Resource-based cities serve as crucial strategic bases for energy security in China. However, as urban resources gradually deplete, these cities confront the dilemma of the resource curse, precipitating a severe development crisis and rendering sustainable development attainment more challenging than for other cities. The formulation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) presents a novel framework guiding the trajectory of resource-based cities. Based on the prefecture-level data spanning from 2006 to 2020 in China, this paper used principal component analysis (PCA) to construct a SDGs-oriented sustainable development indicator system for resource-based cities. Further spatial analysis and cluster analysis show that: (1) The sustainable development of resource-based cities show a balanced tendency in space, and regenerative cities have the best performance. (2) A significant positive spatial correlation is observed in the sustainable development of resource-based cities, underscored by a discernible increase in spatial convergence and a concomitant decrease in spatial agglomeration of sustainable development capabilities over time. (3) Despite this, considerable disparities persist across various domains of sustainable development among resource-based cities, with many facing with high carbon emissions. Consequently, the implementation of multifaceted policies and industrial transformation initiatives is imperative to strike a balance in different domains and facilitate carbon reduction. This paper offers an in-depth exploration of the spatiotemporal patterns characterizing resource-based cities, which can provide some new insights conducive to fostering their sustainable development.
 

resource-based cities; sustainable development; spatiotemporal patterns; principal component analysis(PCA); cluster analysis