Sustainable Urbanization In China Research Articles

Developing an Urban Environment Examination System by Incorporating Construction, Economic, Environmental, Cultural and Development Dimensions

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) suggest sustainable cities and communities (Goal 11) as inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlements. However, existing efforts in urban sustainability have mainly focused on ecological and environmental sustainability, with little attention paid to development, economic, and cultural sustainability. Moreover, a lack of adaptability is a barrier to cross-nation or cross-region implementation of many urban sustainability frameworks due to diverse urban contexts. Furthermore, most studies have developed sustainability frameworks and guides only for one-time assessments and the progress of urban sustainability has been neglected. Improving urban sustainability by considering multiple dimensions and local adaptability through dynamic assessment remains a question. Therefore, this study aims to develop an urban environment examination system (UEES) framework that includes construction, economy and industry, environment and resource, municipal and cultural facilities, and development potential dimensions. The UEES framework consists of 31 indicators associated with critical information (i.e., reported by the statistical yearbooks) from different levels of government in China. An annual update of statistical data ensures the availability of dynamic data, allowing urban managers and decision makers to regularly track urban sustainability. Furthermore, the UEES framework was applied to Qingdao, an urbanizing city in China, to examine the feasibility of the UEES framework. The results indicate that well-urbanized districts could perform better in terms of overall sustainability (e.g., Shinan, Shibei, Laoshan, Chengyang), while districts in suburban and outer suburban areas had lower urban sustainability levels. However, well-urbanized districts could not perform better in all dimensions than suburban and outer suburban districts. Moreover, the transition from less-urbanized to well-urbanized districts could lead to environmental deterioration and economy deceleration (if industries are not well upgraded), but culture and development sustainability can be improved. Overall, this study provides a methodological framework that prioritizes comprehensiveness and local adaptability to perform regular urban environment examinations for urban sustainability in China and provides a reference for urban sustainability improvement by identifying aspects with low scores in Qingdao, China.

From Countryside to City: How Land Property Rights Drive Migration in China

China’s remarkable economic surge since the 1970s hasn’t erased the pronounced economic disparities across different regions, most notably between rural and urban locales. Rooted in the historical division of land rights and usage stipulated by economic reforms, this urban-rural dichotomy has fostered varied development patterns in infrastructure, primary industries, and foreign trade and investment. At the core of this dichotomy is the contrasting landscape of land property rights—state ownership in urban areas with permissible leaseholds versus collective ownership in rural areas with restrictions on transfer or leasing. This paper investigates how these divergent land property rights regimes have engendered significant migration patterns, predominantly marked by rural to urban migration, in pursuit of better economic prospects. Through a meticulous examination of the Household Responsibility System (HRS) and subsequent agrarian reforms, this paper elucidates how partial property rights and restrictions on land transferability under HRS have had substantial repercussions on domestic migration. The analysis delineates how well-defined and secure property rights, as postulated by prominent theories of property rights, are instrumental in incentivizing migration. When operational, market mechanisms of land property rights enable farmers to lease their lands, thereby fostering migration by reducing the opportunity cost of leaving rural lands. Conversely, in the absence of robust property rights, government mechanisms often lead to forced land acquisitions sans adequate compensation, exacerbating rural-urban income disparities and propelling rural-urban migration. The paper expounds on the multifaceted implications of these migration patterns on economic opportunities, poverty alleviation, and urbanization in China. Additionally, it discusses the ripple effects of rural-urban migration on income disparity and the consequent socioeconomic repercussions. The findings shed light on the complex interrelationship between land property rights and migration, providing a nuanced understanding of China’s urbanization trajectory and its attendant rural-urban disparities. This analysis offers valuable insights for policy formulations aimed at addressing the systemic issues arising from the entrenched land property rights framework, and suggests a pathway towards a more balanced regional economic development and sustainable urbanization in China.

