## 1 Introduction  
As the global economy grows, the urban population is increasing dramatically. By 2022, 55% of the world's population lived in urban areas [1]. Furthermore, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development indicates that the number of people living in urban areas will rise to 60% by 2030. However, urbanization is coupled with a series of environmental problems, such as urban soil and water pollution, water and energy shortage, green space loss, natural habitat fragmentation, the heat island effect, the waterwash effect, the congestion effect, and habitat quality decline [2, 3, 4, 5]. These ecological problems create huge challenges for human life and seriously hinder the sustainable development of cities. Since the reform and opening up of China, the urbanization level has increased from 17.9% in 1978 to 64.72% in 2021, and urban construction land has increased from 6720 km\({}^{2}\) to 58,355.3 km\({}^{2}\)[6]. By 2030, China's urbanization level will further increase to 70%, and such rapid urbanization will not only determine the future development of the country itself but also influence the global urbanization process [7, 8]. China has recognized the pressure on various ecological functions and services in areas where human activities are concentrated during its new type of urbanization and has emphasized the importance of ensuring harmony between humans and nature, enhancing urban resilience, and mitigating and adapting to climate change during the urbanization process [9]. For example, measures such as Multiplan Integration, three-zone and three-line delineation, land quota control, ecological protection red lines, and permanent basic farmland control have balanced population, urban development, and ecosystems [10, 11, 12]. However, some scholars believe that the increase in urban population will create greater poverty, social inequality, and environmental unsustainability in cities [13]. Evidently, due to the complex relationship between urbanization and ecosystems, the effectiveness of urban management policies in China remains unclear, and the conflicts and coordination among the population, urbanization, and the ecological environment are also yet to be clarified. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the dynamic relationship between the population, urbanization, and ecological environment to provide a scientific basis for effectively regulating urbanization and the balance between human development and environmental protection. China's new type of urbanization proposed in 2014 attempts to address three major policy challenges regarding land, people, and the environment [14]. Meanwhile, China conducted two national population censuses in 2010 and 2020, and these data provide a reliable database to reflect the real relationship between urbanization and environmental pressure and are a strong support to explore the effectiveness of the new type of urbanization. It validates whether China's development over the past 10 years has been on a trajectory of ecological conflict or a trajectory of harmony and whether this new wave of global urbanization will succeed in breaking the pattern. Studies have shown that China's urban built-up land area has increased by 80% over the past 40 years, while its urban population has increased by only 50% [15]. Pessimists argue that the growth of land urbanization has far outpaced the population growth in these areas and has led to serious \"disconomies\", including the emergence of many empty or ghost cities [16]. This has apparently increased public spending by local governments, thus limiting the \"absorption effect\" of migrant workers. Optimists, on the other hand, argue that population growth can generate economic and technological benefits that have a strong positive impact on the region while also avoiding extensive land development in the countryside. Four times more rural land is used for various types of construction than urban land, as evidenced by its inefficient land use [14].