The dynamic evolution and coupling coordination development mechanism of new urbanization and green economy: an empirical study based on various provinces in China

Under the background that the country is vigorously promoting the construction of new urbanization and seeking green development, this paper takes 31 provinces of China as the research object. It constructs a comprehensive evaluation system that integrates new urbanization and green economy into the same research framework, analyzes the evolution characteristics of new urbanization and green economy from the scale analysis of time and space, and, through the relative development model, coupling coordination model, and the random panel Tobit model, further explores the relative development and coupling coordination relationship between the two, deconstructing the internal driving factors. Research shows that the regional differences in the development level of new urbanization are decreasing year by year, while the efficiency of the green economy is increasing yearly. The relative development types of the two have obvious regional distribution characteristics. The level of coupling coordination gradually increases over time. The impact of economic development and growth, urban construction, regional opening up, urban expansion, government investment, industrialization level, and industrial structure on the coupling coordination degree of new urbanization and green economy is inconsistent.

The nonlinear effect of new urbanization on water pollutant emissions: Empirical analysis based on the panel threshold model

Rapid urbanization has led to a significant increase in water consumption and wastewater discharge. Balancing the relationship between urbanization development and water pollutants emissions is crucial for the sustainable development of the country. Given the uneven regional economic development and resource distribution in China, exploring the relationship between new urbanization and water pollution emissions cannot be limited to a single perspective such as population urbanization. This study developed a comprehensive evaluation index system for new urbanization level. Based on data from 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2006 to 2020, a Panel Threshold Regression Model (PTRM) was used to explore the nonlinear relationship between the new urbanization level and water pollution discharge. The research results show that China's new urbanization level (NUBL) and its subsystems, including population urbanization (P-NUBL), economic urbanization (E-NUBL), and spatial urbanization (SP-NUBL), all have a double threshold effect on chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions. The promoting effect of NUBL and E-NUBL on COD emissions gradually increased in the later stage of the study. P-NUBL and SP-NUBL show a trend of inhibiting COD emissions after crossing the dual threshold values. Social urbanization (S-NUBL) and ecological urbanization (EL-NUBL) had no threshold effect, but they also had a promoting effect on COD emissions. In addition, the speed of new urbanization in eastern China was significantly faster than that in central and western China, with provinces such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu being the first to enter the high threshold stage. The central region began to gradually enter the middle threshold stage, but provinces such as Hebei, Henan, and Anhui are still in the high pollution and high emission stage. The level of new urbanization in western China is relatively low, and future development should prioritize economic construction. Provinces with high thresholds and low water pollution emissions still need to be developed. The results of this study have important implications for promoting the harmonious development of water-saving and sustainable urban development in China.

Coupling coordination of new urbanization in Chinese urban agglomeration-characteristics and driving factors

The coordinated development of new urbanization (NU) in urban agglomerations (UAs) is key for promoting sustainable urban development and the way to achieve Chinese-style modernization. Based on the mechanisms of coupling and coordination of NU, the internal subsystem coupling coordination of NU was deconstructed into five dimensions-economic, population, land, social, and ecological. Using 200 cities in 19 Chinese UAs areas, the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of the coupling coordination degree of NU (CCDNU) were analyzed, and the driving factors were analyzed from both spatial spillover effect and stratification heterogeneity. The results are as follows: (1) CCDNU has increased from moderate disorder to barely coordinated, exhibiting a spatial distribution of a higher CCDNU in the east and lower CCDNU in the west with a positive global spatial autocorrelation feature; (2) economic drive, population concentration, spatial carrying capacity, and environmental quality play facilitating roles in the CCDNU of the study region, while the spatial carrying capacity, quality of life, and environmental quality inhibit the CCDNU of neighboring regions. From the decomposition of long- and short-term effects, both direct and indirect effects of driving factors were found to accumulate significantly over time. In addition, the model results were robust after replacing the geographic distance weight matrix and excluding the extreme values; (3) the spatial carrying capacity, population concentration, and economic drive are the dominant factors affecting the CCDNU in China. The dominant driving factors of are different in different regions. Meanwhile, the interaction detection shows that the interaction of each driver exhibits a two-factor enhancement or non-linear enhancement. Based on these results, corresponding policies are recommended.

Coupling and coordinated development of new urbanization and agro-ecological environment in China

Agricultural ecological environment conservation is a major strategic mission for the sustainable development of China's agriculture and rural areas at present. Therefore, it is of great significance to examine the coupling and coordination relationship between new urbanization and the agro-ecological environment, and, accordingly, to establish China's sustainable agro-economic development model. However, this topic has not been adequately addressed in previous studies. To fill this gap, this study detailed an empirical investigation into the spatio-temporal differentiation of and influencing factors on the coupling and coordinated development of new urbanization and the agricultural ecological environment in China. First, aided by spatial analysis methods, a detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal patterns and dynamics of the coupling and coordinated development of new urbanization and the agro-ecological environment was conducted. The driving factors were quantitatively examined using the random panel Tobit model and the panel data modeling technique. The results indicate that the coupling degree between China's new urbanization and the agro-ecological environment ranges from 0.30 to 0.50, which is in the antagonistic stage. The degree of coupling and coordination is between 0.39 and 0.59, basically on the verge of imbalance and reluctant coordination. Most provinces lag behind in new urbanization. Panel data analysis demonstrates financial support for agriculture, rural economic development, environmental pollution control capabilities, and government capabilities significantly impacting the degree of coupling and coordination between China's new urbanization and the agro-ecological environment. Among them, financial support for agriculture and industrialization has different effects on the degree of coupling and coordination between the eastern and midwestern regions. Based on the findings of this study, a series of policy suggestions for improving China's new urbanization and agro-ecological environment is proposed.