Assessment on the coordinated development oriented to Green City in China

Abstract

Under the background of addressing global climate change, the green-oriented urban development has become one of the top political agendas. The processes of green-oriented urban development are dynamic and complex systems influenced by socioeconomic and eco-environmental elements. The interactions between these elements cannot be well considered and treated in previous assessment researches. This study constructs the driving force-pressure-status-impact-response (DPSIR) framework, Shannon’s entropy and coordinated development index model to reflect the interactive effects and coordinated relationship. The model is applied to measure the green coordinated development performance in four municipalities directly under the central government and 15 sub-provincial cities from 2007 to 2016. Results show that the green coordination has been the priority for the development of most cities. The level of coordinated development has increased during the decade, but the overall level is not high. The cities in the southern coast is greener than the northern regions. The driving force has the most significant impact on green-oriented urban development. The pressure and response subsystems have made great progress with the implementation of a series of green-oriented strategies during the decade. The upgrading of socioeconomic driving force, the amending of environmental impacts and the improvement of status should be the focuses for the green-oriented urban development in China.