At present, the window period for China to accelerate green, low-carbon and high-quality development has arrived, and leading high-quality development with green development concept is the only way to build a beautiful China. Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is a core indicator that reflects the coordinated relationship between economic development and environmental protection in China's high-quality development stage. Scientifically measuring urban GTFP and analyzing its temporal, spatial distribution characteristics and driving factors are of great significance for promoting the green transformation of the economy and society and building a beautiful China. This paper calculates the GTFP of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2022 by constructing a Super-SBM model and Malmquist-Luenberger (ML) index that includes undesired output. Next, kernel density estimation and Moran index are used to explore its spatiotemporal distribution characteristics. Finally, the urban GTFP is decomposed to identify driving factors. The study found that:(1)From 2013 to 2022, China's urban GTFP showed a temporal distribution trend of increasing overall level and increasing local differences, and the GTFP development level of cities in different regions and river basins had different characteristics.(2)The urban GTFP has a significant spatial distribution feature of "high-high concentration and low-low concentration".(3)China's urban GTFP is characterized by growth driven by technological progress as the main driver and technological efficiency as the auxiliary driver. Finally, based on the research conclusions, policy recommendations are put forward to provide useful reference for improving the GTFP of Chinese cities and promoting high-quality economic and social development. |