How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example

Introduction: In order to change the long-term economic development model which is at the expense of the environment, China proposed a series of new energy development and environmental intervention policies. However, there is no evidence to support the impact of urban development on the green devel...

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Main Authors: Jing Huang, Ziheng Shangguan, Tiantian Gui, Jianping Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1169226/full
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author Jing Huang
Jing Huang
Ziheng Shangguan
Tiantian Gui
Tiantian Gui
Jianping Liu
Jianping Liu
author_facet Jing Huang
Jing Huang
Ziheng Shangguan
Tiantian Gui
Tiantian Gui
Jianping Liu
Jianping Liu
author_sort Jing Huang
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: In order to change the long-term economic development model which is at the expense of the environment, China proposed a series of new energy development and environmental intervention policies. However, there is no evidence to support the impact of urban development on the green development efficiency (GDE) under China’s macroeconomic policies at present. In order to answer this research question and help the government to improve the GDE, this study takes the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) city cluster (41 cities) in China as an example to conduct an empirical study.Methods: We first measure the GDE of these cities by Slack Based Model (SBM). Then, the Tobit model is used to measure the impact of urban development elements, namely population urbanization, land urbanization, and urban industrial development, on GDE.Results and Discussion: The analysis of the data leads to the following conclusions and suggestions: 1) The GDE of the city cluster in the YREB has generally been improved driven by policies. But compared to policy interventions, the level of science, technology and management are the primary drivers of long-term improvement in GDE. 2) In order to avoid the economic development and environmental capacity failure to afford the increase in energy consumption and pollution discharge caused by population urbanization and land urbanization, local governments need to promote energy transformation, increase environmental protection efforts and attract top-tier talent. 3) The improvement of GDE by industrial upgrading is a dynamic and slow process, and blindly pushing industrial restructuring will lead to a decline in GDE. Therefore, the Chinese government needs to provide an ecologically suitable environment for local industrial development, which needs to avoid “pulling out the seedlings” and “one-size-fits-all” approach.
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spelling doaj.art-d3f2a9d066a949d287bdb370c18bf4d82023-03-30T05:01:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2023-03-011110.3389/fenvs.2023.11692261169226How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an exampleJing Huang0Jing Huang1Ziheng Shangguan2Tiantian Gui3Tiantian Gui4Jianping Liu5Jianping Liu6School of Business, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaResearch Center of Open Economy, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Business, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Business, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaResearch Center of Open Economy, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Business, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaResearch Center of Open Economy, Hubei University, Wuhan, ChinaIntroduction: In order to change the long-term economic development model which is at the expense of the environment, China proposed a series of new energy development and environmental intervention policies. However, there is no evidence to support the impact of urban development on the green development efficiency (GDE) under China’s macroeconomic policies at present. In order to answer this research question and help the government to improve the GDE, this study takes the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) city cluster (41 cities) in China as an example to conduct an empirical study.Methods: We first measure the GDE of these cities by Slack Based Model (SBM). Then, the Tobit model is used to measure the impact of urban development elements, namely population urbanization, land urbanization, and urban industrial development, on GDE.Results and Discussion: The analysis of the data leads to the following conclusions and suggestions: 1) The GDE of the city cluster in the YREB has generally been improved driven by policies. But compared to policy interventions, the level of science, technology and management are the primary drivers of long-term improvement in GDE. 2) In order to avoid the economic development and environmental capacity failure to afford the increase in energy consumption and pollution discharge caused by population urbanization and land urbanization, local governments need to promote energy transformation, increase environmental protection efforts and attract top-tier talent. 3) The improvement of GDE by industrial upgrading is a dynamic and slow process, and blindly pushing industrial restructuring will lead to a decline in GDE. Therefore, the Chinese government needs to provide an ecologically suitable environment for local industrial development, which needs to avoid “pulling out the seedlings” and “one-size-fits-all” approach.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1169226/fullurban developmentgreen development efficiencySBM modeltobit modelChina
spellingShingle Jing Huang
Jing Huang
Ziheng Shangguan
Tiantian Gui
Tiantian Gui
Jianping Liu
Jianping Liu
How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
Frontiers in Environmental Science
urban development
green development efficiency
SBM model
tobit model
China
title How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
title_full How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
title_fullStr How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
title_full_unstemmed How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
title_short How urban development affects green development efficiency in China: Taking the city cluster of Yangtze river economic belt as an example
title_sort how urban development affects green development efficiency in china taking the city cluster of yangtze river economic belt as an example
topic urban development
green development efficiency
SBM model
tobit model
China
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1169226/full
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