Comparative Analysis of Three Governance Modes for Resource-Based Urban Sustainability in China Based on Residents’ Perception: An Empirical Study of Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, China

With the continuous improvement and deepened reform of institutional mechanisms in resource-based cities (RBCs) in China, mining areas have become significant urban brownfields with typical geological hazards that cause serious pollution and other disasters like landslides and subsidence. Therefore, the governance of mining areas becomes a grant challenge for local governments to sustain urban development, and different governance approaches could result in diverse effects on urban sustainability, which have not been studied in current research. In the last twenty years, the governance model of mining areas in RBCs in China can be classified into government governance model (GGM), joint governance model (JGM), and market governance model (MGM). Based on the traditional theories, we innovatively propose a structural measurement and mechanism analysis of mine management efficiency from the perspective of residents’ perceptions by designing structural equation modeling (SEM) for spatial distribution issues. The main objective is to disclose the comparative advantages of three different mine governance models and the prerequisites and considerations for the application of the three governance models in the institutional environment with Chinese characteristics, in addition to the answers of pros and cons of the three types of governance models. We find: (1) the GGM plays a necessary, positive, and effective role in guiding the governance process, and has a high level of resident satisfaction in relation to the public interest of the masses, but a problem is that the favorable groups in the implementation process mainly include the middle and senior officers. (2) The JGM as a transition and supplement to the GGM, and many large serious governance problems that cannot be solved by the GGM are reasonably solved by JGM. Lastly (3), the MGM is very different from the above two governance models, as it just concentrates on the governance of storage, transportation, and public lands within mining areas that are directly relevant to enterprises’ benefits. It indicates the urgent reforming needs of current governance models for efficient governance by integrating government, enterprise, and local communities.

Scenario simulation of CO2 emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles under land use-transport planning: A case of Shenzhen International Low Carbon City

• CO 2 emissions from light-duty passenger vehicles were simulated. • Light-duty passenger vehicle emissions were calculated based on travel demand. • Travel demand were simulated under different planning policy scenarios. • A case study was conducted in a project of international cooperation in China. • This study can offer a framework for evaluating land use-transport planning. Mitigating transport emissions acts a significant role in coping with global climate change and building sustainable cities. Since light-duty passenger vehicles (LDPVs) significantly contribute to transport CO 2 emissions, it is essential to evaluate their emissions for the policy-making of sustainable transport strategies. However, related studies concerning integrated land use-transport planning are limited. Therefore, this study simulated and evaluated CO 2 emissions from LDPVs at the community level using an integrated model, where the mixed-use development (MXD) model was adopted to estimate travel demand based on mixed land-use and transport accessibility. A vehicle emission calculation model was then employed to calculate CO 2 emissions with the estimated travel demand. With this model, the policy impacts on CO 2 emissions from LDPVs were simulated under different planning policy scenarios of land use-transport planning. As a leading development project of international cooperation on sustainable urbanization in China, Shenzhen International Low Carbon City was chosen as the study case. The results indicated the significance of the spatial equalized patterns of both mixed land-use and transport facilities. This new framework can be used to evaluate and promote low-carbon transport policy options for integrated spatial planning in the sustainable urbanization of developing countries.

Analysis of sustainability of Chinese cities based on network big data of city rankings

BackgroundAchieving urban sustainability is the ultimate destination of urban development. City rankings as one of the sustainability assessment tools have received increasing attention from the scientific community. However, few study assesses Chinese cities’ sustainability performance using the big data of existing city rankings. AimThis study aims to assess Chinese cities’ sustainability performances based on the outcomes of the existing internet big data of city rankings. MethodsThe outcomes of city rankings were used as the raw dataset. The “sustainability” of city rankings, city’s appearance frequency, and its ranking place were comprehensively considered during evaluation processes. By considering the above factors, the scores of different cities were calculated in terms of overall sustainability and domain sustainability. Furthermore, the GeoDetector was applied to explore the association between social-economic and overall ranking scores as well as the interrelation among TBL dimensions. ResultsChinese cities’ sustainability performance was extremely uneven in spatial distribution. In terms of overall and domain sustainability, well-performing cities were aggregated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta metropolitan regions. The top ten sustainable cities were Hangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Xiamen. Most cities did not reach good coordination among the TBL dimensions, instead of developing well in one or two aspects. The results also revealed that current city rankings eyeing more economic and social development, while considering less environmental dimension. Moreover, TBL dimensions mutually reinforce each other in sustainable city construction. The environmental pillar played a critical role and interacting with other dimensions significantly enhanced urban sustainability. ConclusionThe outcomes of existing city rankings can be used as a new resource to evaluate cities’ sustainability performance. Current city rankings in China are not systematically considered in terms of TBL dimensions. Cities should enhance the coordination among TBL pillars, and increase the attention on environmental dimension. More empirical studies involving big data of city rankings will contribute to a new perspective to promote the practice of sustainable urbanization in China.

