How can China achieve a territorial spatial governance path that synergizes development and protection? A solution based on the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature

How can China achieve a territorial spatial governance path that synergizes development and protection? A solution based on the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature | 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 Article How can China achieve a territorial spatial governance path that synergizes development and protection? A solution based on the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature Dinghua Ou, Kun Ruan, Ziheng Yang, Chang Shu, Zijia Yan, Rui Zhou, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5304285/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 contradiction between economic development and ecological protection has become a common problem faced by the territorial space governance of developing countries or regions around the world. The reconstruction of the territorial spatial functional pattern (TSFP) can provide a spatial governance path for coordinated development and protection. However, existing research has not given enough attention to the coupling and symbiotic relationship between humans and nature when restructuring of the TSFP, resulting in significant functional conflicts, weak stability, and a lack of balance between ecological and economic benefits. This has not effectively achieved synergy between development and protection. How to achieve the reconstruction of the TSFP of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature? It is still a challenge for synergizing development and protection through the path of TSFP reconstruction. This study innovatively applies game theory and real variable function theory to establish a territorial spatial functional pattern reconstruction (TSFPR) model for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and has been validated in Qionglai City, China. Empirical evidence shows that compared with conventional methods, the functional conflicts in the TSFP established by the TSFPR model have been significantly alleviated, stability has been significantly improved, and ecological and economic benefits have been significantly enhanced, achieving the expected harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Further analysis confirms that the established territorial spatial functional conflict coordination (TSFCC) index provides a reliable criterion for identifying superior territorial spatial functions (TSFs). The proposed TSFPR model extends the theory of spatial optimization modeling and provides a tool for the TSFP reconstruction of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. In short, using the TSFPR model to reconstruct TSFP of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature provides a new implementation solution for the territorial spatial governance path of the coordinated development and protection. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Environmental economics Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Socioeconomic scenarios Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences/Sustainability synergizing development and protection territorial spatial governance territorial spatial pattern TSFPR model TSFCC index identification of superior TSFs Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials.docx 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. 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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-5304285","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":386249963,"identity":"29292ae4-de61-4d0c-b653-a871947445c9","order_by":0,"name":"Dinghua Ou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dinghua","middleName":"","lastName":"Ou","suffix":""},{"id":386249964,"identity":"21b90761-5153-4a7e-9ee0-baed823bd0b2","order_by":1,"name":"Kun Ruan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kun","middleName":"","lastName":"Ruan","suffix":""},{"id":386249965,"identity":"a2f298a9-2c94-4226-9ba8-15cbaf05a82a","order_by":2,"name":"Ziheng Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ziheng","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":386249966,"identity":"76913587-0ae6-468c-9281-2cf88b31e8bb","order_by":3,"name":"Chang Shu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chang","middleName":"","lastName":"Shu","suffix":""},{"id":386249967,"identity":"83cd0541-d8a9-41f9-9344-8dcadca8d5b6","order_by":4,"name":"Zijia Yan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zijia","middleName":"","lastName":"Yan","suffix":""},{"id":386249968,"identity":"fdaf61a0-271e-4ea4-92d2-340c376e09b2","order_by":5,"name":"Rui Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rui","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""},{"id":386249972,"identity":"f88a403b-cc1d-4c38-9540-d2cd09e901ed","order_by":6,"name":"Jing Qin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jing","middleName":"","lastName":"Qin","suffix":""},{"id":386249974,"identity":"b8cf51a4-45a1-4b2c-ba1d-6bb7ad0c9f87","order_by":7,"name":"Xuesong Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xuesong","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":386249975,"identity":"5fab0119-b5b8-4265-b01e-752273ec3dbf","order_by":8,"name":"Jianguo Xia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgYGgwQI68CBDxWkaWFLPDjjDGn28Rgf5m0hQp3BceYHBQ9q7thtON7z4QBvA4M8v9gB/Fokm9kMDBKOPUvecObshgOSOxgMZ85OwK+Fn5kBqIXtcLLBjdwNBwzPMCQY3CaghY2Z/YNBwj+QlpwHBxLbiNDCz8xjYJDYdtgOqIXhwEFitEg28xQYJPYdTpA8c8zgYMMZCcJ+MTh/fJvhj2+H7fmONz/+/KfCRp5fmoAWkHcMgERiA4QjQVA5CDA/ABL2RCkdBaNgFIyCkQkA2KJLWiITuccAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Sichuan Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jianguo","middleName":"","lastName":"Xia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-21 12:08:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5304285/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5304285/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":89262384,"identity":"4c09e98e-bab3-44b0-abee-e074d0269331","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-18 07:17:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1195065,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptrevised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5304285/v1_covered_6a57a2de-e28a-4637-8f40-b9c30f5b8a63.pdf"},{"id":71503659,"identity":"ca4f866b-23e3-4ab3-af9e-4061a906faf1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-16 09:31:02","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":35065982,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterials.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5304285/v1/c5a83542e2f944696006e30b.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"How can China achieve a territorial spatial governance path that synergizes development and protection? 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The reconstruction of the territorial spatial functional pattern (TSFP) can provide a spatial governance path for coordinated development and protection. However, existing research has not given enough attention to the coupling and symbiotic relationship between humans and nature when restructuring of the TSFP, resulting in significant functional conflicts, weak stability, and a lack of balance between ecological and economic benefits. This has not effectively achieved synergy between development and protection. How to achieve the reconstruction of the TSFP of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature? It is still a challenge for synergizing development and protection through the path of TSFP reconstruction. This study innovatively applies game theory and real variable function theory to establish a territorial spatial functional pattern reconstruction (TSFPR) model for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, and has been validated in Qionglai City, China. 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