Research On Urban Metabolism And Synergy Development Of Circular Economy In The Urban Agglomeration In Fujian Delta Region

As an important guideline and the main carrier of urbanization in the new era,the concepts of circular economy and urban agglomeration have become the research hotspots in recent years.Taking the urban agglomeration in Fujian delta region as study area,this paper analyses the synergy development of urban agglomeration with Krugman specialization index and gravity model modified by parameters;using material flow analysis and emergy analysis methods,the characteristics of material and energy metabolism of Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou are quantitatively studied.Furthermore,on the basis of literature review,an evaluation index system is constructed to comprehensively reflect the development level of circular economy of each city.Then the specific factors restricting the synergy development of circular economy in urban agglomeration in Fujian delta region are identified with diagnostic model of obstacle amount;Finally,management strategies to raise regional synergetic and competitive ability are studied based on shift-share method.The results show that:(1)The synergy development of urban economy is the foundation for realizing the overall sustainable development of urban agglomeration:the economic development level of Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou stands out in the urban agglomeration on the western coast of the Taiwan straits,the division of labor is clear and each city has its own unique advantageous industries;the high housing price in Xiamen has a strong crowding out effect on the low-end industries,while Zhangzhou and Quanzhou can separately undertake different industrial transfers from Xiamen,thus promoting the synergy development of regional economy in the urban agglomeration in Fujian delta region.(2)The dislocation development of industrial structure is an organic mode to realize the synergy development of circular economy in urban agglomeration:the industrial divisions of labor of Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou are quite obvious,and the organic dislocation development has been achieved.Particularly,the Krugman specialization indexes of manufacturing industry all exceed 1,indicating great complementary advantages and potential for cooperation between industries among each city.(3)Executive support plays an important role in the synergy development of urban agglomeration:the guidance and unified planning of the upper level decision-makers are indispensable for the synergy development of urban agglomeration.The development of the urban agglomeration in Fujian delta region has been supported by multiple guiding documents.In the future,Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou should further promote the sharing of public service resources such as education and social security,construct flexible regional talents flow mechanism,etc.Thus creating new opportunities for the synergy development of urban agglomeration.(4)Urban economy still develops at the cost of resource consumption,the development level of circular economy has great room for improvement:the hidden flow contributes a lot to the total amount of material input,reaching 80%-84%on average;34.6%,24.1%and 54.6%of GDP in Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou are obtained at the expense of the consumption of non-renewable resources,and 2.4%,1.4%and 2.3%are obtained at the cost of environmental degradation;Zhangzhou has the highest utilization efficiency of input material while Xiamen has the lowest,and its material output per unit GDP is also the largest.The EER of Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou has stayed below 1 during 2011-2016,the emergy keeps outflowing.(5)Regional environmental quality is generally improving while ecological pressure remains high:The ecological environment of Xiamen,Zhangzhou and Quanzhou is at high,low and middle load respectively,and the self-sustaining abilities of urban system present itself as "Zhangzhou>Quanzhou>Xiamen";except for Xiamen,the growth rate of regional material emissions in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou is lower than that in GDP;although the water and air quality of the urban agglomeration have improved significantly,more efforts should be made to control solid pollutants;the actual population of each city has all exceeded their own population carrying capacity,the system is in a sub-health state.(6)The collection and utilization of energy is the primary factor restricting the overall development of circular economy in the Fujian delta region:Xiamen should increase the research and development of industrial solid waste utilization technology and realize the reduction of material consumption and pollutant emission;Zhangzhou should increase subsidies supporting the renewable energy industry and control dissipative material emissions;Quanzhou should attach more importance to the utilization of industrial solid waste,vigorously support the industry of industrial waste incineration and power generation,thus improving the efficiency of energy utilization and the level of cleaner production.(7)Industrial transformation and upgrading is the necessary measure to improve regional synergy and competitiveness:Xiamen should promote the development of marine high-end equipment manufacturing,biopharmaceutical and other emerging industries;Zhangzhou should pay more attention to the primary industry and give full play to the unique advantages of food processing manufacturing;Quanzhou should optimize the structure and upgrade the technology of the secondary industry,and develop the knowledge and technical service industries like financial industry,modern logistics service,etc.