On the Coupling and Coordination Development between Environment and Economy: A Case Study in the Yangtze River Delta of China

Coupling coordination and spatio-temporal pattern evolution between ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin is one of the most important economic development belt and ecological management regions in China, it is of vital importance to study the coupling coordination between ecological protection and high-quality development. However, the systematic research from the perspective of ecological-production-living is still lacking. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation index system including 29 indicators is constructed from ecological, production and living dimension. To evaluate the high-quality development level and coupling coordination degree of 61 cities in the Yellow River Basin, a comprehensive measurement model and coupling coordination model are established using the entropy weight TOPSIS method. With the help of ArcGIS, the spatial characteristics of high-quality development level and coupling coordination are visually illustrated. The results showed that: (1) From 2011 to 2020, the high-quality development of 61cities in the Yellow River Basin showed an increasing trend, and the level of upper and lower reaches was higher than that of the middle reaches. (2) According to the high-quality development level of 61 cities, it was divided into three types: sustainable growth type with 44 cities, the fierce fluctuation type with 11 cities and the other 6 cities was stable type. (3) The coupling coordination degree of ecology, production and living system also showed an increasing trend, while the degree was not high. (4)About the year-on-year growth rate of coupling coordination degree for 61 cities in 2020 compared with 2011, there are 19 cities more than 30 %, and 23 cities between 20% and 30 %, 11cities was 10%-20 %, the other 8 cities was less than 10 %. (5) There is a significant spatial difference in the level of high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin, while coupling coordination degree does not significant in spatial layout. Therefore, the development of different regions should adjust measures to local conditions, give full play to their advantages, and make up for their shortcomings to promote the overall development of the city.

Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of ecosystem health and the synergetic impact of its driving factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China

In recent years, . the rapid development of the Yangtze River Delta in China has led to increasingly serious regional eco-environmental problems. Therefore, it is of great significance for the construction of ecological civilization to study the ecosystem health in the Yangtze River Delta. In this paper, the assessment framework of "Vigor-Organization-Resilience" was used to assess the ecosystem health index (EHI) of the Yangtze River Delta from 2000 to 2020, and then the spatial autocorrelation method was used to analyze the agglomeration of EHI in 314 counties in this region. Finally, the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model and the SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) model were combined to explore the synergistic impact of EHI driving factors. The results show that (1) from 2000 to 2020, the EHI in the Yangtze River Delta is at the level of ordinary health, and gradually decreased; (2) the EHI has significant spatial positive correlation and aggregation; (3) the driving factors in descending order of importance are urbanization level (UL), precipitation (PRE), PM2.5 (PM), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and temperature (TEMP); and (4) the relationship between UL and EHI is logarithmic; PRE and EHI are quartic polynomial; PM, NDVI, TEMP, and EHI are quadratic polynomial. The results of this paper are of great significance to the management and restoration of the ecosystem in this region.

Spatial-temporal differentiation of coupling coordination degree for green finance and green innovation efficiency: a case study in China

Continued investment in finance and innovation is beneficial to economic development, and the joining of green system can accelerate the process of economic recovery from environmental distress. To better enhance the relationship of green finance and green innovation, it is vital to demonstrate the synergy between the two thoroughly. Thirty provinces in China are selected to examine the coupling coordination relationship between the two, specifically testing the spatial aggregation and evolutionary differences in the coupling coordination by adopting the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, spatial autocorrelation, and kernel density estimation. Conclusions of the paper show that green finance is calculated by the EW-TOPSIS method, and the overall score of provinces is low. Using super-SBM model to evaluate green innovation, the uneven distribution of efficiency is obvious, although it is gradually increasing. The CCD in most provinces is in low-level or basic coordination, with significant regional heterogeneity. The global Moran's index becomes gradually evident with time. The local Moran scatter diagram presents a downward trend from east to west, but with more L-L aggregation provinces emerging in 2020. The center of the national kernel density curve gradually shifts to the right, indicating that the national overall synergy level is improving. Deepening the understanding of the empirical results facilitates the formulation of reasonable policies that fit the four major regions.

