Evaluating urban resource and environment carrying capacity by using an innovative indicator system based on eco-civilization—a case study of Guiyang

A city’s sustainable development should occur via harmonious development of urban resource and environment carrying capacity (URECC) and economic growth. By following laws of harmonious development of man, nature, and society, ecological civilization refers to the sum total of material, spiritual, and institutional achievements made by mankind in promoting social, economic, and cultural development. It is an important way of realizing sustained development in China, which has been taken as an important way and method for solving the conflict between environmental problems and resources. In this study, an indicator system of URECC was built based on ecological civilization, which included 18 indicators chosen from 5 kinds of carrying capacities, which are water, land, atmospheric environment, energy, and solid waste. Then, the built index system was applied in a case study to evaluate URECC. Results showed that the indicator system could not only reveal the development tendency of URECC but also reveal changing situations of original bearing capacity, allowing the administration to take appropriate measures to improve URECC. Therefore, it can be guaranteed that economic and social development does not exceed URECC. It provides a good basis for building a more scientific, accurate, and comprehensive future assessment indicator system and also provides guidance and reference for rapid urban development. Consequently, this method not only addresses deficiencies in the existing researches but also provides a new method for assessing URECC.