Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Coupling Coordination Development between Regional Highway Transportation and New Urbanization: A Case Study of Heilongjiang, China

The coupling coordination relationship between regional highway transportation and new urbanization is an increasingly important issue in the field of regional sustainable development. This paper aims to establish an index system and develop an integrated method to measure the coupling coordination between regional highway transportation and new urbanization. The evaluation index system comprised two hierarchies, six aspects and 19 indexes, which were weighted by the entropy weight method (EWM). Furthermore, a coupling degree model (CDM) and a coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) were established based on the statistical data from 2011 to 2017 in Heilongjiang Province, China. The ArcGIS spatial analysis method was utilized to analyze the spatial-temporal coupling evolution characteristics of the two subsystems. The findings revealed that the development level of the two subsystems showed an upward tendency. The coupling degree between the two subsystems was leaping from antagonistic stage to breaking-in period. The coupling coordination degree between the two subsystems was the transition stage from imbalance to coordination. Specifically, the spatial differentiation characteristics of the coupling coordination development between the two subsystems were prominent in Heilongjiang Province, China. The results showed that the approach combining CCDM with ArcGIS spatial analysis can be applied as an effective method to explore the spatial-temporal evolution of coupling coordination development.