Potential Land-Use Conflicts in the Urban Center of Chongqing Based on the “production–living–ecological Space” Perspective

With the rapid population growth and accelerating urbanization process, people compete for the scarce land resources to pursue their incompatible interests. Thus, a series of land-use conflicts (LUCs) problems are caused. Scientifically identifying the intensity of LUCs is the basis for coordinating the man-land relations. We selected the urban center of Chongqing (UCC) as the study area and chose the landscape ecological risk assessment to estimate the level of LUCs by using the hot-spot analysis and neighborhood analysis to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and potential risk of LUCs in the UCC over the past 20 years. The results show that the conversion between the living–production space (LPS) and other spaces was most frequent. The assessment model based on the theoretical framework of landscape ecological risk assessment could effectively measure LUCs. The average conflict level of UCC has increased from 0.62 to 0.69. The area of the out-of-control zone has increased, forming hot spots in the concentrated areas of social and economic activities. In contrast, the area of the controllable zone has decreased, forming cold spots in the high-altitude forest areas. The entire area faces the potential risk of the LUCs, but not seriously. The area of the high and extreme potential conflict zones has increased and is concentrated in the northern region of the study area. Targeted management strategies and policy recommendations for regional development should be adopted for different LUCs zones in UCC at international and national levels. Our research can be extended to other areas under rapid urbanization to assess and better manage their land resources for sustainable use, and further to promote the harmonious development of regional man-land relations.