A Four-Dimensional Evaluation of the Urban Comprehensive Carrying Capacity of the Yangtze River Delta, China

Qinglong Shao,Jiaying Li,Lingling Zhao

doi:10.3390/su11236816

Abstract

The evaluation of urban comprehensive carrying capacity (UCC) is of great importance in maintaining urban socio-economic sustainable development. However, UCC is still in its nascent period with limited applications and a lack of credible assessment methods. To enrich this field, this study constructed an objective scientific index to evaluate the UCC of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from a four-dimensional perspective, examining economy, society, environmental, and transportation subsystems. The improved entropy method based on 18 weighted indicators was used to measure the UCC of the 26 cities of the YRD for the period 1990–2018. Results indicate that nine cities were overloaded in 2018, meaning comprehensive carrying capacity demand exceeds supply, and the other seventeen were in loadable condition, meaning such demand did not exceed supply; the social and transportation subsystems are the most important because their index weights and UCC levels are higher than the other two subsystems; the overall UCC for all cities in the YRD is at a medium level, and there are large disparities between the various cities. The empirical results imply that the government should take effective measures to improve UCC in these cities, combining cities’ specific advantages to enhance the efficiency of resource allocation and utilization and improve carrying capacities, and changing the mode of economic development. Based on UCC levels, it is also important to improve environmental conditions and coordination and integration in the development of urbanization. Policy implications on improving UCC have been highlighted in the final section.

Highlights

Cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region are distinguished by their economic strength and competitive advantages [1], forming one of the largest urban agglomerations and one of the most important economic complexes in China [2,3]
The sustainable development of an urban agglomeration cannot be measured by the level of urbanization alone [8]; the balance between economic development and environmental quality should be taken into consideration
The objective of this paper is to provide insights into a scientific evaluation of comprehensive urban comprehensive carrying capacity (UCC) with the up-to-date data and method, which helps to fill gaps in understanding of how to balance the demand and supply in the process of urbanization

Summary

Introduction

Cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region are distinguished by their economic strength and competitive advantages [1], forming one of the largest urban agglomerations and one of the most important economic complexes in China [2,3]. The sustainable development of an urban agglomeration cannot be measured by the level of urbanization alone [8]; the balance between economic development and environmental quality should be taken into consideration. Excessive emphasis on the development of urbanization and neglect of ecological environmental protection can lead to severe results that harm the sustainability of urban agglomerations. In this light, the motivation for this research is to study cities’ adaptation in terms of urban comprehensive carrying capacity (UCC) and to scientifically evaluate levels of UCC for specific regions

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion