Analysis on the effectiveness of indicators for evaluating urban carrying capacity: A popularity-suitability perspective

Cities globally are developing rapidly, and the contradictions between urban development and urban carrying capacity (UCC) are increasingly prominent. Various UCC evaluating indicators have been introduced as main instruments for investigating the performance of UCC. However, understanding on the effectiveness of these UCC indicators has drawn little attention in previous studies. It is therefore not explicit whether those popular indicators proposed in the literature are also suitable to communicate the UCC status practically, and vice versa. This paper establishes a popularity - suitability bi-dimensional (PSBD) model to discriminate and analyze the effectiveness of UCC evaluating indicators. Research data from the Web of Science were collected, and 335 candidate UCC indicators addressed in 48 studies were identified. In the PSBD model, popularity degree of individual indicators is measured by its frequency employed in these studies. Suitability degree of indicators is obtained by analyzing the information attached to a specific urban context, which is collected through practical survey. Chongqing in China is referred as a case city for demonstrating the application of PSBD model. The research finding reveals that PSBD model is valid in examining the effectiveness of UCC indicators for a specific urban area. The indicators selected through the application of PSBD model are instrumental for understanding the status of UCC in the concerned cities, and can help prevent urban areas from overloading, which further benefits the mission of sustainable urban development.