Evaluating coupling coordination between urban smart performance and low-carbon level in China's pilot cities with...

Area of Science:

• Urban studies, environmental science, and public policy, focusing on the intersection of smart city development and low-carbon transitions.

Background:

• Global urbanization necessitates integrated smart and low-carbon city models for effective governance and challenge mitigation.
• Existing research lacks consensus on the coordinated development between smart city performance (SCP) and low-carbon levels (LCL).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the coupling coordination between SCP and LCL in 52 Chinese pilot cities.
• To identify factors influencing the integration of smart and low-carbon urban development strategies.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-method research combining qualitative and quantitative analyses.
• Independent evaluation models for assessing SCP and LCL.
• Entropy-TOPSIS-Pearson correlation-Coupling coordination degree (ETPC) model for quantitative relationship analysis.

Main Results:

• Smart city initiatives in China significantly outperform low-carbon development.
• Disparities in SCP and LCL exist across different city types (eastern vs. western, non-resource-based vs. resource-dependent).
• A strong positive correlation between SCP and LCL, driven by economic, management, and societal factors, was observed, though environmental and cultural subsystems showed weaker integration.

Conclusions:

• Smart city performance positively influences the coupling coordination with low-carbon levels.
• Economic, management, and societal subsystems are key drivers for integrated smart and low-carbon development.
• Proposed an evaluation system and development pathways for smart and low-carbon coupling coordination, highlighting areas for improved integration, particularly in environmental and cultural aspects.