Identifying Trade-Offs and Synergies of Production–Living–Ecological Functions and Their Drivers: The Case of Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations in China

Urban agglomerations are products of urban development, and their regional spaces and functions are more diverse than other cities, which have very high spatial and functional complexity. It is important to clarify the relationships between production–living–ecological (PLE) functions in urban agglomerations to achieve sustainable development. In this study, we took the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations (MRYRUA) as an example to construct an evaluation index system of regional PLE functions in urban agglomerations. Then, the Pearson correlation model and geographically weighted regression were applied to investigate the relationships between PLE functions and their driving forces. The results showed that the PLE functions in the MRYRUA increased from 2008 to 2018, with the level of the ecological function being higher than the production and living functions. The relationships among PLE functions were dominated by synergies in most cities, though trade-offs had become more evident in the last few years for the whole study area. Trade-offs and synergies among PLE functions were influenced by both natural and socioeconomic factors, with the latter having a stronger effect. Our findings provide a reference for understanding the spatial variations and trade-offs among PLE functions in MRYRUA as well as for balancing the development of PLE functions.