibits a complex situation coexisting with universal deficits, structural surpluses, and regional misalignments; (4) geographical environment and socio-economic conditions are key factors influencing the spatial matching between supply and demand at the village level, while the impact of individual characteristics is overshadowed by the overall village environment. This study not only provides a new theoretical perspective for understanding the rural value identity crisis, but also offers practical references for rural spatial governance in Yangzhong City and similar regions.