Preliminary Research on Coordinated Development Pattern and Optimization Strategy of Cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The coordinated development of cities is one of the important ways to achieve the goal of high-quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Based on the theories of Society-Economy-Environment, Regional Innovation System, and Relational Economic Geography, this study constructs an evaluation index system of the coordinated development capability of cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and with the help of quantitative methods such as spatial correlation and Zipf scale rank, calculates and analyzes the coordinated development capability of cities in 2019. Results show that the coordinated development pattern of cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is characterized by Shanghai’s prominent leading position, obvious differences in city grades, distinctive core-edge structure, and complex relationships in different fields. In order to enhance the city’s capability of coordinated development, this paper points that it should focus on creating a collaborative innovation network, developing two-way enclaves, paying attention to multi-field collaborative interaction, and striving to achieve the national strategic goal of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.