Research on urban land green use efficiency and influencing factors based on DEA and ESTDA models: Taking 284 cities in China as an example

Urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE) is one of the important indicators of green growth, making limited land resources exert optimal benefits and minimize environmental pollution, enabling the green development of cities. This survey measures the ULGUE of 284 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above using the Super-SBM model, built around panel data from 2004 to 2021. The geographic and temporal evolution features of ULGUE are studied using ArcGIS and exploratory spatio-temporal data analysis (ESTDA). The elements influencing ULGUE are assessed using a spatial econometric model. It is found that: (1) ULGUE fluctuates and rises with time but has still not achieved validity in general; regionally, west > east > central, with an overall roughly decreasing trend from the perimeter to the center; provincially, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Hainan basically achieve validity. (2) Each city's ULGUE has an enthusiastic spatial association. The number of cities with dynamic local spatial structures increases, with strong spatial dependence and regional synergy to be further strengthened. The spatio-temporal leap matrix indicates that most cities have not undergone spatio-temporal transformation and have strong spatial cohesion. (3) Spatial econometric modeling results highlight that ULGUE is assisted by land urbanization, industrial structure, environmental regulation, and economic development, while it is hampered by population density, scientific and technical input, and financial development. ULGUE may be optimized through bolstering urban collaboration, refining the industrial system, developing and utilizing land in an orderly manner, adjusting the population structure, and constructing a system of "government, industry, academia, research, and application."