City economic development, housing availability, and migrants' settlement intentions: Evidence from China

AbstractThe slow growth of the permanently settled migrants in host cities poses new challenges for the sustainability of China's future urbanization. Given the growing importance of homeownership, this paper clarifies migrants' settlement intentions into three mutually exclusive patterns, including de facto permanent settlement intention through homeownership, long‐term temporary settlement intention and short‐term temporary settlement intention. Based on matched micro‐ and macro‐level data, this paper examines the influence of city economic development and housing prices on these three patterns. The results suggest that economic development exhibits an attractive effect on migrants' settlement intentions for both earning money and for making a life while housing price weakens rural migrants' de facto permanent settlement intention. We also highlight the effect of the Housing Provident Fund (HPF), the most important housing financial policy in China, on settlement intention, and the results suggest that the HPF serves as an option to help migrants achieve permanent settlement through housing availability. The findings can explain the mixed results of previous research and provide policy references for sustainable urbanization in China.

Promoting sustainability through governance of eco-city indicators: a multi-spatial perspective

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the latest practice on urban sustainability in China, focusing on the breakdown of city-wide overall indicators to a more controllable spatial level—i.e. individual land plots and individual buildings. We argue the importance of decomposing the indicators to smaller scales by understanding underlying principles such as indicators and their integration in the process of urban governance, i.e. enhancing multi-level policy coordination as an important and effective approach for developing eco-cities. This can provide a common ground of argument to monitor the progress at multiple spatial levels and form a collective effort to move a city towards sustainability. The novelty of this study is to highlight the role of eco-city development at multiple spatial levels and through urban governance. The local government needs to mobilize various stakeholders involved in the urban development process by providing sustainability targets in a transparent way. A collective effort from various stakeholder groups might be formed by linking them to a set of unified but spatial level-based targets.

Comparative analysis on the evolution of ecological carrying capacity between provinces during urbanization process in China

Abstract Effective ecological carrying capacity (ECC) is the precondition for implementing sustainable urbanization in China. However, different regions in a big country such as China have different ecological conditions and different development modes. Therefore, the evolution of ECC is different between different regions during the urbanization process in China. This study presents a comparative analysis on the evolution of ecological carrying capacity between provinces in the context of China. The ECC indicators in this study are classified into four dimensions, namely, water carrying capacity, land carrying capacity, environment carrying capacity and energy carrying capacity. Indicator data used for analysis are collected from 30 provinces in China. The entropy method is adopted to analyze the ECC performance during the years of 2006–2017. The ECC evolution is described into stable, fluctuated, declined and improved. This study shows that the evolution of ECC performance varies significantly between different provinces. The findings of this study help the Chinese government understand the different ECC evolution between provinces and provide policy-makers with valuable reference for formulating effective measures with considering different ecological conditions in different provinces, to improve the ECC performance across the country in China.

From Eco-Civilization to City Branding: A Neo-Marxist Perspective of Sustainable Urbanization in China

While the national discourse on ‘eco-civilization’ drives conceptual thinking on sustainable urban development in China, in practice a systematic implementation gap appears to exist when it comes to local implementation. This paper examines how the leakage occurring in the trajectory from central government ideas to municipal and district level construction projects can be explained. More specifically, it aims to spot whether it is merely the result of mismatches resulting from ineffective interactions among players in the policy process, institutional misalignment between policy goals and policy instruments, or even if the mobilization of bias in the policy process is systematic enough to justify a neo-Marxist explanation of the abovementioned implementation gap. I found two main sources of structural bias: capital accumulation in the mechanisms for urban development and power accumulation in the mechanisms underlying the administrative process.

Spatial-Temporal Patterns and Driving Forces of Sustainable Urbanization in China Since 2000

AbstractThe urbanization process can have a profound impact on economic development, human society, natural resources, and the environment, and is closely related to sustainable development. As a d...

