Smart land use in digital era quantifying green development drivers in China's delta megacities

Promoting the transition of economy and society toward Diverse Green Development (DGD) is crucial for achieving sustainable development. This study first reveals the spatiotemporal characteristics and development trends of DGD levels in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration from 2005 to 2021. It then uses the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) and Spatiotemporal Geographic Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to analyze the driving mechanisms of digital technology (DT) and land use efficiency (LUE) on DGD. The results show that: (1) Significant spatiotemporal differences exist in urban DGD levels across the YRD, showing a gravity center evolution trend of ''expanding from east to west and then flowing back eastward'', with the overall pattern tending to be stable. (2) DT has a significant positive impact on DGD, and its driving effect exhibits remarkable temporal and spatial heterogeneity. (3) LUE plays a positive role in local DGD, but generates certain negative spillover effects in neighboring cities, reflecting potential issues of resource squeeze and environmental externalities. These findings offer policy implications for advancing green development in the YRD and other regions, emphasizing the importance of cross-regional DT sharing, improvement of LUE, and coordinated development among regions.