A spatial-temporal analysis of urban recreational business districts: A case study in Beijing, China

This study has revealed spatial-temporal changes in Recreational Business Districts (RBDs) in Beijing and examined the relationship between the location of urban RBDs and traffic conditions, resident and tourist density, scenic spots, and land prices. A more reasonable classification of urban RBDs (LSC, CPS, and ULA) is also proposed. Quantitative methods such as Gini Coefficient, Spatial Interpolation, Kernel Density Estimation, and Geographical Detector were employed to collect and analyze the data from three types of urban RBDs in Beijing in 1990, 2000, and 2014, respectively, and the spatial-temporal patterns as well as the distribution characteristics of urban RBDs were analyzed using ArcGIS software. It was concluded that (1) both the number and scale of urban RBDs in Beijing have been expanding and the trend for all types of urban RBDs in Beijing to be spatially agglomerated is continuing; (2) the spatial-temporal evolution pattern of urban RBDs in Beijing is single-core agglomeration dual-core agglomeration-multi-core diffusion; and (3) urban RBDs were always located in areas with low traffic density, tourist attractions, high resident and tourist population density, and relatively high land valuations; these factors also affect the scale size of RBDs.