Abstract
Ecological environment quality is increasingly becoming a critical priority in measuring the sustainable development of modern cities. Reflecting on the reality of contemporary urban development, we create a structural equation model with city image and ecological quality as the antecedents of sustainable urban development, reflect on and expand the existing models of sustainable urban development, and further explore the mechanisms of various urban marketing factors on the shaping of city image. The study found that the continuous improvement of city marketing assets contributes to the process of shaping sustainable city branding. City image has a direct and significant positive impact on city recognition, city reputation, and perceived quality. Ecological environment quality also has a direct effect on city recognition and no direct effect on perceived quality or city reputation. However, ecological environment quality can affect city's reputation by acting on perceived quality through city recognition and then enhance the competitiveness of city sustainable development. The case practice of shaping a city's image by ecological environment quality illustrates the pragmatic return of humanism in contemporary urban development. While the halo effect of city image still exists, a good city reputation becomes another important influence on perceived quality and sustainability. This study facilitates the development of urban sustainable development theory and the extension of urban branding innovation theory, which will promote international dialogue in the field of urban eco-environment in China.