Abstract
The economic success of China in the past four decades is impressive, yet the energy-intensive growth mode has been bringing numerous environmental impacts on core domains of Chinese national economy. The combination of limited resources and demand-led growth came at the cost of widening domestic imbalances and would possibly lead to an extensive debate of development ethics. The Central Government of China responded by proposing a strategy of urban agglomeration in The National Urban System Planning (2006-2010) to further promote regional economic development and international competition. By the end of November 2018, the official number of Chinese city regions had been extended to 14, which accounts for over 80% percent of the gross GDP of China in 2017. This paper aims to evaluate the spatial development performance of 86 cities, which constitute 8 national urban agglomerations (including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta Metropolitan Are, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, Chengdu-Chongqing City Agglomeration, Wuhan Urban Agglomeration, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster, Central Plains City Agglomeration and Harbin-Changchun City Agglomeration). With 10 primary index layers and 24 specific indicators, the process of assessment is conducted within 4 correlative dimensions. The conclusion concentrates on a summary of spatial development feature and a discussion of developmental disadvantages. What needs to be illustrated is that the high data accessibility and operability of the index provide a clear perspective alternative for researchers and practitioners in other developing countries undergoing society transition.The conclusion will concentrate on a summary of spatial development feature and a discussion of developmental disadvantages.
