Understanding the link between industrial stimulation effect and environmental impact of sponge city: With a focus on the construction phase

Abstract

‘Sponge City’ has been widely accepted as a green transformation direction of China's urbanization. Such a mid-to long-term construction strategy will bring about prominent economic stimulation effects and complicated environmental impacts, whereas the research is far from sufficiency. This study developed a methodology based on the Hybrid Life Cycle Assessment to quantify the impact of the entire supply chains and relevant pollution processes, by disaggregating nine Sponge City construction sub-sectors from the construction sector in Input-Output table and parameterizing a specific environmental matrix focusing on water and air pollutants and CO2 emission. Taken the Sponge City pilot area of Pingxiang City as a case, the evaluation of direct and overall industrial stimulation effects and embodied pollutant discharges, as well as analysis of the implicit connections, were carried out. It is found that the total inputs stimulated by Sponge City construction could reach 4.4 times of the direct input, while pollution involved by the supply chains amounts to 3%∼6% of total emission of the pilot city. The primary industry providing direct input and the service industries as indirect supporters became the main sources of water pollution. Although the inputs from the secondary industry brought about a more remarkable industrial stimulation effect, direct and indirect inputs from non-metallic mineral products, indirect inputs from metal products and the electricity industry led to noteworthy air pollution problems and global warming potential. The outcomes help promote more holistic understanding of the Sponge City construction as an emerging industry and facilitate comprehensive decisions for the sake of sustainable urban development.