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Urban agglomerations are spatial entities that promote the development of ‘new urbanization’ processes within China. In this context, the concept of ‘multiscale urban agglomeration spaces’ encompasses three linked levels: macroscale urban agglomerations, mesoscale cities, and microscale urban centers. Applying a series of multidisciplinary integrated research methods drawn from geography, urban planning, and architecture, this paper reveals two intensive utilization laws that can be generalized to apply to multiscale urban agglomeration spaces, top-to-bottom ‘positive transmission’ linkage and inside-to-outside ‘negative transmission’ movement. This paper also proposes optimization transmission theory and policy decision technical pathways that can be applied to these three urban agglomeration spatial scales. Specific technical pathways of transmission include intensive expansion and simulated decision-making in macroscale urban agglomerations, ecology, production, and living space intensive layout and dynamic decision-making in mesoscale cities, and four cores (i.e., ‘single, ring, axis, and pole core’) progressive linkage and intensive optimization decision-making in microscale urban centers. The theory and technical pathways proposed in this paper solve the technical problem of optimization and provide intensive methods that can be applied not only at the individual level but also at multiple scales in urban agglomeration spaces. This study also advances a series of comprehensive technical solutions that can be applied to both compact and smart growth cities as well as to urban agglomerations. Solid theoretical support is provided for the optimization of Chinese land development, urbanization, agricultural development, and ecological security.

This paper brings forward the concept of stability of the spatial structure of urban agglomeration (UA) based on Central Place Theory by introducing centrality index and fractal theory. Before assessment, K=4 is selected as parameter to calculate centrality index and fractal dimension (K represents the quantitive relationship between city and the counties in Central Place Theory), and then found the number of nodes, the type of spatial structure, the spatial allocation of nodes with different hierarchy affecting the stability of spatial structure. According to spatial contact direction and the level of stability, UAs in China are classified into five types. Finally, it is posed as a further question that how to use hierarchical relation K=6 and K=7 in central place system to coordinate with the assessment of stability of spatial structure is brought forward.