Creating Engines of Prosperity: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Factors Driving Urban Vitality in 36 Key Chinese Cities

Under the requirements of new urbanization in China, the improvement of urban spatial vitality has become a key aspect of the territory development plan. Based on the theory of urban vitality by Jacobs, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of mobility, diversity, and regularity from urban vitality in 36 key Chinese cities from 1990 to 2015; the urban vitality was evaluated by considering the society, economy, environment, culture, and cyberspace and by exploring its driving factors. The results suggest that vitality was higher in the southern/eastern coastal cities than in the northern/western inland ones. Cities with the highest vitality levels (top 10) were mostly located in the Pearl and Yangtze River deltas, the Beijing-Tianjin region, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Shenzhen demonstrated the highest vitality in the stage of extremely high coordination. Most of the cities with a middle level of vitality were located in northern China, while cities with poor vitality were small-scale cities with underdeveloped economies in the west and provincial capitals in northeastern China with a shrinking population. Areas with high-density facilities, high-accessibility transportation, multiple functional land use, and a high standard of living always have high vitality. The point of interest density had a significant positive effect on daytime vitality in regions with moderate and high vitality, but varying effects on nighttime vitality; it had a higher influence on nighttime vitality than on daytime vitality in areas of extremely high vitality. The study also provides corresponding measures for infrastructure, which could be invested in and constructed at different urban development stages to promote vitality. This could provide guidance for creating a booming space and revitalize and increase urban vitality, and could help reasonably regulate and control urban population and land use.