The relationships between urban landscape patterns and fine particulate pollution in China: A multiscale investigation using a geographically weighted regression model

Abstract Providing accurate assessments of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution is essential for improving urban sustainability in China. Accordingly, this paper uses a geographically weighted regression model to reveal the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution at different scales in China. First, we identified the level of PM2.5 pollution in China and quantified the urban landscape patterns based on the landscape metrics in 2015. Then, we analyzed the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution using geographically weighted regression with the county as the basic analytical unit. Finally, the spatial characteristics of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution were analyzed at the national, regional and provincial scales. We found that the PM2.5 pollution in China was closely related to urban landscape patterns, with obvious spatial heterogeneity. The total area with a significant correlation between the urban landscape patterns (which were measured using the percentage of urban landscape, edge density, and patch density) and PM2.5 pollution ranged from 2.07 × 106 km2 to 2.26 × 106 km2, accounting for 42.55%–46.59% of the total PM2.5-polluted area in China. The high correlations were concentrated mainly in five provinces, namely, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Fujian, Chongqing and Guangdong. We also found that the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution were stronger in urban agglomerations. The total area with a significant correlation between the urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution was 9.20 × 105 km2, occupying 65.55% of the entire urban agglomeration area; this percentage was nearly 14% higher than the national average level. The strongest relationship was observed in the Northern Tianshan Mountains urban agglomeration. Contrasting with previous studies, our study fully considered the spatial autocorrelation and spatial differences between variables by using geographically weighted regression and clarified the spatial heterogeneity of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and PM2.5 pollution in China. Our findings imply that special attention must be paid to the urban landscape patterns in urban agglomerations during future urban development in China. Furthermore, effective regulations must be implemented to reduce the impacts of urban landscape patterns on PM2.5 pollution by controlling urban expansion and optimizing the spatial patterns of urban landscapes.

Residential landscapes in suburban China from the perspective of growth coalitions: Evidence from Beijing

Residential landscapes in China manifest characteristics different from those seen in Western countries: high density, facilities improvement, and good quality. This study investigates residential landscape by developing a novel framework to capture a growth coalition that is composed of local government and real estate enterprises. Stemming from institutional insights, this study assumes that the growth coalition in China attempts to acquire residential land far from built-up areas to reduce costs, increase the floor area ratio and the green rate, and promote accessibility and walkability to improve housing prices. Taking Beijing as a case, we first identify the residential expansion type (renewal, infill, edge, outlying). Then, two models are created: the land acquisition cost model and the housing price model. The results provide a good argument in support of our hypothesis. This study contributes institutional knowledge to support an understanding of residential landscapes and urban sustainability in China.

The Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and Dilemmas of Sustainable Urbanization in China: A New Perspective Based on the Concept of Five-in-One

A large amount of ink has been spilled to paint the picture of China’s urbanization. However, more research might be done on the connotation of sustainable urbanization in China. On the basis of a literature review, this study is the first to propose the perspective of evaluating the sustainability of urbanization from the five dimensions of urbanization: economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and entropy method, a five-dimensional indicator system was established to evaluate the urbanization quality of 31 provincial regions in China during 2005–2015. Then, the coupling coordination degree model was used to calculate the coupling coordination degree of the five dimensions for each region. Furthermore, Moran’s I index and a local indicators of spatial association (LISA) cluster map were used to measure and describe the spatial disparity. Finally, a factor identification model was used to recognize the weaknesses of each region. This study leads to four major findings. (1) In 2015, only ecological urbanization had a high-quality and balanced development, while the development of cultural urbanization was inadequate and regionally unbalanced. Economic, ecological, and cultural dimensions had a significantly positive global spatial autocorrelation. The local spatial autocorrelation varies with dimension. (2) The quality of comprehensive urbanization increased during 2005–2015, while the regional disparity experienced a reduction. A positive global spatial autocorrelation was shown during 2005–2015. The High-High type in the eastern coastal areas centralized over time, while the Low-Low type in the western areas experienced a decline, and the Low-High type was stabilized in the central areas. Only Chongqing was in the High-Low type in 2015. (3) The increase of coupling coordination degree and decrease of coefficient of variation indicated a favorable situation. The coupling coordination degree also had a positive global spatial autocorrelation during 2005–2015. Both the High-High and Low-Low types experienced an obvious shrink and displacement. The Low-High type expanded and centralized in the central areas, while the High–Low type was in Guangdong in 2005, and in Chongqing in 2015. (4) The highest obstacle degrees of each region were all within the cultural dimension, while the ecological dimension caused the least resistance. The lack of innovation had become the biggest barrier in most regions. Based on the above conclusions, this paper concludes with recommendations for policy makers to advance sustainable urbanization in China. Meanwhile, this study can provide lessons and suggestions for other developing countries in the world.

