Evaluation of Resource and Environmental Carrying Capacity of China’s Rapid-Urbanization Areas—A Case Study of Xinbei District, Changzhou

Abstract

The evaluation of resource and environmental carrying capacity (RECC) is the foundation for the rationale behind the arrangement of land spaces for production, living, and ecological uses. In this study, based on various natural, economic, and social factors, an integrated Multi-Factor assessment model was developed to evaluate the RECC of Xinbei district of Changzhou. Meanwhile, we also calculated the population carrying capacity estimation model restricted by food security. The study comprehensively analyzed the current status and land resource characteristics of a rapid urbanization area and the RECC restrictions for protection and development. The results indicate that the comprehensive carrying capacity of Xinbei showed distinct spatial heterogeneity, with a decreasing trend from the riverside protection area to urban areas, then to mountain areas. Combined with the secure food supply provided by future land resources, it was estimated that the population carrying index of Xinbei would be as high as 1.25 and 1.22 in 2035 and 2050, respectively, indicating that both years would experience a population overload. Therefore, an urgent adjustment to the structure and layout of territorial space and resources of the Xinbei District is necessary.

Exploring resources and environmental carrying capacities at the county level: A case study of China’s Fengxian County

“…Compared with other related studies [18, 19], this paper attempts to measure the RECC based on more refined methods and a smaller scale perspective, and takes reference to its relationship with the major function-oriented zoning, so as to build a quantitative model and further clarify the direction of regional development. In fact, the current research on RECC assessment mostly reveals the interaction between the pressure exerted by human social-economic activities and undertaken by natural resources and environment [1, 2].…”

“…In addition to the evaluations of water, land, tourism, ecology, transportation, geology, and other single factors, RECC assessments can be gradually turned into multi-dimensional comprehensive investigations. The related research results have covered macro-, medium- and micro-scale levels, discussing the RECC of not only countries, but also urban agglomerations, regions, provinces, prefecture-level cities, municipal districts, county-level cities, and even disaster areas [16–18]. The findings of these previous studies offer a better understanding of the RECC in several ways.…”

Assessment of the Environmental Carrying Capacity for Protected Areas: A Study of Petrified Forest and Hassanah Dome, the Great Cairo

“…The environmental carrying capacity is a concept that emerged from the demographic, environmental, and biological sciences, and it refers to the environmental ability of any area to support the threshold of human activities with resources at a specific time (Li et al, 2019;Kang and Xu, 2012).…”

Evaluation of Land Comprehensive Carrying Capacity and Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration

“…Most of the models identify the factors of land resource carrying capacity, establish an evaluation system, determine the weighting of each factor, and complete the evaluation by various methods [ 19 , 20 ]. Several models are used in the evaluation of land carrying capacity, such as the ecological footprint method [ 21 , 22 ], the system dynamics model [ 23 , 24 ], and the comprehensive evaluation method [ 25 ]. Nakajima assessed the land use of Ibiúna County through the ecological footprint method, which proved the necessity of changing the county’s economic structure.…”