Quantitative analysis on the sustainable development of four municipalities in China

Due to the geographical location, development history and many other social-economic factors, the economic development of each city displays significant difference from each other. It is hard to characterize the economic development of a city by only looking at one or two measurements, which is only one aspect of a city. A snap shot of a city with all of its data information could provide its holographic image. With its evolution along time, the image can be even more impressive, but is still hard to compare with its peer cities given its multivariate nature. From system point of view, no matter how complicate the appearance of a system is, it will be always associated to its intrinsic characteristics. In this work, data from four municipalities in China are analysed quantitatively to discuss different development patterns by Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Hierarchical Clustering Analysis methods, correlation of factors and urban development patterns are clearly obtained and explained.