Exploring the Coordination and Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of the Tourism-Economy-Environment Development in the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China

The rise of mass tourism has encouraged rapid economic growth; meanwhile, the eco-environmental system has come under increasing pressure. To achieve sustainable development, it is critical to deeply explore the relationship and evolution characteristics between three subsystems: tourism, the economy, and the eco-environment. This study aims to develop a more comprehensive indicator system for evaluating the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the tourism-economy-environment (TEE) system using statistical data from nine cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2019. We investigated the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and driving forces of the TEE system in the PRD using the CCD model and the geo-detector model. The research results show the following: (1) The comprehensive benefits of the TEE system have increased steadily over the past 10 years, whereas the benefits of the eco-environment subsystem have fluctuated and been relatively unstable. (2) Spatially, in terms of tourism development, the eastern regions of the PRD are more developed than the western regions, and the regions with the greatest tourism benefits have gradually shifted to the northeastern regions of the PRD. Economic development presented an imbalanced but relatively stable spatial pattern. Guangzhou and Shenzhen have been the two most economically developed cities over the past 10 years. The eco-environment development has fluctuated over time, revealing a spatial pattern of cities with low environmental benefits in the center and cities with high eco-environmental benefits in the surrounding regions. (3) The PRD's TEE system has become more integrated, moving from moderate disorder to a model of high-quality coordinated development, demonstrating a spatial pattern in which the cities of high development coordination are located near the Pearl River Estuary, and the coordination decreases the further away they are from the estuary. (4) The major driving factors of heterogeneous TEE coordination development include eco-environment protection, opening-up policies, education investment, technological innovation level, and the regional economic development level. The results are expected to effectively promote economic, tourism, and environmental improvement in the PRD, as well as to provide policy recommendations for coordinated TEE development in other similar urban agglomerations.

Measuring the Level of Urban-Rural Integration Development and Analyzing the Spatial Pattern Based on the New Development Concept: Evidence from Cities in the Yellow River Basin

Urban-rural integration development (URID) is the solution to the excessive urban-rural gap, unequal and insufficient development in urban-rural areas, along with the process of dynamic and balanced urban-rural growth. The promotion of high-quality development and sustainable development in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) depends heavily on the scientific development of an evaluation index for urban-rural integration (URI), the quantitative measurement of the level of URI, and the accurate identification of the spatial layout of URI. The URI indicator system is built using the new development philosophy, and 94 cities in the YRB are used as samples. The spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the URID in the YRB were studied from 2010 to 2020 using the entropy value method and coupled coordination model. The study shows that from 2010 to 2020, along the YRB, both urban and rural development (URD) levels generally increased. However, regional differences increased and development levels varied, showing a trend of uneven development between provinces. Overall, the degree of URID was increasing and still low, but there are three main types of urban-rural coupling and coordination (URCC) that are relatively stable: barely coordinated, primary coordination, and on the verge of disorder. Primary coordination replaced barely coordinated as the dominant type over time. Finally, it is suggested that urban and rural regions should not be "managed separately" but rather should be viewed as a cohesive organic whole; to drive urban cluster construction and spur rural development, to further close the urban-rural divide, reliance on the city centre is necessary. Concurrently, this encourages the transfer of farm labour and supports the coordinated growth of urban-rural industries; investment in advantageous industries is strengthened; the construction of URIs should be promoted at a more microscopic city and county level; and strong support is provided to achieve high-quality sustainable development of the YRB. It is important to put into practice the new development philosophy, investigate the fundamental causes of the growing urban-rural divide, change the development strategy, and optimize this new development path.

Coupling Coordination Analysis of Regional IEE System: A Data-Driven Multimodel Decision Approach

Coordinating regional innovation–economy–ecology (IEE) systems is an important prerequisite for overall continuous regional development. To fully understand the coordination relationship among the three, this study builds a data-driven multimodel decision approach to calculate, assess, diagnose, and improve the regional IEE system. First, the assessment indicator system of the regional IEE system is established. Secondly, the range method, entropy weight method, and weighted summation method are employed to calculate the synthetic developmental level. Thirdly, a multimodel decision approach including the coupling degree model, the coordination degree model, and the obstacle degree model is constructed to assess the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the regional IEE system coupling coordination and diagnose the main obstacles hindering its development. Finally, the approach is tested using Anhui Province as a case study. The results show that the coupling coordination degree of the Anhui IEE system presents a stable growth trend, but the coupling degree is always higher than the coordination degree. The main obstacle affecting its development has changed from the original innovation subsystem to the current ecology subsystem. Based on this, some countermeasures are put forward. This study, therefore, offers decision support methods to aid in evaluating and improving the regional IEE system.

