Research on the Coupling Coordination Between Economic Resilience and Ecological Resilience in China’s Coastal Cities from the Perspective of Evolutionary Ecological Economics

Abstract

The conflict between the economy and the ecological environment is prominent in China’s coastal cities, and these cities contend with heightened uncertainty. Therefore, this study uses the econometric model to analyze the spatial–temporal pattern characteristics and affecting factors of the coupling coordination level between urban economic resilience (ER) and urban ecological resilience (EcR) in China’s coastal cities based on improvement of the evaluation index system, thus advancing policy suggestions. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The coupling coordination degree (CCD) between ER and EcR across different types of coastal cities strongly correlates with their spatial distribution patterns of economic development. From the East China Sea to the South China Sea and Yellow and Bohai Sea Coast cities and from central cities to industrial cities, other types of cities, and resource-based cities, CCD exhibits an overall declining trajectory. (2) The gap in CCD in China’s coastal cities generally shows an expanding trend. (3) The spatial distribution pattern of the centrality of CCD in China’s coastal cities has a relatively high consistency. Urban spillover roles are highly consistent with levels of economic development. (4) The number and diversity of dominant influencing factors have steadily increased.