Can urban-rural public services drive the realization of sustainable development goals? An empirical study of a typical rural‒urban integration pilot area in China

As a crucial part of the sustainable development of areas with low socioeconomic development, public services can enhance the well-being of residents and advance the realization of sustainable development goals (SDGs). In China, the distribution of public services across urban and rural spaces varies markedly in ways that have not yet been effectively addressed, with implications for SDG achievement. To clarify the impact of such differences, we analyze the spatial and temporal evolution and differential characteristics of urban–rural public services and SDGs on the basis of the urban–rural identification space and further explore the driving impact of urban–rural public services on SDG achievement. We find that education culture, health care, and social security public services play important roles in the realization of the SDGs. According to the impact of different urban‒rural spaces on the SDGs, we identify the urban core and rural areas to be the key urban‒rural driving spaces. Our findings highlight the need for governments to adopt a differentiated approach in the formulation of public service planning policies. These results suggest that the wide impacts of improved urban–rural public services may strategically support the achievement of the SDGs within a region and beyond.