The Coordinated Development of the Digital Economy and Urban‒Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Delta and Its Spatial Correlation Structure

The Coordinated Development of the Digital Economy and Urban‒Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Delta and Its Spatial Correlation Structure | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Coordinated Development of the Digital Economy and Urban‒Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Delta and Its Spatial Correlation Structure Can Zhou, Tieqiao Xiao, Qiaoling Xu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The digital economy plays a crucial role in facilitating the flow of resources between urban and rural areas and addressing development imbalances. This study focuses on 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and uses the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method and coupling coordination degree model to analyze the coupling and coordinated development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration from 2010–2022. The spatial characteristics of the coordination distribution and network correlation structures are examined via standard deviation ellipses, modified gravity models, and social network analysis, alongside the dominant influencing factors derived from geographic detectors. The results show that ( 1 ) there is a disconnection and imbalance between the development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration in the Yangtze River Delta, with the former progressing significantly faster than the latter. ( 2 ) The coupling coordination level improved over the study period, with cities exhibiting higher coordination concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the region, showing an “M”-shaped distribution. ( 3 ) The coupling coordination degree displays a spatial distribution pattern from "northwest to southeast," with the center shifting southeastward. Overall, the central area outperforms the northern and southern areas, and the eastern area surpasses the western area. ( 4 ) The degree of coupling coordination forms a complex network structure, with core cities expanding from Shanghai, Suzhou, and Wuxi including Nanjing and Changzhou. The network structure has transitioned from a hierarchical to a flat structure, and center degree analysis reveals an increase in influence for Nanjing and Changzhou; however, the distribution of mediating roles is uneven, affecting the network's accessibility and stability. ( 5 ) The coordinated development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration is influenced by different factors over various time periods, with the flow of urban‒rural resources, agricultural modernization, and social equalization being the primary contributors. Finally, on the basis of the analysis results, targeted optimization strategies using the geographic detector model provide a reference for regional urban‒rural development. Digital economy Urban‒rural integration Coupling coordination Spatiotemporal characteristics Spatial correlation structure Optimization strategies Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5198421","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":362713163,"identity":"df01192a-71a3-40b3-aed6-7bedf5141242","order_by":0,"name":"Can Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Architecture and Planning, Anhui Jianzhu University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Can","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""},{"id":362713164,"identity":"c678ad63-f9b4-4be3-9869-2f7d75df5a5c","order_by":1,"name":"Tieqiao Xiao","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3klEQVRIie3PIQvCQBTA8TcOznIotieINvOlJcGvcsdglinGBcEJsgURq34Lo9FxsPTsi1sy24yiVdlmM9wvvfD+8B6AZf0hPrylhQpxtWfsNSzrkzYEnixo7ByT+DVk9ckAlNstN75zIhr1yg1rcBhcfNCRYZAHPNQRh06yVdWJs84KfTbcOcyyXJ/7gHQ9VScMplKTEQznfq6Jg8RZTcLBRR0b5Bi4Cx2zBol4J74UglxolqDwpKKxwlbsoaJM1P4yPLTS8hGimhiW3h/hctBJdtXJB/HbumVZlvXVE4X8S9fbkezSAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"College of Architecture and Planning, Anhui Jianzhu University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tieqiao","middleName":"","lastName":"Xiao","suffix":""},{"id":362713168,"identity":"945d2e2e-b3b8-480e-b5a4-496cc66ed365","order_by":2,"name":"Qiaoling Xu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Lanzhou Jiaotong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Qiaoling","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-03 12:53:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":70302443,"identity":"81170fc1-999e-46e9-a723-23385cd387f9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-02 02:17:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":5141104,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheCoordinatedDevelopmentoftheDigitalEconomyandUrbanRuralIntegrationintheYangtzeRiverDeltaandItsSpatialCorrelationStructure.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5198421/v1_covered_0cb09b24-98ca-4f7d-b9da-e8f45e0f6666.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Coordinated Development of the Digital Economy and Urban‒Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Delta and Its Spatial Correlation Structure","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Digital economy, Urban‒rural integration, Coupling coordination, Spatiotemporal characteristics, Spatial correlation structure, Optimization strategies","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe digital economy plays a crucial role in facilitating the flow of resources between urban and rural areas and addressing development imbalances. This study focuses on 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region and uses the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method and coupling coordination degree model to analyze the coupling and coordinated development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration from 2010\u0026ndash;2022. The spatial characteristics of the coordination distribution and network correlation structures are examined via standard deviation ellipses, modified gravity models, and social network analysis, alongside the dominant influencing factors derived from geographic detectors. The results show that (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e) there is a disconnection and imbalance between the development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration in the Yangtze River Delta, with the former progressing significantly faster than the latter. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e) The coupling coordination level improved over the study period, with cities exhibiting higher coordination concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the region, showing an \u0026ldquo;M\u0026rdquo;-shaped distribution. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e) The coupling coordination degree displays a spatial distribution pattern from \"northwest to southeast,\" with the center shifting southeastward. Overall, the central area outperforms the northern and southern areas, and the eastern area surpasses the western area. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e) The degree of coupling coordination forms a complex network structure, with core cities expanding from Shanghai, Suzhou, and Wuxi including Nanjing and Changzhou. The network structure has transitioned from a hierarchical to a flat structure, and center degree analysis reveals an increase in influence for Nanjing and Changzhou; however, the distribution of mediating roles is uneven, affecting the network's accessibility and stability. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e) The coordinated development of the digital economy and urban‒rural integration is influenced by different factors over various time periods, with the flow of urban‒rural resources, agricultural modernization, and social equalization being the primary contributors. Finally, on the basis of the analysis results, targeted optimization strategies using the geographic detector model provide a reference for regional urban‒rural development.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Coordinated Development of the Digital Economy and Urban‒Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Delta and Its Spatial Correlation Structure","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-11-07 04:31:58","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5198421/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"298481fe-85e5-4200-a1b6-1af533dcf4db","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 7th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-12-02T02:08:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-11-07 04:31:58","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5198421","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5198421","identity":"rs-5198421","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}