Study on spatial pattern and coupling of county traffic superiority degree and new-type urbanization level in Guizhou Province, China

The overall level of transportation infrastructure and the level of new urbanization are two coupled systems that complement each other. The balanced development of a region benefits from the efficient synergy of these two systems. Using methods such as the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve, spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis, and models for evaluating traffic superiority and new urbanization levels, we analyzed the balance and spatial distribution characteristics of these two developments and their coupling coordination levels in 88 counties of Guizhou Province (GZP) in 2020. The results indicate that the transportation advantage level in Guizhou's counties shows a spatial distribution that decreases outward from regions with concentrated high-speed rail and highways. In contrast, the level of new urbanization is constrained by economic development disparities, exhibiting a distinct "dual-core" spatial differentiation with Guiyang's urban area as the main core and Zunyi and Renhuai as secondary cores. The average and maximum transportation advantage scores are higher than those of new urbanization, and the scores in higher-level development zones are superior to those in lower-level zones. Additionally, transportation advantage shows better balance compared to new urbanization. Both transportation advantage and new urbanization levels exhibit positive spatial autocorrelation, with similar hotspot areas but significantly different coldspot areas. The coordination between transportation advantage and new urbanization is relatively low, with 80.68% of counties not fully leveraging their transportation advantages. Accurately identifying the coordination phase and system state of these factors can provide valuable references for the future development of different counties.