Localizing Indicators of SDG11 for an Integrated Assessment of Urban Sustainability—A Case Study of Hainan Province

Chi Zhang,Jialong Sun,Qiang Xing,Hao Yu,Tianyu Xia,Zhongchang Sun

doi:10.3390/su131911092

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has brought many problems, including housing shortages, traffic congestion, air pollution, and lack of public space. To solve these problems, the United Nations proposed “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals covering three dimensions: economy, society, and environment. Among them, Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11), “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, can be measured at the city level. So far SDG11 still lacks three-quarters of the data required to accurately assess progress towards the goal. In this paper, we localized the indicators of SDG11 and collected Earth observation data, statistical data, and monitoring data at the city and county levels to build a better urban sustainable development assessment framework. Overall, we found that Haikou and Sanya were close to achieving sustainable development goals, while other cities were still some distance away. In Hainan Province, there was a spatial distribution pattern of high development levels in the north and south, but low levels in the middle and west. Through the Moran’s I Index of Hainan Province, we found that the sustainable development of Hainan Province did not yet form part of integrated development planning. The sustainable development assessment framework and localization methods proposed in this paper at the city and county levels provide references for the sustainable development of Hainan. At the same time, it also provides a reference for the evaluation of county-level sustainable development goals in cities in China and even the world.

Highlights

Over the past few decades, the world has been in the process of rapid urbanization.In 1950, only 30% of the world’s population lived in cities
From the city-level perspective, the change trends of Hainan’s main indicators are mainly as follows (Figure 3). (1) Haikou and Sanya are in the middle stage of sustainable development
This is possibly due to the fact that the cities in Hainan basically focus on a single tourism economy structure originating from their own environment and cultural characteristics, and lack of high-tech industries [44]

Summary

Introduction

Over the past few decades, the world has been in the process of rapid urbanization. In 1950, only 30% of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2018, this proportion had increased to 55% and is expected to increase to 68% by 2050 [1]. Urban areas account for less than 1% of the global land cover, they contribute 75% of global GDP, consume 60–80% of energy, and produce 75% of the global waste [2]. Rapid urbanization has brought many challenges, including insufficient housing, traffic congestion, environmental pollution, and insufficient public space. Monitor, and report on the sustainable development of cities, the United Nations proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covering the three dimensions of economy, society, and environment.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion