(ECNS) -- Urban areas in the Yangtze River Delta scored the highest in terms of integrated growth across China, said a blue paper on city development by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The study, released by the CASS Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies and Social Science Academic Press, focused on whether a group of cities developed in comprehensive and coordinated ways.
Researchers evaluated three massive urban areas with a concentration of adjacent metropolises: Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei in the north, the Yangtze River Delta in the east and southern Pearl River Delta, by looking at indicators in the economy, society and environment.
The blue paper showed that the eastern urban complex led in coordinated growth, while progress was made in the north during 2014 compared to 10 years previous. The study also found that differences among cities in the Pearl River Delta declined sharply.
All three areas had high scores for economic growth, but poor environmental protection, it was added.