Application of Mathematical Model Using Random Forest in Performance Appraisal Management of Cadres in Free Trade Zone

To improve the efficiency of scientific assessment of cadre performance, first, this work analyzes the current situation of cadre performance appraisal in the free trade zone under the background of big data, and introduces the free trade zone and Random Forest (RF) algorithm. Second, based on the cadre evaluation index, this work establishes the cadre performance evaluation system of the free trade zone. Finally, the random forest algorithm model is implemented for the performance evaluation of cadres in the free trade zone. Additionally, the model's performance is verified with the actual data, including the acquisition of the best parameters and the most important indicators of the model and the performance comparison between the RF algorithm and other models. The results show that the performance of cadres in the free trade zone is finally divided into four grades: medium, good, qualified, and excellent. There are obvious grade differences in the performance of cadres in the free trade zone. Partly because some qualified cadres lack a strong sense of competition and professional competence, do not publicize the work of cadres in the free trade zone, and do not communicate with the masses in time. In the data processing, 18 missing experimental data were supplemented, and the best model parameters were obtained as follows: NTree = 200, MTry = 1. The most important indicators of cadre performance evaluation are the construction of a clean and honest government, the ability to act in accordance with the law and the professional ability. The accuracy of the RF algorithm obtained here is 71.4%. The prediction accuracy of the RF algorithm for the overall sample, training sample, and test sample is 94%, 96%, and 86%, respectively, which are higher than those of other common models. A RF algorithm with good classification effect is obtained and this work provides a reference for the scientific management of cadre performance appraisal.

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

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.

Rainstorm Disaster Risk Assessment and Influence Factors Analysis in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Rainstorm disasters have had a serious impact on the sustainable development of society and the economy. However, due to the complexity of rainstorm disasters, it is difficult to measure the importance of each indicator. In this paper, the rainstorm disaster risk assessment framework was systematically proposed based on the disaster system theory and a system of corresponding indicators was established. Furthermore, the genetic algorithm optimized projection pursuit and XGBoost were coupled to assess the rainstorm disaster risk and to measure the relative importance of each indicator. Finally, the Yangtze River Delta was taken as the case study area. The results show that: the rainstorm disaster risk in the eastern and southeast is higher than those in the central and northwest of the Yangtze River Delta; the total precipitation from June to September and the top ten indicators contribute 9.34% and 74.20% to the rainstorm disaster risk assessment results, respectively. The results can provide references for decision makers and are helpful for the formulation of rainstorm adaptation strategies.

Coupling Coordination Degree between the Socioeconomic and Eco-Environmental Benefits of Koktokay Global Geopark in China

The rapid economic growth of geoparks has put pressure on their ecological environments. Therefore, to ensure the sustainable development of geoparks, we must explore the coupling relationship between their socioeconomic benefits (SEBs) and eco-environmental benefits (EEBs). Based on coupling coordination theory and using statistical data from 2005 to 2018, in this study, we aimed to establish an indicator system for evaluating the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the SEBs and EEBs of the Koktokay Global Geopark in China, which is both theoretically and practically relevant for research on the sustainable development of geoparks. As a result, we found the following: First, the comprehensive development level of the SEBs of the Koktokay Global Geopark showed a fluctuating upward trend during the study period. Second, the comprehensive development level of the EEBs of the geopark remained stable but fluctuated slightly: it declined from 2009 to 2012, affected by the deterioration of the eco-environment, and fell to its lowest point in 2012. By strengthening the protection of the eco-environment of geoparks, the EEBs gradually improved and became stable. Finally, we found that the CCD between the SEBs and EEBs of the Koktokay Global Geopark improved from mildly disordered to basically coordinated, indicating that the CCD is developing toward an increasingly higher level. The purpose of this study was to promote the reasonable development of geotourism while focusing on a sound eco-environment and to provide recommendations for the sustainable development of the Koktokay Global Geopark and a reference for the development of other similar geoparks.

The dynamic coupling nexus among inclusive green growth: a case study in Anhui province, China

Inclusive green growth (IGG) offers an effective alternative to pursue sustainable development. The core of the IGG system lies in the coordination of inclusive, green, and growth subsystems. However, there is little quantitative assessment on IGG based on subsystem collaboration. This study proposes a holistic scheme of inclusive-green-growth nexus in Anhui province from 2009 to 2018 by using an integrated approach, namely, the entropy weight approach (EWA), coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), grey prediction model (GPM), and obstacle factor diagnostic model (OFDM). The results show that: (1) The proposed integrated approach could be viable to measure the synergistic interactions among internal IGG subsystems; (2) At the provincial level, a relatively high IGG performance but a low coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the IGG nexus are seen. Although the predicted value of CCD will show an upward trend, it will not be able to cross the start stage. The obstacle factors on the coordinated development of IGG can be divided into two stages: (3) At the prefectural level, the cities in which CCD is rising outnumber those it is falling. However, the CCD is also low, and the gap between cities is getting wider. The obstacles that affect the CCD of cities see a dynamic evolution trend from "inclusive obstacle type" to "inclusive and growth obstacle type" then to "green obstacle type" over the decade.