Promoting and implementing urban sustainability in China: An integration of sustainable initiatives at different urban scales

Many uncontrollable risks and uncertainties emerge during transitions pathways. Previous studies have examined the “formula” of successful sustainable initiatives (SIs), while there have been few attempts to explore the reciprocities amongst them. Therefore, this study is to investigate the linkages among and mutual benefits among SIs at different urban scales for tackling their risks and uncertainties. The low-carbon eco-city, green university and green building in China are selected as the representatives at city, community and building scales for elaborating their linkages. In the city-community-building system, the GB implementation builds up the internal momentum that can lead to the changes of sustainable interests, rules and beliefs at the community scale, which then results in the changes on city structures, according to the theory of multi-level perspective. Akin to living organisms, cities witness the energy and materials flowing across different urban scales. Resources during SI implementation at a specific level can be shared by SIs at other levels. Meanwhile, the output of an SI can be transferred as the input of SIs at other levels. The commonalities among assessment systems of LCEC, GU and GB can upscale or downscale the successful experiments across different scales, contributing to the overcome of political, financing and operating risks and certainties. This paper can inform people with understandings of the vertical integration of SIs for sustainability transitions on the one hand and can practically provide decision-makers with an approach to overcoming the barriers in SI implementation on the other.

Urban Land Revenue and Sustainable Urbanization in China: Issues and Challenges

Since urban land development launched in 1987, urban land transactions and local land leasing revenue have exploded sharply in China. Classical research on urban land use and urbanization often focuses on making decisions and enacting policies of zoning and land use regulations. Scholars from different disciplines have long been aware of this issue and have attempted to account for it with different theories of urbanization. This paper considers urbanization and the associated spatial interaction effect as an alternative factor in China’s urban land revenue. After reviewing the existing literature on China’s land reform, a dynamic panel data model with GMM estimator is established to explore the reasons for the emerging land revenue. The empirical results show that the spatial weight matrix is significant to the land leasing revenue, and the provincial level of fiscal decentralization has negative effect on the volume of urban land leasing revenue. These empirical results demonstrate that local governments have the intrinsic motivation to maximize the land leasing revenue, which is significant to expand local optional revenues. The province having higher urbanization level usually experiences the larger scale of urban land revenue. The spatial interaction effect among adjacent provinces has a significant effect on urban land revenue which is closely associated with local economic growth. However, it is essential to know that the large scale of rural land conversion and disordered urbanization force negative payoffs, such as environmental degradation, the damage of farmland, and the problem of food safety.

Land Ownership, Rent-Seeking, and Rural Gentrification: Reconstructing Villages for Sustainable Urbanization in China

Gentrification is a widespread urban phenomenon across the post-industrial world. However, rural gentrification has been explored insufficiently in the context of China’s unprecedented urbanization. By reviewing the redevelopment processes in Zengcuoan village, Xiamen City, China, this study empirically reveals that the socio-spatial transformation of this village has been mainly led by artists and villagers based on institutional arrangements of land ownership. Rural gentrification, which involves refurbishing houses and public spaces, has played a key role in social life and the engagement between indigenous villagers and artists. As active rent-seekers, indigenous villagers contribute to gentrification in a combined effect with China’s rural land property rights. Contrary to Western findings, villagers in China act as landlords who benefit from rural gentrification, which in turn causes grassroots artists or young people to move out because of the increasing rent or property prices. This paper attempted to enrich the extant understanding of rural Chinese gentrification and broaden the analytics of gentrification studies of the institutional arrangements from a land-ownership perspective. Contributing to the literature on rural gentrification, this study highlights the excessive commercialization of rent-seeking as the trigger of gentrification.

