Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations
Tracking progress toward sustainable urban development requires detailed assessments of key indicators to support evidence-based policy and planning. However, data limitations often constrain evaluations of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators to national or sub-national levels. This study...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-08-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Digital Earth |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2522395 |
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| author | Xuting Liu Linlin Lu Huadong Guo Michele Melchiorri Sebastian Hafner Yifang Ban Martino Pesaresi Qingting Li Muhammad Fahad Baqa |
| author_facet | Xuting Liu Linlin Lu Huadong Guo Michele Melchiorri Sebastian Hafner Yifang Ban Martino Pesaresi Qingting Li Muhammad Fahad Baqa |
| author_sort | Xuting Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tracking progress toward sustainable urban development requires detailed assessments of key indicators to support evidence-based policy and planning. However, data limitations often constrain evaluations of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators to national or sub-national levels. This study utilizes global urban spatial products derived from Earth observation data to evaluate the spatiotemporal dynamics of two urban SDG indicators – 11.3.1 (Land Use Efficiency, LUE) and 11.6.2 (annual average concentration of fine particulate matter in cities weighted by population or population-weighted PM₂.₅ concentrations, PPM₂.₅) – for over 7000 cities in the Belt and Road region between 2000 and 2020. The results show that 30.6% of cities improved LUE from 2010 to 2020 compared to 2000-2010, while 24.3% experienced deterioration. For PM₂.₅ exposure, 67.8% of cities experienced increased PPM₂.₅ by 2020 compared to 2000 levels, with the largest increases occurring in South Asia. The integrated assessment of the two indicators demonstrate the necessity for coordinated strategies that concurrently enhance land use efficiency and strengthen air pollution control measures. These findings demonstrate the value of Earth observation data for revealing regional disparities and informing localized SDG implementation strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5ee04d47e275412bb3ee1940b78929df |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1753-8947 1753-8955 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Digital Earth |
| spelling | doaj-art-5ee04d47e275412bb3ee1940b78929df2025-08-25T11:25:00ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Digital Earth1753-89471753-89552025-08-0118110.1080/17538947.2025.2522395Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observationsXuting Liu0Linlin Lu1Huadong Guo2Michele Melchiorri3Sebastian Hafner4Yifang Ban5Martino Pesaresi6Qingting Li7Muhammad Fahad Baqa8Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaDisaster Risk Management Unit, Institute for Space Security and Migration, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, ItalyDivision of Geoinformatics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SwedenDivision of Geoinformatics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, SwedenDisaster Risk Management Unit, Institute for Space Security and Migration, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, ItalyAirborne Remote Sensing Center, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaTracking progress toward sustainable urban development requires detailed assessments of key indicators to support evidence-based policy and planning. However, data limitations often constrain evaluations of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators to national or sub-national levels. This study utilizes global urban spatial products derived from Earth observation data to evaluate the spatiotemporal dynamics of two urban SDG indicators – 11.3.1 (Land Use Efficiency, LUE) and 11.6.2 (annual average concentration of fine particulate matter in cities weighted by population or population-weighted PM₂.₅ concentrations, PPM₂.₅) – for over 7000 cities in the Belt and Road region between 2000 and 2020. The results show that 30.6% of cities improved LUE from 2010 to 2020 compared to 2000-2010, while 24.3% experienced deterioration. For PM₂.₅ exposure, 67.8% of cities experienced increased PPM₂.₅ by 2020 compared to 2000 levels, with the largest increases occurring in South Asia. The integrated assessment of the two indicators demonstrate the necessity for coordinated strategies that concurrently enhance land use efficiency and strengthen air pollution control measures. These findings demonstrate the value of Earth observation data for revealing regional disparities and informing localized SDG implementation strategies.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2522395Earth observationBelt and RoadSDG11sustainable development goals |
| spellingShingle | Xuting Liu Linlin Lu Huadong Guo Michele Melchiorri Sebastian Hafner Yifang Ban Martino Pesaresi Qingting Li Muhammad Fahad Baqa Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations International Journal of Digital Earth Earth observation Belt and Road SDG11 sustainable development goals |
| title | Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations |
| title_full | Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations |
| title_fullStr | Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations |
| title_short | Assessing urban sustainability in the Belt and Road region: a city-level analysis of SDG 11 indicators using earth observations |
| title_sort | assessing urban sustainability in the belt and road region a city level analysis of sdg 11 indicators using earth observations |
| topic | Earth observation Belt and Road SDG11 sustainable development goals |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2522395 |
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