Long-term evolution of urban water services in Shaanxi Province, China (2000–2023): A coupling coordination analysis perspective
- 1Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- 2Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Correspondence to: College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Xinjiekouwai Street 19, Beijing 100875, China.
- 3Joint International Research Laboratory of Catastrophe Simulation and Systemic Risk Governance, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China; School of National Safety and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Abstract
Study region: Shaanxi Province, China. Study focus: Urban water service is essential for sustaining resilient cities. In this study, to explore its evolution in response to rapid socioeconomic development under natural water resources constraints from 2000 to 2023, a composite system (NSUW) consisting of natural water resource endowment (N), socio-economy (S), urban water supply (U), and wastewater collection and treatment (W) subsystems was constructed. The coupling coordination degree model, K -means clustering, and obstacle degree model were applied to assess the NSUW system’s development level and obstacle factors. New hydrological insights for the region: The NSUW system maintained a high coupling degree of approximately 0.90 after 2006 and the development degree rose from 0.18 to 0.34, while its coupling coordination degree increased from 0.37 to 0.53, evolving from mild dissonance to coordination. The coupling coordination evolution of ten prefecture-level cities exhibited three patterns including “Economy-led”, “Resource-constrained”, and “Resource-conservation”. The obstacle degrees of S and W subsystems decreased while those of N and U subsystems increased. As for the key obstacles, water scarcity was identified as a prominent constraint in Xi’an, whereas the U or W subsystem was found to be the restrictive factor for remaining cities. These findings improve understandings of how urban water services evolved under different combinations of water resources availability and socioeconomic development in arid and semi-arid regions.
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BibTeX
@article{huo2026longterm,
title = {{Long-term evolution of urban water services in Shaanxi Province, China (2000–2023): A coupling coordination analysis perspective}},
author = {Yi Huo and Jianping Jia and Wenchao Sun and Ming Wang and Jun Xie and Jietong Pei},
journal = {Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104164},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104164},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Long-term evolution of urban water services in Shaanxi Province, China (2000–2023): A coupling coordination analysis perspective
AU - Yi Huo
AU - Jianping Jia
AU - Wenchao Sun
AU - Ming Wang
AU - Jun Xie
AU - Jietong Pei
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
DO - 10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104164
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.104164
AB - Study region: Shaanxi Province, China. Study focus: Urban water service is essential for sustaining resilient cities. In this study, to explore its evolution in response to rapid socioeconomic development under natural water resources constraints from 2000 to 2023, a composite system (NSUW) consisting of natural water resource endowment (N), socio-economy (S), urban water supply (U), and wastewater collection and treatment (W) subsystems was constructed. The coupling coordination degree model, K -means clustering, and obstacle degree model were applied to assess the NSUW system’s development level and obstacle factors. New hydrological insights for the region: The NSUW system maintained a high coupling degree of approximately 0.90 after 2006 and the development degree rose from 0.18 to 0.34, while its coupling coordination degree increased from 0.37 to 0.53, evolving from mild dissonance to coordination. The coupling coordination evolution of ten prefecture-level cities exhibited three patterns including “Economy-led”, “Resource-constrained”, and “Resource-conservation”. The obstacle degrees of S and W subsystems decreased while those of N and U subsystems increased. As for the key obstacles, water scarcity was identified as a prominent constraint in Xi’an, whereas the U or W subsystem was found to be the restrictive factor for remaining cities. These findings improve understandings of how urban water services evolved under different combinations of water resources availability and socioeconomic development in arid and semi-arid regions.
SN - 2214-5818
ER -