Evaluating Spatial Priority of Urban Green Infrastructure for Urban Sustainability in Areas of Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Pukou in China

Rapid urbanization in recent decades highlights the limitations on the sustainable development of cities due to the fragmentation of restricted urban green land. The aim of this paper is to formulate a workable framework for planning and managing urban green infrastructure (UGI) for urban sustainability. This study provides a new method for modeling and analyzing UGI based on a case study of the Pukou District in Nanjing, which is a typical developing area in China. We adopt the morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) method and combine it with the landscape connectivity index to identify the UGI hubs and links. In addition, the least-cost path model is employed to construct the potential UGI network in this case. We further integrate the spatial syntax model into landscape ecological principles to evaluate the spatial priority of the UGI network. The results showed that the framework proposed in this study is suitable for the green infrastructure network construction by combining the MSPA, landscape connectivity, and the space syntax methods. This framework can be used to better understand the spatial distribution and priority of the green infrastructure network for achieving urban sustainability in China.

How to Measure Carbon Emission Reduction in China’s Public Building Sector: Retrospective Decomposition Analysis Based on STIRPAT Model in 2000–2015

Productive building energy efficiency (BEE) work is an approved factor in the progress of sustainable urbanization in China, with the assessment of carbon emission reduction in China’s public buildings (CERCPB) being an essential element of this endeavor. Nevertheless, such evaluation has been hampered by inadequate and inefficient approaches; this is the first study to utilize the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Type I (LMDI-I) to decompose the equation of China’s public building carbon emissions (CPBCE) with the connected driving factors (population in China, floor areas of China’s existing public buildings, building service level index of China’s existing public buildings, and the comparable CPBCE intensity), and this equation was established by the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model. The LMDI and STIRPAT approaches subsequently assessed the CERCPB values from 2001 to 2015. The results indicated that: (1) Only the contribution of the comparable CPBCE intensity to CPBCE was negative during 2001–2015; this represents the CERCPB value for the period. (2) The assessment results indicated that CERCPB has accumulated considerably with the swift progress of BEE work in China in 2001–2015. The CERCPB values in 2001–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2015 were 69.29, 158.53, and 277.86 million tons of carbon dioxide, respectively. (3) This study demonstrated that the positive effect of implementing public BEE work in China had led to significant results in 2001–2015, which can be regarded as a prerequisite for producing the considerable accumulation of CERCPB over this period. Overall, this study illustrated the feasibility of employing the LMDI and STIRPAT approaches for assessing the CERCPB value. Accordingly, we believe the results of this study are a significant driving force in the next phase of the development of the carbon emission control strategy of public buildings and sustainable urbanization in China.

Modelling impact of climate change and air pollution in cities

Considering the significance and importance of urban sustainability in China and China’s history of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, this paper aims to incorporate the investigation of climate change and air pollution in urban sustainability research in China through a driver-pressure-state-impact-response model. The model has 12 indices: population, enterprise, registered vehicles, energy consumption, emissions and concentrations of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, land use change, annual temperature, tropical nights and reforestation were selected. It was used in the analysis of 14 cities in the Liaoning Province. The results show that the model is an effective tool for urban sustainability research, allowing for the investigation of interactions of climate change and air pollution and contributing to the body of knowledge by aiding generation of realistic and practical measures.

Environmental degradation in the urban areas of China: Evidence from multi-source remote sensing data

The rapid and timely evaluation of urban environmental change is highly important for understanding urban sustainability in China. However, the comprehensive understanding of urban environmental change in China based on multi-source remote sensing data remains inadequate because current studies have mainly focused on a single aspect of the urban environment using a specific source of remote sensing data. In this study, we developed a comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) combining the remote sensing data of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration, land surface temperature (LST) and vegetation cover (VC) to assess the urban environmental change in China at the national scale, among urban agglomerations and across the rapidly urbanized regions. We found a trend of environmental degradation in the urban areas of China between 2000 and 2012. Environmentally degraded and moderately degraded urban areas accounted for 48.14% of the total urban area in China. In particular, the expanded urban areas exhibited the most extensive environmental degradation, with 52.33% of the total expanded urban areas from 1992 to 2012 exhibiting environmental degradation or moderately environmental degradation. The increase in the PM2.5 concentration was one of the main manifestations of the environmental degradation in the expanded urban areas. We suggest that more attention should be paid to urban environmental issues during future urban development in China.