► The green space coverage in Chinese cities increased steadily from 1991 to 2009. ► Cities in the same region exhibited long-term similar trends of development. ► Population, land area and GDP significantly affected green space coverage. ► Per capita GDP had the highest independent contribution to green space coverage. ► A linear model to predict variance in green space was constructed. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Irrespective of which side is taken in the densification-sprawl debate, insights into the relationship between urban green space coverage and urbanization have been recognized as essential for guiding sustainable urban development. However, knowledge of the relationships between socio-economic variables of urbanization and long-term green space change is still limited. In this paper, using simple regression, hierarchical partitioning and multi-regression, the temporal trend in green space coverage and its relationship with urbanization were investigated using data from 286 cities between 1989 and 2009, covering all provinces in mainland China with the exception of Tibet. We found that: [1] average green space coverage of cities investigated increased steadily from 17.0% in 1989 to 37.3% in 2009; [2] cities with higher recent green space coverage also had relatively higher green space coverage historically; [3] cities in the same region exhibited similar long-term trends in green space coverage; [4] eight of the nine variables characterizing urbanization showed a significant positive linear relationship with green space coverage, with 'per capita GDP' having the highest independent contribution (24.2%);[5] among the climatic and geographic factors investigated, only mean elevation showed a significant effect; and [6] using the seven largest contributing individual factors, a linear model to predict variance in green space coverage was constructed. Here, we demonstrated that green space coverage in built-up areas tended to reflect the effects of urbanization rather than those of climatic or geographic factors. Quantification of the urbanization effects and the characteristics of green space development in China may provide a valuable reference for research into the processes of urban sprawl and its relationship with green space change.

Environmental protection has attracted much attention. This study first describes the status of the ecological environment and then uses data envelopment analysis and the system the system generalized method of moments (GMM) model to study the relationship between the environmental status and ecological sustainable total factor productivity (ESTFP) in 21 prefecture-level cities of Guangdong Province. The main conclusions of this study are as follows. (1) The ecological index (EI), which reflects the ecological environment, shows a general trend of first decreasing and then rising. The average EI value decreased from 80.95 in 2008 to 68.71 in 2011 and then gradually increased to 74.76 in 2017. (2) The ecological sustainable total factor productivity (ESTFP = 0.960), including the two additional dimensions of the urban resource consumption index (URCI) and urban pollution discharge index (UPDI), is better than the traditional total factor productivity (TFP = 0.954). (3) The EI has a highly significant positive promoting effect on ESTFP at a significance level of 1%. The methods and results from this research provide an important scientific reference for the research on urban production efficiency and sustainable urban development in China.

With the rapid development of urbanization in China, urban spatial form has increasingly gained research attention. In this study, the DEA (data envelopment analysis)-Malmquist index model and a panel data model are used to examine the relationship between the urban spatial form and total factor productivity (TFP) of 30 provincial cities in China. Our method of measuring urban spatial form is different from the current entropy method, but we use remote sensing GIS (Geographic Information System) technology to measure the relevant data on urban compactness and urban elongation. The average values of urban compactness and urban elongation first rise, then fall, and then rise again, and there are alternate situations of urban compact development and urban sprawl and expansion. Furthermore, there is a significant positive correlation between urban compactness and TFP. Therefore, cities with high urban compactness can promote TFP. In addition, there is a significant negative correlation between urban extension rate and TFP, indicating that an increase in urban elongation has a restraining effect on TFP. Finally, the average TFP of each city shows a fluctuating trend of rising first and then declining, which is determined mainly by technological change and efficiency change. These results are expected to provide a scientific basis for the development of urban agglomerations in China.

Background: When the global COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, residents pay more attention to their health. This paper studies the relationship between the equity of government health expenditure and the health level of residents. Methods: The Theil index and a principal component analysis were used to measure the equity of government health expenditure and the health level of residents in the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle. Then, an empirical study on the relationship between the equity of government health expenditure and the health level of residents in this region was conducted with the System GMM model. Results: 1. The Theil index rose from 0.0115 in 2015 to 0.0231 in 2017 and gradually decreased to 0.0106 in 2020. 2. The overall health level of residents showed an upward trend, rising from 1.95 in 2015 to 2.33 in 2017, then remained high and fluctuated slightly. 3. There was a positive correlation between the Theil index and the health level of residents at a significance level of 1% (β = 0.903, p < 0.01). Conclusions: 1. The Theil index was close to 0, indicating that the equity of government health expenditure in the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle was generally good. 2. The health level of residents in the Chengdu–Chongqing economic circle had improved compared to before. 3. The fairer the government’s health expenditure, the higher the residents’ health level.