Quality Assessment and Spatial Distribution of Human Settlements in Western China: The Case of 12 Provinces, Municipalities and Autonomous Regions

To improve the unbalanced development in the western region, it is necessary to explore the construction level of the human settlement.Regarding social well-being, this paper uses data spanning the period from 2015 to 2020 and develops a system of indicators to assess human settlements in western China along five dimensions: Health and Safety, Social Development, Economic Conditions, Environmental Health, and Working Conditions.The study concludes that, firstly, Yunnan possesses the highest human settlement quality index with a relative proximity of 0.478, while Qinghai has the lowest, with a human settlement quality index of 0.209.Secondly, concerning temporal dimensions, the spatial distribution pattern of human settlement quality in western China generally exhibits a southeast high and northwest low pattern.In addition, coordinated, stable, and sustainable development is crucial to maintaining the advantage of human settlement quality.Thirdly, there is not necessarily a positive correlation between economic development and human settlement quality.Therefore, in terms of distribution types, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia belong to the "high human settlement quality-high economic level" type, whereas Shaanxi, Chongqing, Xinjiang, and Ningxia belong to the "low human settlement quality-high economic level" type.Yunnan, Gansu, and Guangxi are in the "high human settlement quality-low economic level" category, while Guizhou, Tibet, and Qinghai belong to the "low human settlement quality-low economic level" category.