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Analysis on the synchronized development between urbanization process and eco-efficiency through the sustainability lens

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Abstract

Urbanization and eco-efficiency are two interactive systems, contributing to sustainable urban development jointly. However, the synchronized development between them has not received sufficient attention. In light of this gap, this paper conducts an analysis on seeking the synchronized development between sustainable urbanization and eco-efficiency in the context of China. The aim of this study is to uncover the spatial and temporal performance of the synchronized relationship between urbanization process (UP) and eco-efficiency (EE) in a sample of 255 Chinese cities. To this end, entropy method, super efficiency SBM and coupling coordination degree model are employed to conduct the research analysis, covering the period of 2005 to 2019. The findings of this study reveal that (1) there is about 97% of the surveyed cities that exhibit a moderate level of coupling coordination between urbanization process and eco-efficiency (CC-UE). (2) Spatial disparities in the performance of CC-UE are evident, with cities in South and Southeast China demonstrating better CC-UE performance than their counterparts. However, this disparity has been gradually diminishing in recent years. (3) Local perspective presented an evident spatial autocorrelation within the 255 cities analyzed. These research findings provide valuable insights not only for the policy-makers and practitioners to adopt measures for achieving a synchronized development between urbanization process and eco-efficiency in the Chinese context, but also for further studies on sustainable development in the international context.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in its supplementary information files.

Abbreviations

UP:

Urbanization process

EE:

Eco-efficiency

Super-efficiency SBM:

Super-efficiency slacks-based measure

CC-UE:

Level of coupling coordination between urbanization process and eco-efficiency

GDP:

Gross domestic product

DEA:

Data envelopment analysis

CCD:

Coupling-coordination degree

CCDM:

Coupling-coordination degree model

DMU:

Decision-making unit

NC:

North China

EC:

East China

SC:

South China

CC:

Central China

NEC:

Northeast China

NWC:

Northwest China

SWC:

Southwest China

HC:

High coupling

MC:

Moderate coupling

LC:

Low coupling

AU:

Almost uncoupling

CU:

Completely uncoupling

H–H clusters:

High-high clusters

H–L outliers:

High-low outliers

L–H outliers:

Low-high outliers

L-L clusters:

Low-low clusters

\({P}_{ij}\) :

The gravity of jth indicator

\({e}_{j}\) :

The entropy of jth indicator

\({w}_{j}\) :

The weight of jth indicator

s 1 :

Expected output

s 2 :

Unexpected output

x i :

Input vector

y e :

Expected output vector

y ue :

Unexpected output vector

ρ*:

The efficiency of DMUs

\(C\) :

The coupling degree between UP and EE

\(T\) :

The comprehensive coordination Index

\({U}_{1}\), \({U}_{2}\) :

Calculation resultes of UP system and EE system respectively

\(\alpha\) , \(\beta\) :

The weights of these UP system and EE system respectively

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Funding

This research work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. “2021CDJSKZD03” and “2020CDJSK03PT18”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Jiayu Li, Xiaoxuan Wei & Liyin Shen

  2. Center for Yellow River Ecosystem Products, Shandong University, Qingdao, China

    Xiaoxuan Wei

  3. School of Spatial Planning, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China

    Liyin Shen

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  1. Jiayu Li
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  2. Xiaoxuan Wei
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jiayu Li. Data collection and analysis were performed by Xiaoxuan Wei. Writing-review was conducted by Liyin Shen and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaoxuan Wei.

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Li, J., Wei, X. & Shen, L. Analysis on the synchronized development between urbanization process and eco-efficiency through the sustainability lens. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 80828–80843 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27863-9

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