Zoning framework and policy implications of sustainable development by coupling multilevel in Beijing, China

Accurately diagnosing and assessing complicated spatial linkages at various scales has become a crucial strategy for enhancing the efficacy of urban government policies and initiatives in the modern era. There is still room for improvement in identifying spatial scale disparities and coupling linkages in cities, although the standard research paradigm on urban sustainability has produced numerous positive outcomes. To advance urban sustainability research from the perspective of spatial coupling, this study used cluster and cross-tabulation analyses for considering urban sustainable development patterns from the requirements of both development scale and spatial accuracy. Subsequently, the spatial unit coupling relationship between district and street scales was explored. Our findings indicated significant scale dependence in the spatial divergence between the built environment sustainability levels of streets and the economic, social, and environmental sustainability levels of districts. The implication is that significant differences exist in the built environment levels of various sustainable development type districts. The scale effect of the spatial coupling relationship influences urban planning and the transition of sustainable development. Maintaining reasonable population density and maximizing the structure and quality of social public resources supply are priorities for streets with the highest habitat sustainability that are located in low-growth type districts. Priority should be given to population deconcentration for high habitat sustainable streets located in synergistic development type districts to increase the level of public service protection. Supporting facilities should be added to medium sustainable streets in low-growth areas to increase the mix of land use, which should encourage additional production activity concentration, thereby fostering overall economic strength. Further, increasing the accessibility of local public service facilities for low and medium sustainable streets located in ecologically biased areas should be prioritized, but a green and low-carbon orientation should be maintained during building.