Next Article in Journal
Enhancing Climate Resilience in Dryland Mixed Crop–Livestock Systems Through Integrated Water Monitoring and Early Warning: A Perception-Based Exploratory Impact Assessment
Previous Article in Journal
Performance Evaluation of Solar-Aided Coal-Fired Power Plants Integrated with Thermal Energy Storage: Thermodynamic and Economic Sustainability Analysis
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Sustainability
Volume 18
Issue 12
10.3390/su18126082
sustainability-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Coordinated Urban Sustainable Development from a Multidimensional Efficiency Perspective: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Nonlinear Drivers Across Chinese Cities

by
Xingchen Lai
1,2,
Shipeng Xu
1,*,
Yuxin Zhang
2,
Panpan Liu
2,
Xiaohui Ma
2,
Dongchen Qi
2,
Jun Feng
2,
Fan Li
3,
Jiaxuan Yang
4 and
Hiroatsu Fukuda
2
1
School of Art, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
2
Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu 808-0135, Japan
3
School of New Energy, Yulin University, Yulin 719000, China
4
School of Architecture and Design, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2026, 18(12), 6082; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18126082 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 11 May 2026 / Revised: 5 June 2026 / Accepted: 10 June 2026 / Published: 12 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Sustainable Urban and Rural Development)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Urban sustainable development increasingly depends on interactions among multiple urban subsystems, yet existing studies often overlook cross-regional linkages and nonlinear development processes. This study investigates the coordinated development of urbanization, smart development, resilience, and low-carbon transition (USRL) from an efficiency perspective. Using panel data from 278 Chinese cities during 2010–2023, this work integrates the Super-SBM model, the Local–Tele Coupling Coordination Degree (LTCCD) framework, Dagum Gini decomposition, and machine learning techniques to examine the spatiotemporal evolution, spatial disparities, and driving mechanisms of coordinated development. The results show that coordinated development improved steadily over time, although subsystem evolution remained uneven, with resilience lagging behind other dimensions. Regional disparities gradually narrowed, but inter-regional differences remained the dominant source of spatial inequality. Innovation intensity, industrial upgrading, and high-quality foreign investment positively contributed to coordinated development, whereas fiscal and financial factors exhibited nonlinear effects. Interaction analysis further revealed that coordinated development is shaped by the combined influence of multiple drivers rather than by individual factors alone. Our findings suggest that urban sustainable development is jointly influenced by subsystem coordination, cross-regional interactions, and nonlinear development dynamics, highlighting the importance of integrating local and tele-coupling processes in urban sustainability research.
Keywords: urban sustainable development; multidimensional urban systems; spatiotemporal evolution; nonlinear driving factors; China urban sustainable development; multidimensional urban systems; spatiotemporal evolution; nonlinear driving factors; China

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Lai, X.; Xu, S.; Zhang, Y.; Liu, P.; Ma, X.; Qi, D.; Feng, J.; Li, F.; Yang, J.; Fukuda, H. Coordinated Urban Sustainable Development from a Multidimensional Efficiency Perspective: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Nonlinear Drivers Across Chinese Cities. Sustainability 2026, 18, 6082. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18126082

AMA Style

Lai X, Xu S, Zhang Y, Liu P, Ma X, Qi D, Feng J, Li F, Yang J, Fukuda H. Coordinated Urban Sustainable Development from a Multidimensional Efficiency Perspective: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Nonlinear Drivers Across Chinese Cities. Sustainability. 2026; 18(12):6082. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18126082

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lai, Xingchen, Shipeng Xu, Yuxin Zhang, Panpan Liu, Xiaohui Ma, Dongchen Qi, Jun Feng, Fan Li, Jiaxuan Yang, and Hiroatsu Fukuda. 2026. "Coordinated Urban Sustainable Development from a Multidimensional Efficiency Perspective: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Nonlinear Drivers Across Chinese Cities" Sustainability 18, no. 12: 6082. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18126082

APA Style

Lai, X., Xu, S., Zhang, Y., Liu, P., Ma, X., Qi, D., Feng, J., Li, F., Yang, J., & Fukuda, H. (2026). Coordinated Urban Sustainable Development from a Multidimensional Efficiency Perspective: Spatiotemporal Evolution and Nonlinear Drivers Across Chinese Cities. Sustainability, 18(12), 6082. https://doi.org/10.3390/su18126082

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop