Study on Spatial Difference and Its Convergence of Urban Assessment: Based on 286 Cities in China

Abstract

Urban assessment is an important basis for judging the sustainable development capability of cities. This study constructs an urban assessment index system from six aspects: health and comfort, ecological livability, convenient transportation, cleanliness and orderliness, diversity and inclusiveness, and innovation and vitality. Based on the spatial panel data of 286 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021, the spatial differences that exist in urban appraisal among the three major regions of China and their convergence are investigated. The study shows the following: First, the study reveals a significant improvement in the level of city governance across the country, with a gradual reduction in absolute differences. Second, the overall differences in the urban assessment scores of individual cities in China have been decreasing year by year. Intraregional differences are smaller than interregional differences, with the east-central region showing the largest interregional difference. Third, regarding σ convergence, the evolutionary trends of city governance levels in the nation and the eastern, central, and western parts of China are somewhat turbulent but show significant σ convergence characteristics overall. Absolute spatial β-convergence coefficients in the nation and the eastern, central, and western parts of China are significantly smaller than 0. Additionally, there are conditional β-convergence trends in city governance in the nation and each city in the eastern, central, and western parts of China.