Rapid urbanization has led to the increasing scarcity of land resources in China. Exploring the spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors of urban land use efficiency (LUE) is of great significance for optimizing the allocation efficiency of land resources and promoting regional sustainable development. In this study, the Super-SBM model was used to calculate the urban LUE of the Yellow River Basin from 2009 to 2018. The regional differences and agglomeration characteristics of LUE in the Yellow River Basin were analyzed. Moreover, a panel regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of LUE. The results showed that the LUE in the Yellow River Basin experienced a process of fluctuation decline during the study period. The regional difference of LUE in the Yellow River Basin was as follows: upper reaches > middle reaches > lower reaches. The hot and cold spots of LUE were relatively stable in spatial distribution during the study period. The hot spots were mainly distributed in Ordos in the upper reaches and Yulin in the middle reaches, while the cold spots were mainly distributed in Henan Province in the lower reaches. Globalization had a positive impact on LUE in the lower reaches. Marketization had a positive impact on LUE in the whole basin and lower reaches, and a negative impact on LUE in the middle reaches. Decentralization had a positive impact on the LUE of the whole basin and the upper reaches, and a negative impact on the LUE of the lower reaches.

While tourism eco-efficiency has been analyzed actively within tourism research, there is an extant dearth of research on the spatial network structure of provincial-scale tourism eco-efficiency. The Super-SBM was used to evaluate the tourism eco-efficiency of 30 provinces (excluding Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan). Then, social network analysis was employed to examine the evolution characteristics regarding the spatial network structure of tourism eco-efficiency. The main results are show as follows. Firstly, tourism eco-efficiency of more than two thirds’ provinces witnessed an increasing trend. Secondly, the spatial network structure of tourism efficiency was still loose and unstable during the sample period. Thirdly, there existed the multidimensional nested and fused spatial factions and condensed subsets in the spatial network structure of tourism eco-efficiency. However, there was still a lack of low-carbon tourism cooperation among second or third sub-groups. These conclusions can provide references for policymakers who expect to reduce carbon emissions from the tourism industry and to achieve sustainable tourism development.

In recent decades, complex network theory has become one of the most important approaches for exploring the structure and dynamics of traffic networks. Most studies mainly focus on the static topology features of the traffic networks, and there are also increasing literature focusing on passenger flow networks. However, not much work has been completed on comparing the static networks with dynamic flow networks from the perspective of supply and demand. Therefore, this study aimed to apply the complex network approach to explore the spatial relationship between bus line organization and bus flows in Beijing. Based on the bus route data and the passenger flow data obtained from the Beijing smart bus card, this study investigated the spatial characteristics of the bus line network and the temporal bus flow networks, and presented a comparison analysis on the spatial relationship between them by using the node centrality indices, namely degree centrality, betweenness centrality and closeness centrality. The results show that the overall spatial patterns of node centralities between the bus line network and the bus flow network were similar, while there were also some differences. For weekdays, the correlation between them is higher, as calculated by the degree of centrality. For weekends, the two networks have a greater correlation measured by degree centrality and betweenness centrality. The highest coefficients of correlation between the line network and traffic network appear in the morning peak, which implies that the congestion issues during the morning peak hours might receive the highest priority in Beijing’s bus-line network planning. Our study can provide implications for policymakers to improve the public urban transport network, and thus enhance residents’ happiness.

It is of great significance to study the interactive relationship between urban transportation and land use for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of cities. Taking Jinan, China, as an example, this study explored the interactive relationship between street centrality (SC) and land use intensity (LUI) in the main urban area of Jinan by using the spatial three-stage least squares method. The results showed that the closeness centrality showed an obvious “core-edge” pattern, which gradually decreased from the central urban area to the edge area. Both the betweenness centrality and the straightness centrality showed a multi-center structure. The commercial land intensity (CLUI) showed the characteristics of multi-core spatial distribution, while the residential land intensity (RLUI) and public service land intensity (PLUI) showed the characteristics of spatial distribution with the coexistence of large and small cores. There was an interactive relationship between SC and LUI. The closeness centrality and straightness centrality had positive effects on LUI, and LUI had a positive effect on closeness centrality and straightness centrality. The betweenness centrality had a negative impact on LUI, and LUI also had a negative impact on betweenness centrality. Moreover, good location factors and good traffic conditions were conducive to improving the closeness and straightness centrality of the regional traffic network. Good location factors, good traffic conditions and high population density were conducive to improving regional LUI.