The Impact of Environmental Regulation and Carbon Emissions on Green Technology Innovation from the Perspective of Spatial Interaction: Empirical Evidence from Urban Agglomeration in China

As an important means of reducing carbon emissions, environmental regulation and green technology innovation have become a top research topic in academia in recent years. Existing studies have investigated the phenomenon of green technology innovation responses to carbon emissions, but there is less existing literature explaining this phenomenon from a spatial perspective and exploring the effect of the joint mechanism of carbon emissions and environmental regulation on green technology innovation. Based on the spatial econometric model, this study used the panel data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2010 to 2019, to measure the impact of environmental regulation and carbon emissions on green technology innovation from the perspective of spatial interaction. The findings are as follows: green technology innovation in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration shows a trend of “high in the east and low in the west” and has spatial autocorrelation; green technology innovation responds positively to changes in environmental regulations and carbon emissions and, by decomposing the spatial effects, it can be observed that there is a spatial spillover effect of environmental regulations and carbon emissions on green technology innovation in the surrounding areas; there is a substitution effect between environmental regulations and carbon emissions. This paper combines the above results and proposes the corresponding policy recommendations.

Understanding the Driving Factors for Urban Human Settlement Vitality at Street Level: A Case Study of Dalian, China

Vitality can effectively test the quality of regional space, put forward the concept of urban human settlement vitality, and explore the development status of urban human settlement vitality space, which is of great significance in promoting the high-quality development of urban human settlements. By constructing an evaluation index system of urban human settlement vitality and comprehensively using projection pursuit models, spatial correlation analysis, and spatial measurement models, the spatial pattern and influencing factors of the vitality of urban human settlements in the four districts of Dalian were studied. The results are as follows: (1) The spatial differentiation characteristics of the vitality of urban human settlements in Dalian are remarkable. Overall, it gradually decreased from the city center to the administrative boundary. (2) The spatial dependence of the vitality of urban human settlements among regions is relatively strong, with a more obvious “Matthew effect”. Among them, urban human settlement vitality hot spots were mainly distributed in the southeast of Dalian, showing a concentrated distribution trend, while the cold spots were distributed in the northern fringe area of Dalian, with spatial homogeneity characteristics. (3) Topography, ecological environment, social economy, commercial development, spatial structure, spatial form, regional scale, etc. have different impacts on the vitality of urban human settlements.

Spatio-temporal Differentiation of Coupling Coordination between Ecological Footprint and Ecosystem Service Functions in the Aksu Region, Xinjiang, China

The ecological footprint and ecosystem service functions in the northwest arid region of China have their unique characteristics and are limited by natural resources. The coordination level between the pressure of human activities on the ecosystem and the ecosystem service capacity can be objectively reflected on by exploring the coupling coordination relationship between these two aspects. This work used the ecological footprint and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs models to quantitatively analyze the spatial and temporal variations of the ecological footprint and ecosystem service functions in the Aksu region in Xinjiang. A coupling coordination degree model and spatial autocorrelation analysis were used to assess the coupling coordination level and spatial agglomeration characteristics of the regional ecological footprint and ecosystem service functions. The results showed that the ecological footprint of the Aksu region has been high in the northeast and low in the southwest, with noticeable spatial heterogeneity, from 2005 to 2018. Carbon (66.17%) and cropland (26.64%) are the main contributing factors to the regional ecological footprint. The biocapacity is dominated by cropland, built-up land, and forest land. The ecological footprint and biocapacity showed an increasing trend, ranging from an ecological surplus to an ecological deficit, with a continued ecological deficit. The level of ecosystem service functions in the Aksu region was low, with significant spatial variability. The high values were concentrated in the northern part of the region and the Tarim and Hotan River Basins. The coupling coordination level of the ecological footprint and ecosystem service functions in the Aksu area was high in the north and low in the south. The aforementioned coupling coordination level was dominated by the spatial pattern of the ecosystem service functions and had noticeable spatial agglomeration characteristics. The coupling coordination degree of the ecological footprint and water supply function showed an upward trend. By contrast, the coupling coordination degree of the ecological footprint with soil conservation and biodiversity maintenance functions showed a downward trend.