Spatiotemporal coupling of multidimensional urbanization and resource–environment performance in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration of China

Abstract

Realizing the coordinated development of urbanization and resource–environment performance is a crucial way to ensure regional high-quality development.By clarifying the interaction between multidimensional urbanization (MUR) and resource–environment performance (REP), this study used multiple approaches—the coupling degree model, center of gravity shift analysis, scissors difference analysis, and the Tobit model—to discuss their coupling coordination degree, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, and core driving factors in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) from 2008 to 2018. Results show that (1) the multidimensional urbanization was high in the east and low in the west, while the resource–environment performance showed a trend in which the high-level area is decreasing and the low-level area is moving to the east. (2) In terms of the temporal sequence evolution, the multidimensional urbanization lagging cities in the study area dominated, but the number of resource–environment performance lagging cities represented by Shanghai, gradually expanded. (3) The range of the center of gravity in the multidimensional urbanization and resource–environment performance coupling degree in terms of longitude and latitude was 119.675° E−119.708° E and 30.983° N-31.008° N, respectively. Generally, the center of gravity shifts to the northwest, but the total migration distance was only 5.489 km. (4) The obstacles restricting improvement of the multidimensional urbanization and resource–environment performance coupling coordination degree mainly come from the population factor, while technological, ecological, spatial, and economic factors all play positive roles. Among them, the technical factor has the greatest impact, where the coupling coordination degree increases by 0.5198% for every 1% increase.