A comparative study of urban ecological resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin

This study constructs a indicators system of urban ecological resilience based on “resistance-adaptation-recovery”, and measures the level of cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yellow River Basin from 2006 to 2021. Utilizing the Dagum Gini coefficient, traditional and spatial kernel density methods, and geographical detector, the study comprehensively analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution and causes of urban ecological resilience in these regions across multiple dimensions. Furthermore, it explores different paths for enhancing resilience of the two regions. The results indicate: (1) The urban ecological resilience level of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is significantly lower than that of the Yellow River Basin, yet it exhibits a faster growth rate. Both regions show a distribution characterized by “higher in the east, lower in the west”. (2) The overall internal differences between the two regions show a downward trend. The Yangtze River Economic Belt exhibited more pronounced spatial imbalances compared to the Yellow River Basin; however, since 2011, this trend has reversed. (3) The overall resilience in both regions is improving, and the absolute gap is gradually narrowing, showing a significant trend towards polarization in terms of evolutionary features. Cities with lower resilience levels demonstrate increased upward mobility, while cities with higher levels exhibit low mobility or even a decline. (4) Differences in restoration and adaptative capabilities are the principal intrinsic factors affecting the resilience differences between the two regions, whereas variations in economic development and capital efficiency serve as important extrinsic factors determining their spatiotemporal evolution differences. (5) Increasing investment in green technologies, promoting industrial low-carbon transformations, encouraging social green investments, and strengthening green technological innovations are crucial strategies for enhancing urban ecological resilience in both regions. Meanwhile, optimizing open channels significantly improves the urban ecological resilience in the Yellow River Basin.