Assessing Urban Human Settlement Quality via Ecological Niche-Fitness: A Case Study of Wuhan Metropolitan Area

Wenjun Peng (), Cancan Jin, Xiaohong Chen and Xu Wang
Additional contact information
Wenjun Peng: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Cancan Jin: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Xiaohong Chen: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Xu Wang: School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: Urban expansion intensifies economic–environmental conflicts, making human settlement quality increasingly critical for sustainable development. This study applies ecological niche theory to evaluate the evolution of human settlement quality in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area (WMA) from 2014 to 2022 using 21 economic, social, and ecological indicators. The results reveal: (1) significant variations in niche-fitness values across subsystems, with Wuhan maintaining superiority (>0.820) despite a gradual decline, while peripheral cities—notably Huangshi, Tianmen, and Ezhou—consistently ranked lower (<0.610) throughout the study period; (2) three evolutionary trajectories emerged, characterized by continuous decline, inverted U-shaped development, and sustained growth, reflecting nonlinear dynamics and path dependence in the region’s development patterns. These findings underscore persistent core-periphery disparities within the metropolitan area, yet improved regional coordination is evident as inter-city evaluation gaps narrowed from 0.329 to 0.231 between 2014 and 2022. Based on these insights, tailored policy recommendations are proposed to address the identified disparities and promote balanced development. This study offers valuable theoretical and practical contributions toward achieving coordinated and sustainable development in metropolitan regions.

Keywords: human settlement; ecological niche fitness; human settlement quality; Wuhan metropolitan area; evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9578/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9578/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9578-:d:1781329

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().