Author(s)

Y. Ge, I. Lou, H. Zheng, Z. Wang

Abstract

Macau is a typical coastal city with limited land resources, in need of sustainable development, based on the creative conjunctions of ecological, social and economic aspects. With the development of Hengqin Island and the Hong Kong–Zhuhai Macau bridge, Macau is standing at a new historical starting point and facing new opportunities for further development. The regional sustainable development index assessment for outdoor air quality control (RSIAC) cannot only support decision-making with multiple objectives, but also provide discussions and figure out the potentials in urban sustainable development in the future. This paper advances the understanding of Macau sustainable development, through an in-depth analysis of an outdoor air quality dimension. In this study, a system approach is adopted, which integrates the analytic hierarchy process and principal components analysis. The three pillars of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) are modelled, estimated and incorporated into a concept – the regional characteristic sustainability. RSIAC application shows that the index is feasible and forms an important contribution to the ongoing discourse on regional sustainable development evaluation adaptation in the Macau Special Administration Region.

Keywords

sustainable development index, outdoor air quality control