Evaluation of urban sustainability based on GO-SRA: Case study of Ha-Chang and Mid-southern Liaoning urban agglomerations in northeastern China

Abstract

With economic development and environmental degradation, more scholars have realized the importance of urban sustainability. Government of Northeastern China institutes policies to promote local sustainability, in which urban agglomerations are the core of regional development. This paper measured the sustainability of 20 cities in Ha-Chang Urban Agglomeration (HCUA) and Mid-southern Liaoning Urban Agglomeration (MSLUA) through 18 indicators selected from three dimensions of economy, society and environment. A growth-oriented sequential relationship analysis (GO-SRA) method was proposed to calculate indicator weights, which considers the growth rate and annual growth trend of indicators. In addition, the sustainability of the 20 cities was analyzed in detail with the Coupling Coordination Degree Model, Geographic Information System and Obstacle Degree Model. Results showed that these cities had good development trends, but their sustainability was not satisfactory. Although the level of coupling coordination among the three dimensions was on the rise, the improvement was not ideal. Environmental dimension had obvious advantages, but it lacked development momentum. Furthermore, we found that per capita actual utilization of foreign capital was the main obstacle factor to development. Finally, we proposed corresponding suggestions for sustainable development of these cities according to current situation.