Transforming a Resource-Based City into a Sustainable Development City: The Case of Jiyuan, China

Abstract

The National People Congress in 2013 stated the need to provide impulse and guidance for a transformation of the Chinese resource-based cities into sustainable cities. This paper considers the transformation path realized in a small Chinese resource-based city in China. The city of Jiyuan has been designated as a priority city to explore different models of sustainable development and has been upgraded to National Sustainable Development Experimental Zone. The study aims to assess its transformation path to a new status of sustainability by using an indicator especially designed for resource-based cities and inspired by the Urban sustainability index. We provide a quantitative analysis of sustainability’s drive for a five-year period that covers a pre 2013 situation and a post 2013 period.

Keywords: China, indicator, Jiyuan, resource-based cities, sustainability