Evaluating the Coordinated Development between Urban Greening and Economic Growth in Chinese Cities during 2005 to 2019

Abstract

Balancing economic growth with environmental protection is vital for the sustainable development of cities and regions. However, urban greening has rarely been considered in extensive studies. This study incorporates urban greening into a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, in order to evaluate its coordination with economic performance. A total of 286 cities in China between 2005 and 2019 were selected as specific study subjects. Meanwhile, clustering method was used to classify different clusters based on CCD values, the Gini coefficient analysis was applied to discover the CCD values inequality characteristics and the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) method was employed to study the CCD values spatial aggregation features. The results indicate that the CCD values presented significant spatial heterogeneity. Spatially, the CCD values were divided into eight clusters, with those in the eastern region generally being higher than in the central and western regions. Temporally, the CCD in all cities showed an increasing trend, but more than 60% of cities were still in the uncoordinated or low-level coordination stage. In addition, inequality and spatial aggregation characteristics were observed in CCD values, both of which presented decreasing trends. Greening has a stronger influence on the linked and coordinated growth of the two systems; therefore, we propose policy recommendations for pursuing the development of environmentally friendly cities from different aspects. In summary, this research allows for a better understanding of economic and environmental relationships, thus contributing to the objective of creating sustainable cities and communities.

Examining the Spatial Mode, Supply–Demand Relationship, and Driving Mechanism of Urban Park Green Space: A Case Study from China

“…It is directly affected by local government finances and in turn directly provides recreational space for residents. In fact, only by matching with economic development and population distribution can UPGS meet residents' consumption demand without bringing too much financial burden [38][39][40]. Therefore, UPGS area is taken as the basic element, urban GDP is taken as the supply element, and urban population is taken as the demand element (Table 1).…”