Research on the Degree of Coupling between the Urban Public Infrastructure System and the Urban Economic, Social, and Environmental System: A Case Study in Beijing, China

The coordinated development of urban public infrastructure system and urban economic, social, and environmental system is an important goal for the integrated management and sustainable development of urban public infrastructure system. This paper constructs a research model of the degree of coupling coordination between urban public infrastructure system and urban economic, social, and environmental system using the analytic network process (ANP), the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a combination evaluation method based on game theory, and a coupling coordination degree model. Using Beijing data from 2000 to 2016, the degree of coupling coordination between the Beijing urban public infrastructure system and the urban economic, social, and environmental system is empirically analyzed. This study finds that (1) the supply level of Beijing’s urban public infrastructure system has an obvious impact on the degree of coupling coordination between the two systems. (2) The global financial crisis reduced the supply speed of the urban public infrastructure system in Beijing, and put the dynamic coupling state of the two systems in the low-level symbiosis stage. Beijing needs to improve the supply of urban public infrastructure to support the development of the urban economic, social, and environmental system. (3) Improving the supply level of the urban environmental infrastructure in Beijing, especially improving sewage disposal capacity and increasing the number of special vehicles for urban sanitation and the amount of domestic waste clearance, will positively affect the degree of coupling coordination between two systems. (4) An increase in the GDP of Beijing has a direct positive impact on the degree of coupling coordination. In addition, the increase in the social development level of the employees in three industries in Beijing has a significant impact on the degree of coupling coordination.