Analysis of coordination between urban compactness and green total factor energy efficiency: a case study of 35 cities in China

Rapid urban expansion and energy transformation are two major challenges facing China. Many researchers have explored urban compactness and energy efficiency, but there is little literature on the coordinated development of the two. Therefore, this paper takes 35 cities in China as research object: The urban compactness evaluation index system is established, and the score is calculated using the entropy weight method; considering the bad output, SBM is used to calculate the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE); and the coupling coordination degree model is used to calculate their coordinated degree. The following conclusions can be inferred: (1) Although China's urban compactness has increased, it has not maintained a steady upward trend. Some more developed cities have the phenomenon of compactness rising first and then falling; (2) The overall GTFEE shows a continuous upward trend, but there is still much room for improvement, and regional disparities are significant; (3) The degree of coordination between the two maintains a steady upward trend, and the city's compactness lags behind GTFEE. Based on the findings of the study, this paper proposes policy recommendations that can serve as a reference for key decision-makers and are critical in promoting China's urbanization and energy transformation.

Automated summary

This study investigates the urban compactness and energy efficiency in China and finds that there is a certain gap in the coordinated development between the two. Although compactness has increased in some cities, there is still room for improvement overall, while energy efficiency shows a continuous upward trend with potential for further improvement. The coordination degree between the two is gradually increasing, although compactness lags behind energy efficiency. The findings of this research provide policy recommendations that are crucial for promoting urbanization and energy transformation in China.