Examining the coordination between urbanization and eco-environment using coupling and spatial analyses: A case study in China

This paper analyzes the temporal and spatial characteristics of the coordination of urbanization and eco-environment of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2015, using the method of coupling coordination degree model and global (local) spatial autocorrelation. The results show that the coordination of urbanization and eco-environment are in a state of basic coordination. The coupling coordination degree of each province is gradually increasing and the spatial difference gradually narrows as time evolves. A spatial dependence is observed in the coordination of provincial urbanization and eco-environment in China from the perspective of global correlation and its dependence is weakened with the increase of geographical distance. The local agglomeration mode presents a trend towards the evolution of the “high-high” clustering mode. Finally, the spatial Markov chain method is used to forecast the provincial coordination degree in 2016. It is further confirmed that the coordinated state of urbanization and eco-environment is getting better and the spatial correlation is strengthening in the future.