Research on the Spatial–Temporal Synthetic Measurement of the Coordinated Development of Population-Economy-Society-Resource-Environment (PESRE) Systems in China Based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Abstract

The issue of how to realize the coordinated development of various elements in human–land systems, or, in other words, how to achieve the coordinated development of population-economy-society-resource-environment (PESRE) systems, has become an important topic, which has received global attention. This study takes 31 provinces in China as the research objects, and carries out the research on the spatial–temporal synthetic measurement of the coordinated development of PESRE systems. The conclusions are as follows. From 1995 to 2015, the process of change of coupling coordination degree of China’s PESRE systems can be divided into two types: Rising first and then declining, and fluctuant continuously. The number of provinces of the first type was higher, and most provinces were on the verge of uncoordinated development status or in a weakly coordinated development status. The coupling degree of PESRE systems at the provincial level in China generally shows some positive spatial correlations, and the level of coordinated development displays some obvious spatial aggregation patterns. Moreover, the degree of such aggregation first increases and then weakens. The eastern parts of China represent the main “high-high” type aggregation regions. The central and western parts of China represent the main “low-low” types, account for the largest proportion, and display obvious aggregation characteristics.