**1. Introduction**

China's existing industrial zones form a complex and massive system that is continuously undergoing development and, in many regions, degradation [1,2]. In the process of transformation, cultural excavation and economic and social development are typically not considered. Large-scale demolition and construction in existing industrial zones constitute a huge waste of resources [3–5]. Construction waste accounts for 30–40% of municipal solid waste [6–8].

In terms of the green transformation of industrial zones, some theories and methods are relatively well-developed. For example, in terms of industrial production, clean production and a circular economy can be adopted to reduce pollution emissions [9–12]. In industrial zones that have caused serious pollution, ecological environmental restoration measures can be adopted to transform brownfields [13,14]. Regarding building utilization in industrial areas, the protection and reuse of architectural heritage sites can be strengthened gradually [15–17]. The core ideas are to reduce damage to nature, utilize and conform

**Citation:** Zhang, X.; Cao, Y.; Tang, M.; Yu, E.; Zhang, Y.; Wu, G. Evaluation of a Chongqing Industrial Zone Transformation Based on Sustainable Development. *Sustainability* **2022**, *14*, 5122. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su14095122

Academic Editors: Carlos Morón Fernández and Daniel Ferrández Vega

Received: 6 March 2022 Accepted: 20 April 2022 Published: 24 April 2022

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**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

to nature, realize the symbiosis between human and nature, improve eco-efficiency, abandon waste, improve resource recycling, use renewable energy, promote multi-disciplinary resource management [18,19], and combine environment and economy [20–22]. However, implementing transformation often unilaterally emphasizes the green transformation of one aspect in the industrial zone and lacks an overall evaluation system and transformation method for the total factors of green transformation in the industrial zone.

Ma and Wang proposed the concept of an asocial-economic-natural complex ecosystem in 1979 and the idea of "sustainable development" from the perspective of a complex ecosystem [23]. Wang et al. (1989) further explained and enriched the concept of the social-economic-natural complex ecosystem from the perspective of cybernetics [24–26]. Later, Zhao explained the concept of sustainable development from a philosophical perspective and proposed the principles of establishing a sustainable development indicator system [27–29]. Niu, Lü et al., and Ye and Chen analyzed sustainable development from different perspectives; however, they all emphasize that sustainable development requires overall systematic coordination [30–33].

On the premise of sustainable development, starting from the concept of green economy, this paper quantitatively analyzes the eco-economic system of industrial zones from the perspectives of flow of capital, energy, and material. For example, PSR and DPSIR models are employed to evaluate the index system of environmental sustainable development [34–40]. Regarding the transformation of existing industrial buildings, the evaluation is mostly carried out from the perspectives of green buildings and the impact of the whole life cycle of buildings on the environment [41–48]. With regard to landscape evaluation, it is mostly conducted from the perspectives of culture, material, and emotion [49]. The innovation of this research lies in the integration of sustainable development ideas in the fields of ecology, urban planning and design, landscape design, green transformation of existing industrial zones, and the design of comprehensive indicators of the dynamic process of industrial zone transformation and development in view of society, economy, and environment.

This study constructs a sustainable development evaluation model of the existing industrial zone and applies this evaluation system to an existing industrial zone, Chongqing Pigeon Brand Wire and Cable Co., Ltd., to determine the sustainable development potential of this area. The evaluation system reflects the integrity, systematic nature, and dynamics of the green transformation of the industrial zone, rather than pursuing the sustainability of one aspect of the industrial zone.
