Research On Sustainable Development Potential And Pathways Of Typical Chinese Cities Based On Inclusive Wealth Index

In September 2015,all UN member states adopted and released 17 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),of which Goal 11 is "Building Sustainable Cities and Communities",and sustainable urban development is about the long-term coordination of national and regional society,economy,and environment In 2016,the State Council issued the Program for the Construction of Innovative Demonstration Zones for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in China,and during the 13th and 14th Five-Year Plans,several "National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zones"have been created to explore sustainable urban development strategies and sustainable urban development strategies suitable for China’s national conditions.As the number and scale of China’s cities continue to expand,by the end of 2022 there will be more than 600 cities(including municipalities directly under the central government,prefectures,and counties)with different geographic locations,economic levels,and resource endowments,and correspondingly different sustainable development paths.Therefore,there is an urgent need to establish a comprehensive and effective assessment system applicable to different types of cities in China to measure their sustainable development status,which is important for formulating sustainable development guiding strategies according to local conditions.As a sustainable development indicator system,the inclusive wealth index(IWI)can comprehensively reflect the capital stock,wealth level,and quality of a region.Based on the availability of data from Chinese cities,this study improves the inclusive well-being index system issued by the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP)by dividing human capital(urban and rural,and male and female)according to regional and gender factors;dividing produced capital into ordinary and advanced;dividing natural capital into renewable and non-renewable,and including a measure of innovation elements such as intellectual capital and R&D investment in patents Intangible capital was included in the index system.Taking the 10 cities listed as National Sustainable Development Agenda Innovation Demonstration Zones as examples,we quantified and analyzed the capital stock,composition structure,and change trend of each city in 2010 and 2020,fully analyzed the potential challenges in the process of urban development,and explored the potential and path of sustainable development of the cities.The results of the study show that:(1)In most cities,produced capital is the largest contributor to the growth of inclusive wealth per capita.For example,Shenzhen’s inclusive wealth per capita growth mainly relies on advanced produced capital and intangible capital,which corresponds to high sustainable development potential;for the energy-based city of Ordos,inclusive wealth per capita growth in 2020 is driven by ordinary produced capital and is constrained by the consumption of non-renewable natural capital,which has a low sustainable development potential.(2)There are significant differences in the distribution of human capital among different regions,genders and employment sectors,reflecting the unbalanced development between urban and rural areas;the increase in educational attainment helps promote the transfer of human capital to advanced service industries such as the information industry and the financial sector,and promotes equal employment for women.(3)Cities with a high share of advanced productive capital also correspond to higher intangible capital per capita,and the two together reflect the innovation level and potential of cities.(4)For areas with a sharp decline in natural capital per capita,the rapid depletion of mineral resources is a major factor.In response to these findings,this paper provides an outlook on the future sustainable development paths of each of the 10 typical cities.In general,the enhancement of highly educated human capital,advanced produced capital,intangible capital stock,and ecosystem service value capacity of natural capital is crucial for sustainable urban development.