Quantifying the demographic distribution characteristics of ecological space quality to achieve urban agglomeration sustainability

Human activities are changing the quality of ecological spaces continually, and creating increasing imbalances in ecosystem services. Hence it is necessary to identify the distribution equity in ecological spaces. In 2018, the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration was used as a test case to analyze the distribution characteristics of ecological space quality (ESQ) among different demographic groups and explore socioeconomic factors' determining forces. The imbalance in ESQ distribution was less than that in income. At the urban and rural scales, the difference in ESQ was not significant, but rural areas had both the best and worst ecological space. Further, the equality of urban ESQ was higher than that in rural areas. Higher-quality ecological spaces were concentrated both in low-income groups, in addition to the cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In areas with higher income gaps, the ecological pressure was concentrated primarily on low-income counties, but more ecological health risks were detected among high-income counties. Limiting rural population density and increasing rural residents' income can improve the ESQ significantly. The government should improve ecological protection consciousness and ecological compensation policies, particularly with respect to the supervision of, and compensation for, ecological spaces for low-income counties in rural areas to reduce the imbalance in ecosystem services and the burden on those counties.