A study of the advantages of city development in three megalopolitan areas based on the method of factor analysis: A discussion with city ranking by competitiveness
基于因子分析的三大都市密集地区的城市发展优势 ——对城市竞争力排序的商榷

With the rise of the concept of city competitiveness in recent years, city ranking has received enormous attention from various areas. Firstly, this paper points out the negative effects of blindly seeking a higher city ranking, and then from a theoretic point of view it indicates that the basic mistake of city ranking is ignoring the connection with the regional space and the hierarchical system of cities. And the advantages of city development based on quantitative evaluation should be combined with the hierarchical system of cities in geographical space. Furthermore, this paper gives quantitative evaluation on the development status of cities in three megalopolitan areas by applying the methods of factor analysis, to explain the process about combining advantages of city development with geographical space and the hierarchical system of cities by case studies. It solves the problems of city ranking, provides scientific basis for reasonable planning of hierarchical system of cities, and promotes the collaboration among cities. It will be a significant study to coordinate the large, medium and small city development. Finally,through the comparison of spatial patterns of three megalopolitan areas, it explores the theory of the hierarchical system of cities.