Regional differentiation of sports social organisations development in China: An arcgis spatio-temporal agglomeration characteristics and evolutionary analysis

Abstract This paper analyses the spatio-temporal agglomeration characteristics and evolutionary situations of sport social organizations(SSOs). In this way, it reveals the resources of the social organization dimension that different regions in China have at their disposal for the development of mass sports activities. By comparing the distribution of SSOs across China in different periods, we found that during the period from 2013 to 2023, the number and growth trend of SSOs in areas with higher economic level (mainly referring to Beijing, Jiangsu-Shanghai area and Guangdong Province) are significantly ahead compared to those in areas with low economic level (mostly in the western part of China), and the gap tends to widen further. In most of the central China areas, the number of SSOs has consistently lagged behind at a steady ratio than the highest areas, and this has been accompanied by gradual narrowing of its own internal differences. These suggest that the number of SSOs in the central China areas maintains a high growth rate and that the local differences in the number of organizations are decreasing. In this paper, the use of Arcgis methodology and the data from Qichacha platform can make up for the shortcomings of official statistics and further reveal the development of grassroots sports organizations in different regions.