Can the Spatial Function Division of Urbanization Promote Regional Coordinated Development? Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

A comparative analysis of the levels and drivers of regional coordinated development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and Yellow River Basin, China

Positioned in the era of the transformation of China's primary social contradictions, this study delves into the new connotations of regional coordinated development(RCD) from the perspective of "factors" coordination within the region and constructs an RCD evaluation system from five subsystems of regional economic coordination(REC), urban-rural coordination(URC), economic and social coordination(EASC), resource and environmental coordination(RAEC), and material and spiritual civilization coordination(MASCC). Then, the Entropy weight-TOPSIS model is used to evaluate the RCD levels of the 19 provinces located in the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB) and Yellow River Basin(YRB) from 2010 to 2019, and the two-way fixed-effects model is employed to illustrate the driving mechanisms of various influencing factors on the RCD in YRB and YREB. The results show that:(1)the RCD levels of YRB and YREB show a fluctuating upward trend during 2010 and 2019, however, both regions have low RCD levels, as seen by the mean RCD indices for YREB and YRB, which are only 0.433 and 0.309, respectively. (2) The RCD level of YREB is higher than that of YEB. In 2019, the "coordinated" provinces in YRB and YREB account for 37.50% and 81.82% of the total number of provinces in the basins, respectively, the "uncoordinated" and "low coordinated" provinces all located in YRB. (3) The RCD of YRB and YREB is significantly improved by REC, URC and RAEC, but not significantly positively by MASCC or EASC, and insufficient development of MASCC is the main contradiction limiting the increase in the RCD level of YRB, while the low level of EASC has become the main obstacle limiting the RCD of YREB. (4)Finally, based on the varying impact degrees and directions of different influencing factors on the RCD in YRB and YREB, the recommendations to promote RCD are proposed.

Have regional coordinated development policies promoted urban carbon emission efficiency?-the evidence from the urban agglomerations in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River

Improving carbon emission efficiency is the most direct and effective way to reduce pollution. Leading the construction of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society is an important goal of the coordinated development of urban agglomerations in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. However, there is no systematic evidence to prove whether this policy can improve carbon emission efficiency. Taking 31 cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as the research area, we aimed to use the index decomposition method, the super-efficiency slack-based model, and the difference-in-difference model to examine the effect of policies on improving carbon efficiency. The results show that (1) regional coordinated development policies have a significant effect on improving the carbon emission efficiency of urban agglomerations, and there is an obvious imbalance in carbon emission efficiency among cities. (2) The impact of regional coordinated development policies on urban carbon emission efficiency is heterogeneous. We have grouped 31 cities according to their centrality, industrial transfer characteristics, and urban cluster characteristics. Policies have heterogeneous effects on cities with different functions and positioning. (3) Policy effects have opposite effects on urban carbon emission efficiency through urbanization rate and population density, while the effect of urban greening rate is not significant. The research results can provide a reference for China's urban agglomeration to achieve sustainable development and promote the construction of low-carbon cities.

The Temporal Evolution of Physical Water Consumption and Virtual Water Flow in Beijing, China

With the rapid development of the socio-economic system and the close connection of inter-regional trade, the physical water consumption in production and the virtual water flow associated with inter-regional trade are both have a significant impact on local water systems, especially in megacities. Beijing is the political, economic and cultural center of China, which is a megacity that has severe water scarcity. To evaluate the status-quo of local water consumption and propose the countermeasures, this study quantitatively analyzed the evolution trend of physical water consumption and the virtual water flow in Beijing. The results show that the total physical water consumption in Beijing decreased from 2.43 billion m3 (2002) to 1.98 billion m3 (2017), while the net virtual water input increased from 1.76 billion m3 (2002) to 3.09 billion m3 (2017), which was mainly embedded in agricultural and industrial products. This study also reveals the equal importance of physical water and virtual water in ensuring the regional water security and sustainable economic development. In view of poor water resource endowment, Beijing should conduct the coupled management of physical water and virtual water to alleviate the local water shortage, i.e., to receive more virtual water embedded in agricultural and industrial products, and allocate the limited local water resources to domestic use and high-benefit sectors.