The Coupling Coordination Relationship and Influencing Factors Between the Green Building Industry and the Development Environment: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

As a primary economic engine and strategic region in China, the development of the green building industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) holds demonstrative significance for the low-carbon transition of the country’s construction sector. Utilizing panel data from 11 provinces and municipalities within the YREB during 2012–2022, this study constructs a comprehensive evaluation index system to measure the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between the green building industry and the development environment. The spatio-temporal evolution of the CCD is analyzed using methods including kernel density estimation, the Dagum Gini coefficient, spatial autocorrelation, and standard deviational ellipse. A fixed-effects model is further employed to identify its influencing factors. The results show that (1) both the green building industry and its development environment in the YREB exhibited upward trends, with the gap between them gradually narrowing. (2) The CCD across provinces and municipalities showed an overall upward trend, characterized by simultaneous “overall improvement” and “internal gradient differentiation” in spatio-temporal distribution, and displayed a spatial pattern of “higher values in the east and lower in the west.” (3) Urbanization level, government regulation, technological innovation, and consumption capacity exerted significant positive effects on the CCD, whereas the influence of education level and public environmental awareness remained insignificant. This study provides insights for formulating differentiated regional policies and optimizing the development environment for the green building industry.