Spatial-temporal investigation of green building promotion efficiency: The case of China

Green building, a significant sustainable practice to enhance the relationship between buildings and the environment, has received much attention worldwide. Although green buildings spread fast around the world, the efficiency of resources for green building construction has great potential to improve. Meanwhile, the spatial correlations of green building construction need to strengthen to benefit from the spillover effects. However, only few previous studies focused on efficiency problems in the green building promotion process and their spatial correlations. This study aims to propose a framework to examine green building promotion efficiency and investigate its spatial relationships between regions in different time slices. As a case study, data from 28 regions in China were collected. Data envelopment analysis and social network analysis were used to analyze the data. Results show that the overall green building promotion efficiency in China increased gradually, but significant efficiency gaps existed among regions. Regional collaborations made great contributions to efficiency enhancement, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta areas. Furthermore, only a small proportion of regions performed well in the efficiency and spatial correlations, mainly in southeast China. Most regions had low efficiency and weak correlations with the developed regions. This study contributes to the knowledge body of green buildings by presenting the first investigation into the green building promotion efficiency and the spatial correlations in green building development. The findings would enable researchers, policymakers and practitioners to develop efficient policies and strategies to promote the widespread implementation of green buildings.