Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030

Achieving the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China largely depends on the transition of cities toward sustainable development. However, significant knowledge gaps exist in evaluating the SDG index at the city scale and in understanding how to simulate pathways to achieve t...

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Main Authors: Huijuan Xiao, Zhenci Xu, Jingzheng Ren, Ya Zhou, Ruojue Lin, Sheng Bao, Long Zhang, Shengfang Lu, Carman K.M. Lee, Jianguo Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-09-01
Series:The Innovation
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675822000844
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author Huijuan Xiao
Zhenci Xu
Jingzheng Ren
Ya Zhou
Ruojue Lin
Sheng Bao
Long Zhang
Shengfang Lu
Carman K.M. Lee
Jianguo Liu
author_facet Huijuan Xiao
Zhenci Xu
Jingzheng Ren
Ya Zhou
Ruojue Lin
Sheng Bao
Long Zhang
Shengfang Lu
Carman K.M. Lee
Jianguo Liu
author_sort Huijuan Xiao
collection DOAJ
description Achieving the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China largely depends on the transition of cities toward sustainable development. However, significant knowledge gaps exist in evaluating the SDG index at the city scale and in understanding how to simulate pathways to achieve the 17 SDGs for Chinese cities by 2030. This study aimed to quantify the SDG index of 285 Chinese cities and developed a forecasting model to simulate the performance of each SDG in each city until 2030 using varied scenarios. The results indicated that although the SDG index in Chinese cities increased by 33.97% during 2005–2016, Chinese cities, which continued their past paths, achieved an average of only five SDGs by 2030. To promote the joint achievement of all SDGs, we designed different paths for all SDGs of each of the 285 cities and simulated their SDG index until 2030. Under the scenarios, 216 Chinese cities (75.79%) could achieve 9–13 more SDGs in 2030 and the overall SDG index can improve from 74.57 in 2030 to 97.49 (target score 100) by adopting more intensive path adjustment. We lastly determined a cost-effective path for each SDG of each city to promote joint achievement of all SDGs by 2030. The proposed simulation model and cost-effective path serve as a foundation for other countries to simulate SDG progress and develop pathways for achieving SDGs in the future.
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spelling doaj.art-69ac606b98c344c8b73bea0408d83a712022-12-22T03:43:27ZengElsevierThe Innovation2666-67582022-09-0135100288Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030Huijuan Xiao0Zhenci Xu1Jingzheng Ren2Ya Zhou3Ruojue Lin4Sheng Bao5Long Zhang6Shengfang Lu7Carman K.M. Lee8Jianguo Liu9Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen 518000, China; Corresponding authorDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China; Corresponding authorKey Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development of the Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, ChinaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaOtto Poon C. F. Smart Cities Research Institute, Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCenter for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USAAchieving the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China largely depends on the transition of cities toward sustainable development. However, significant knowledge gaps exist in evaluating the SDG index at the city scale and in understanding how to simulate pathways to achieve the 17 SDGs for Chinese cities by 2030. This study aimed to quantify the SDG index of 285 Chinese cities and developed a forecasting model to simulate the performance of each SDG in each city until 2030 using varied scenarios. The results indicated that although the SDG index in Chinese cities increased by 33.97% during 2005–2016, Chinese cities, which continued their past paths, achieved an average of only five SDGs by 2030. To promote the joint achievement of all SDGs, we designed different paths for all SDGs of each of the 285 cities and simulated their SDG index until 2030. Under the scenarios, 216 Chinese cities (75.79%) could achieve 9–13 more SDGs in 2030 and the overall SDG index can improve from 74.57 in 2030 to 97.49 (target score 100) by adopting more intensive path adjustment. We lastly determined a cost-effective path for each SDG of each city to promote joint achievement of all SDGs by 2030. The proposed simulation model and cost-effective path serve as a foundation for other countries to simulate SDG progress and develop pathways for achieving SDGs in the future.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675822000844
spellingShingle Huijuan Xiao
Zhenci Xu
Jingzheng Ren
Ya Zhou
Ruojue Lin
Sheng Bao
Long Zhang
Shengfang Lu
Carman K.M. Lee
Jianguo Liu
Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
The Innovation
title Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
title_full Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
title_fullStr Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
title_full_unstemmed Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
title_short Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
title_sort navigating chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675822000844
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