How to recognize and measure the impact of phasing urbanization on eco-environment quality: An empirical case study of 19 urban agglomerations in China

Rapid urbanization has exerted substantial pressure on eco-environmental quality (EEQ) in most big cities worldwide, yet the precise manner in which EEQ responds to phasing urbanization remains unclear. This study endeavors to illuminate the relationship between EEQ and the stages of urban development by quantifying EEQ and urbanization levels across 19 urban agglomerations in China, leveraging the insights garnered from multiple remote sensing and social-economic data. The reasons leading to different response patterns were analyzed through the differences in the trends of EEQ at each urbanization stage. The conclusions are as follows. 1) With a 207 % increase in the urbanization level, the overall EEQ fluctuated slightly, but it decreased significantly in areas with a high urbanization level. 2) EEQ was found to be negatively correlated with urbanization at the microscopic scale (PMMCC = −0.25), and the response pattern of “rise - fall - recovery” of EEQ with increasing urbanization levels was proposed at the macroscopic scale. 3) Ecological improvement of pre- and post-urbanized areas dominate the shift of urban agglomerations EEQ from fall to recovery. This study can help to understand the evolutionary pattern of EEQ in urbanization development and provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of sustainable urban development policies.