Construction land development intensity is a spatial mapping of modern urbanization level, which integrally reflects urban development strategy, land use efficiency, and population carrying intensity. This article analyzed the spatial and temporal evolution of construction land development intensity using panel data of 31 provincial administrative divisions in China from 2002 to 2020, with the application of the Theil index and spatial autocorrelation. To further investigate the relationship between human activities and land development, the article used geographic detectors to analyze the influencing mechanisms. The results showed that: (1) The average intensity of construction land development of Chinese provinces from 2002 to 2020 showed a trend of "steady increase, a short decline, and then a steady increase," and there were significant differences in the characteristics of construction land development intensity changes in different regions. (2) The regional differences in construction land development intensity between provinces showed a decreasing trend. There were uneven differences among regions, with more minor regional differences in Central, South, and North China but more significant differences in Northwest, East, Southwest, and Northeast China. (3) The spatial agglomeration of construction land development intensity in the region increased initially and then decreased during the study period. The overall pattern was "small agglomeration and large dispersion." (4) Economic development factors such as GDP per land, industrial structure, and fixed asset investment completion significantly affect land development intensity. The interaction between the factors was apparent, and the effect of “1 + 1 > 2” was produced. Based on the study's results, it is suggested that scientific regional development planning, guiding inter-provincial factor flow, and rational control of land development efforts are the key to promoting sustainable regional development.

This study calculates the dynamic concentration index, explores the evolution of the relationship between the Dongxing port and city, and predicts its future. The results indicate that the relationship between the port and city has three development stages, namely the low-level balanced development stage (2001–2008), the port development stage (2009–2014), and the urban development stage (2015–2019). Based on the country (China and Vietnam), province (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), district (Fangchenggang City), county (Dongxing City), and individual (resident) levels, a multi-scale index system of influencing factors was developed. The impulse response function model analyzed the influential factors in the relationship between port and city development. The influence is as follows: country (China) > country (Vietnam) > county > individual > city > province. Finally, the relationship between port and city development was predicted using an auto-regression differential moving average model. It is expected that Dongxing City will gradually transition from a port- and city-dominated stage to a new stage of coordinated development. Thus, by improving the proportion of the secondary and tertiary industries, managing the population density, introducing foreign capital, enhancing the innovation level, and improving the traffic facilities, high-quality development in Dongxing port–city can be achieved.