An Analysis of Policy Transmission Flow in the Chengdu Plain Urban Agglomeration in Southwest China: Towards Building an Ecological Protection Network

Langong Hou, Yingjia Deng (), Xiaolan Wang, Tao Liu, Yuanhang Xu and Jing Wang
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Langong Hou: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Yingjia Deng: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Xiaolan Wang: Research Institute for Eco-Civilization, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, Chengdu 610071, China
Tao Liu: Department of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Yuanhang Xu: School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Jing Wang: College of Earth Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-21

Abstract: Regional ecological protection is an urgent task in today’s social development, and constructing an ecological protection network is an important way to achieve regional ecological coordination. However, previous studies have lacked a systematic review and analysis of policy document transmission paths, failing to consider the spatial network structure and its complex characteristics of regional ecological protection policies, resulting in deficiencies in regional coordinated governance of the ecological environment. To address this gap, this study constructs an ecological policy transmission network lineage for the Chengdu Plain urban agglomeration (CDPUA) based on 400 ecological environmental protection policy documents issued by cities in the CDPUA from 2015 to 2022, focusing on the transmission perspective of policy documents. Social network analysis methods, a GIS spatial analysis, and other methods were employed to construct the ecological protection network of the CDPUA and analyze the complex spatial structure and characteristics of the network. It was found that the integrated ecological protection network of the CDPUA exhibits a multi-core triangular pattern with spatial characteristics of density in the east and sparsity in the west. The integrated ecological protection network has a density of 60.71%, indicating a strong intercity linkage, with Suining as the central nucleus transmitting policies to surrounding cities, forming the Suining–Chengdu–Mianyang policy transmission triangle. The urban agglomeration has formed an ecological protection network dominated by multiple cities, offering diverse and distinct types of ecosystem services. This study provides insights to enhance regional collaborative ecological governance and protection, promoting sustainable development in the region.

Keywords: flow space; policy transmission flow; social network analysis; ecological protection network; urban agglomeration; ecosystem services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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