Research on the Spatial Distribution and Influencing Factors of Small Towns under the Mountain-Sea Spatial Pattern

Small towns serve as crucial carriers for China's new urbanization and the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Investigating their spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors is of great significance for optimizing the regional spatial pattern of small towns. As a typical mountain-sea interaction zone along the eastern coast of China, the distribution of small towns in Fujian Province is profoundly influenced by the spatial pattern of mountains and seas. This study employs kernel density analysis, standard deviation ellipse, nearest neighbor distance method, and geographical detector models to reveal the spatial distribution characteristics of small towns and their influencing factors. The results indicate that the spatial distribution exhibits a remarkable river-to-sea characteristic, with an overall "northeast-southwest" orientation. Three densely populated areas are formed along the coast, while inland areas are primarily distributed along rivers, presenting a "dense along the coast and sparse in the interior" pattern. The highest-density contiguous areas are concentrated in the mountain-sea junction zone (within 50 kilometers from the coastline), reflecting the significant driving effect of mountain-sea synergy. Geographical detector analysis reveals that the spatial distribution is predominantly influenced by population density (q=0.587) and slope (q=0.413), with strong nonlinear and two-factor interactions with elevation, forested area, and road network density. These findings provide a scientific basis for optimizing small town layouts in Fujian and offer methodological and theoretical support for similar mountain-sea regions.