Spatial Distribution Characteristics and Driving Mechanisms of National Tourism and Leisure Streets

Tourism and leisure streets exert a substantial influence on promoting urban development and meeting the leisure needs of the public. Using the 204 national tourism and leisure streets designated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as the research object, this study employs an integrated multi-method approach to examine their spatial distribution characteristics and driving mechanisms. The main innovation lies in combining a dual-dimensional human-nature framework with spatial analysis and geophysical detection, enabling a multidimensional and precise examination of neighborhood distribution patterns and influencing factors. This approach breaks through the limitations of traditional single-dimensional research. The results suggest that national tourism and leisure streets exhibit a spatial pattern of “clustered distribution with uneven stratification,” featuring dense concentrations in the southeast and sparse distribution in the northwest along the Hu Huanyong Population Line, as well as a “concave-shaped” differentiation across the three major economic zones with dense clusters in the east, scattered distribution in the central region, and sparse distribution in the west. Their spatial density follows a pattern of “multi-core linkage and gradient diffusion”, forming four major core clusters (the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Chengdu-Chongqing, and the Pearl River Delta) and three radiation axes along the coastal, Yangtze River, and Beijing-Guangzhou axes. Furthermore, the spatial differentiation of these streets is jointly shaped by human factors such as economic development, social foundations, tourist demand, cultural environment, and public services, as well as natural factors such as topography and climate conditions.