Functional preference and spatial response of urban renewal entities in Beijing

In the process of rapid urban renewal, quantitative research on functional preferences and spatial layout norms of multi-type urban renewal entities is crucial for optimizing spatial governance and promoting orderly control of urban renewal. We investigate urban renewal in Beijing from 2006 to 2021 using directional distribution, spatial autocorrelation, and hotspot analysis. The findings are as follows: (1) The functional preference of each type of entity differs. While most private companies and other profit-oriented entities concentrate on producer services and residential functions, policy-oriented entities dominate the urban regeneration of public service activities. (2) Every entity shows a significant agglomeration characteristic, yet exhibits a differentiated spatial response pattern. Those entities with stronger leasing ability prefer the central zone while others are the opposite. (3) Diverse types of entities have differentiated spatiotemporal evolutions. The spatial directional divergence of state-owned enterprises and scientific research institutes has increased between 2006 and 2021. This is mainly influenced by the policy of relieving Beijing of nonessential functions. However, the rest entities show a balanced spatial development trend with the difference in each direction becoming smaller. Furthermore, the center of gravity of profit-oriented entities has shifted from the suburbs to the central zone due to a combination of administrative and market forces, whereas the center of gravity of policy-oriented entities tends to move outward from the central zone.