Assessment of the Impact of Basic Public Service Facility Configuration on Social–Spatial Differentiation: Taking the Zhaomushan District of Chongqing, China

Abstract

Objectively assessing the impact of various basic public service facilities on social–spatial differentiation has become a prerequisite for promoting urban social integration and development. However, in practice, the configuration of basic public service facilities is not always conducive to social integration, especially at the microscale. Effectively measuring the inhibitory or aggravating effects of various basic public service facility configurations on social–spatial differentiation has become a challenge. Based on the assumption that the configuration of basic public service facilities has inhibitory and aggravating effects on social–spatial differentiation, this study selected two types of objects: social space and basic public service facilities to refine the research elements. Using spatial and statistical analysis methods such as ecological factors, clustering, correlation, mediation, and superposition analysis, a framework was constructed to evaluate the impact of basic public service facility configuration on social–spatial differentiation and take the Zhaomushan area in Chongqing, China, as a typical case for verification. The study found that registered residence, income, employment location, and residential density are still the main factors of social–spatial differentiation in the study area. The main factors contributing to the differentiation of basic public service facilities are elderly care and housing security, public transportation and green space access, education and employment security, and small-scale medical and health facilities in the study area. In the eight principal factor pairs after the superposition of two differentiation spaces, six pairs showed weakened spatial differentiation, while two pairs showed intensified spatial differentiation. This indicates that the allocation of basic public service facilities will simultaneously inhibit and exacerbate social–spatial differentiation, but the inhibitory effect is significantly stronger than the exacerbating effect. Among them, public transportation and green parks are the main types of facilities that mainly exacerbate social–spatial differentiation. This dual effect is specifically reflected in the change in the spatial adaptation position of social space and basic public services, the weakening of the original social space differentiation boundary and the emergence of new differentiation boundaries simultaneously, and the multicenter composite form of social space. In the future, quantitative evaluation based on research frameworks can provide scientific basis for constructing spatial adaptability strategies for the supply of basic public service facilities and social production and life, such as adjusting the distribution, scale, and spatiotemporal relationship between basic public service facilities and residential communities in a reasonable manner. This is crucial for promoting social integration.