Urban Intelligent Development: A Comparative Analysis of Tiered Cities in China

This study investigates the intelligent development of Chinese cities across six distinct tiers, classified according to the 2020 City Business Attractiveness Ranking. This ranking system considers five key indicators: concentration of commercial resources, urban hubs, urban population activity, lifestyle diversity, and future plasticity. The mean values of each tier were compared using a trend graph (Fig. A3). The analysis reveals a steady upward trend in the intelligent development of cities across different levels. However, the differences between cities of varying tiers are pronounced, with a clear pattern of higher levels of development corresponding to higher tiers. The first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen demonstrate significantly more advanced intelligent development compared to other regions, followed by new first-tier and second-tier cities, which display a notable upward trend during the study period. In contrast, third-tier, fourth-tier, and fifth-tier cities exhibit low and stable growth in their intelligent development.