today, urban development faces an ecological crisis. as a famous historical and cultural city in china, the contradiction between the morphological development of nanjing and the ecological environment is becoming increasingly acute, and the city's ecological regulation function tends to be fragile. because cities are not only the birthplace of human technological progress and social and economic development but also an important source of human-environmental problems and environmental crises, the problem of the urban ecological environment has aroused the widespread concern of governments and scientists of various countries. in this context, the sustainable development of urban morphology with nanjing as an empirical study is undoubted of great significance to the sustainable development of cities in china and the world. it also provides a certain reference and ideas for the development of modern cities. [...]