Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks
Abstract The ongoing reform of China’s spatial planning system significantly influences the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. By fostering positive economic, social, and environmental interactions among cities, China has gradually established a coupled-networks to coordinate economic and...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | npj Urban Sustainability |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00236-6 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849399907329245184 |
|---|---|
| author | Wuyang Hong Yelin Li Renzhong Guo Bin Chen Wenjia Zhang Feixue Li Shuwen Yang Yuke Liu Yingmei Zhao Yurui Li Shengbiao Wu Biao He |
| author_facet | Wuyang Hong Yelin Li Renzhong Guo Bin Chen Wenjia Zhang Feixue Li Shuwen Yang Yuke Liu Yingmei Zhao Yurui Li Shengbiao Wu Biao He |
| author_sort | Wuyang Hong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The ongoing reform of China’s spatial planning system significantly influences the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. By fostering positive economic, social, and environmental interactions among cities, China has gradually established a coupled-networks to coordinate economic and ecological development. However, the current planning evaluation research usually focuses on the interior of the city, and lacks the evaluation of the planning convergence between different cities the integrity of this coupling deployment across different cities remains unclear. We conducted a systematic evaluation of China’s territorial spatial planning documents (encompassing 2715 county-level administrative units), constructing inter-urban socio-ecological networks by employing cities and districts as nodal units, with development-oriented partnerships and conservation-focused alliances explicitly stipulated in planning policies serving as social and ecological edges respectively. These networks were subsequently compared against multiple networks derived from land use/cover change (LUCC) analyses through multidimensional comparative analysis. Results show that 69.5% of the planned networks are supported by LUCC data; however, 10.4% of county nodes were overlooked by the spatial plans. Therefore, a broader city/county network should be constructed with a focus on poverty-stricken counties that have fewer opportunities, while also strengthening cooperation with bordering countries to improve the stability and completeness of the intercity network. This study provides a reference blueprint for sustainable city construction worldwide, particularly in developing countries. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5e97974d1dc742e5b9d1f25e22a31f6a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2661-8001 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Urban Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-5e97974d1dc742e5b9d1f25e22a31f6a2025-08-20T03:38:13ZengNature Portfolionpj Urban Sustainability2661-80012025-07-015111110.1038/s42949-025-00236-6Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networksWuyang Hong0Yelin Li1Renzhong Guo2Bin Chen3Wenjia Zhang4Feixue Li5Shuwen Yang6Yuke Liu7Yingmei Zhao8Yurui Li9Shengbiao Wu10Biao He11School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversitySchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversitySchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversityFuture Urbanity and Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong KongCollege of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji UniversityJiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Technology, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversitySchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversitySchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversityInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesFuture Urbanity and Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong KongSchool of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shenzhen UniversityAbstract The ongoing reform of China’s spatial planning system significantly influences the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. By fostering positive economic, social, and environmental interactions among cities, China has gradually established a coupled-networks to coordinate economic and ecological development. However, the current planning evaluation research usually focuses on the interior of the city, and lacks the evaluation of the planning convergence between different cities the integrity of this coupling deployment across different cities remains unclear. We conducted a systematic evaluation of China’s territorial spatial planning documents (encompassing 2715 county-level administrative units), constructing inter-urban socio-ecological networks by employing cities and districts as nodal units, with development-oriented partnerships and conservation-focused alliances explicitly stipulated in planning policies serving as social and ecological edges respectively. These networks were subsequently compared against multiple networks derived from land use/cover change (LUCC) analyses through multidimensional comparative analysis. Results show that 69.5% of the planned networks are supported by LUCC data; however, 10.4% of county nodes were overlooked by the spatial plans. Therefore, a broader city/county network should be constructed with a focus on poverty-stricken counties that have fewer opportunities, while also strengthening cooperation with bordering countries to improve the stability and completeness of the intercity network. This study provides a reference blueprint for sustainable city construction worldwide, particularly in developing countries.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00236-6 |
| spellingShingle | Wuyang Hong Yelin Li Renzhong Guo Bin Chen Wenjia Zhang Feixue Li Shuwen Yang Yuke Liu Yingmei Zhao Yurui Li Shengbiao Wu Biao He Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks npj Urban Sustainability |
| title | Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks |
| title_full | Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks |
| title_fullStr | Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks |
| title_full_unstemmed | Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks |
| title_short | Empowering China’s sustainable development through social-ecological networks |
| title_sort | empowering china s sustainable development through social ecological networks |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-025-00236-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wuyanghong empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT yelinli empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT renzhongguo empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT binchen empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT wenjiazhang empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT feixueli empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT shuwenyang empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT yukeliu empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT yingmeizhao empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT yuruili empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT shengbiaowu empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks AT biaohe empoweringchinassustainabledevelopmentthroughsocialecologicalnetworks |