Transformation performance and subsystem coupling of resource‐based cities in China: An analysis based on the support‐pressure framework

The sustainable development of resource‐based cities is vital to China's high‐quality development. Based on the support‐pressure framework, this study simplifies the city system into an economy–society subsystem (ESS) and a resource–environment subsystem (RES), and measures the economy social developmental level (ESDL) and resource environmental carrying capacity (RECC) of China's 116 resource‐based cities using the improved entropy‐TOPSIS model. Then, it applies the coupling coordination degree (CCD) and relative development models to explore their coupling coordination relationships and relative developmental types. The results are as follows. (1) The ESDL and RECC of China's resource‐based cities have improved significantly, and there is a large divergence between cities in different regions, development stages, and dominant resource types. (2) The CCD between the ESDL and RECC of China's resource‐based cities is still not ideal, and no city qualifies for the high coordination category. (3) Overall, the RECC lags behind the ESDL, and the cities with a lagging ESDL are concentrated in the western and northeastern regions. Based on these conclusions, three specific suggestions are put forth. This study may provide a scientific reference for the Chinese government to formulate a sustainable development plan for resource‐based cities. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:770–783. © 2021 SETAC Key Points Based on the support‐pressure framework, we constructed a comprehensive evaluation index system of the urban economy social developmental level (ESDL) and resource environmental carrying capacity (RECC). We measured the ESDL and RECC in 2013 and 2018 of China's 116 resource‐based cities using the improved entropy‐TOPSIS model, and explored their coupling coordination relationships and relative developmental types. Significant improvement occurred in both subsystems of resource‐based cities in China in 2013–2018; moreover, transformation performance of different resource‐based cities is diverse, no resource‐based city meets the criteria for the high coordination category, and the RECC overall lags behind the ESDL. We proposed three recommendations for the transformation of Chinese resource‐based cities: strengthen the classification guidance, summarize the “Chinese transformation mode” as soon as possible, and cultivate new economic growth poles.