title: Rapid assessment of sustainability in Mainland China.
abstract: This paper presents an approach for rapid assessment of sustainability for Mainland China based on a multilayer index system. Efficient assessment is conducted with the basic mapping units at county and city levels. After evaluating a comprehensive sustainable development index, SDI, for each unit, five rankings of sustainability are determined, and a zonation map produced. Regional characteristics and differences are interpreted through macro-analysis of the spatial variation in SDI. A sensitivity analysis is performed by which the weights of the sub-indices are altered by +/-20%, and SDI re-evaluated; the resulting grades remain the same, thus confirming the robustness of the technique. Moreover, the accuracy of the proposed approach is indirectly validated by comparison with assessment results from an alternative systems analysis method. It is found that major conurbations such as Beijing have relatively high levels of sustainability, whereas provinces in central and western China require investment to improve their sustainability.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jinren
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Alistair G L
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Borthwick
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005843:Geography; D012922:Social Change