Evaluation of city sustainability based on SPA method: The case of prefecture-level resources-exhausted cities in China

China’s urbanization surge has exacerbated sustainability challenges in resource-exhausted cities. This study employs multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to assess 16 such cities against four regional hubs. We innovate a tri-dimensional (economic-social-environmental) framework with set pair analysis (SPA) weighting to address indicator interdependencies. Results show four cities surpassed average sustainability levels, with Zaozhuang, Jingdezhen, Jiaozuo, Liaoyuan, and Shizuishan performing poorest. Eastern/central regions outperformed northeastern/northwestern counterparts, while Shizuishan achieved optimal dimensional equilibrium. Critical barriers include foreign investment deficits and green infrastructure gaps, with social factors constraining 12 cities versus environmental limitations in Shizuishan and Wuhai. Data-driven policy pathways are proposed for sustainable transitions.