An Empirical Study of the Assessment of Green Development in Beijing, China: Considering Resource Depletion, Environmental Damage and Ecological Benefits Simultaneously

Abstract

Urban green development (UGD) is a highly topical issue. To assess the degree of UGD, in this paper, we use the driving forces, pressures, states, impacts, and responses (DPSIR) model to evaluate UGD with a collection of 40 indicators based on the three aspects of resource depletion, environmental damage and ecological benefits. The established system of indicators is then applied to evaluate the UGD in Beijing from 2000 to 2014 as a case study. The results demonstrate that it is essential to analyze the trend in the change in resource depletion, which had a high weight of 0.556 because environmental damage and ecological benefits partly changed in response to this driving force and pressure. However, the UGD index value of environmental damage (positive index) has decreased since 2010. By ranking the degree of correlation among indicators, it can be seen that UGD is highly related to the lifestyle, status quo, technology and education, industrialization, environmental quality, and ecological environment of a city. The health situation in Beijing has improved in the past 15 years; it was determined to be very unhealthy (75% at the very unhealthy level (V) and 9% at the very healthy level (I)) in 2000 but very healthy (8% at the very unhealthy level (V) and 60% at the very healthy level (I)) in 2014. However, there are internal problems due to imbalanced development in Beijing related to aspects such as the ecological environment, population and economy, social life, investment management, energy consumption and urban infrastructure. And government should adjust the energy structure, formulate detailed plans and policies on urban environment, and increase investment in education and business development.

Key Indicators and Social Acceptance for Bioenergy Production Potential as Part of the Green Economy Transition Process in Local Areas of Lapland

“…Wang et al [ 52 ] utilize a driving force pressure–state–impact–response conceptual model (DPSIR) for a green economy development measurement index system. Even though the DPSIR model is widely acknowledged and utilized, e.g., by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) and Wu et al [ 53 ], there are challenges with PSR models and their implementation in capturing economic and social dimensions [ 54 ]. Vukovic et al [ 55 ] present regional system-level static and dynamic criteria and indicators for a Russian context.…”

Sustainable Development in Resisting Ecological Threats

“…In our research, ECC is composed of Ecological resilience represented by the environment carrying capacity, while Ecological pressures/stress represented by Ecological threats (External factors) such as pollution, climate change, Geoengineering, new infectious and non-communicable disease such as Pandemic COVID-19 (Wu et al, 2018).…”

Measurement of Regional Green Economy Sustainable Development Ability Based on Entropy Weight-Topsis-Coupling Coordination Degree—A Case Study in Shandong Province, China

“…In order to maintain the sustainable development of society, humans will take measures to respond to these changes. This model has been used to analyze regional green economy development [22], regional adaptations to climate change [23], economic development and environmental warnings [24], and economic development and carbon emissions [25], and has achieved good results.…”

“…In order to maintain the sustainable development of society, humans will take measures to respond to these changes. This model has been used to analyze regional green economy development [22], regional adaptations to climate change [23], economic development and environmental warnings [24], and economic development and carbon emissions [25], and has achieved good results. Natural resources, population, science and technology, culture, and education determine the level of regional economic development from the aspects of regional resource richness, production and consumption capacity, productivity development level, and human resource quality.…”