Assessing the Effect of Eco-City Practices on Urban Sustainability Using an Extended Ecological Footprint Model: A Case Study in Xi’an, China

Planning and construction are well-known practical topics; however, eco-city developments and their sustainable effects on the city are less known. Xi’an is a typical city that has a target to become an eco-city. This city is selected in this case study with the aims of (1) framing eco-practices to enhance the understanding of an eco-city development and (2) evaluating the effect of eco-practices to reveal whether they truly enhance urban sustainability. For the first objective, the framework was constructed in accordance with ecological footprint (EF) theory. For the second objective, environmental pollution was added to an extended EF model. The EF of Xi’an from 1999 to 2014 was calculated and analyzed. The results are as follows: (1) Water pollution control and water area development are core issues in the Xi’an eco-city development. Air pollution control and forest land development also play important roles in the eco-city development; (2) Eco-city practices contribute to the decreases of per capita EF and per capita ecological deficit because of the reduction in the EFs of water area, forest land, and arable land, thereby enhancing urban sustainability; (3) The effect of eco-city practices on the improvement of per capita ecological capacity (EC), the ECs of arable land, water area, pasture land, and forest land are not significant. Based on these results, this study provides practical implications for the promotion of urban sustainability through eco-city development.