In 2011, the proportion of urban population exceeded that of rural population for the first time, which means China overall entering the urban era. Faced with the complicated and serious situation at home and abroad, new changes and patterns have emerged in urban development. Firstly, western cities entered into top ten for the first time, changing the situation of eastern cities as the leading always. Secondly, the differences of the urban development among provinces are narrowing but gradient features are still significant. Thirdly, the inter-regional gap of urban economy and environment construction is narrowing, while the disparity of social development and supporting capacity is still expanding. Fourthly, the coupling degree of urban sub-indicators is increasing at the national level, but the dispersion degree of development index among cities with different sizes tends to increase. In conclusion, facing the rebalance of global economy in the post-financial era, structural adjustment is still the main task for the future urban development in China.
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