Evaluation on the Ability of Regional Sustainable Development Based on the Principal Component Analysis: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China

The region, especially at the municipal level, plays a very important role in the implementation of sustainable development strategy, it is fundamental to evaluate the ability of regional sustainable development in Jiangsu Province for making the development strategies. The purpose of this study is to set up an index system for evaluating regional sustainable development, and evaluate the ability of regional sustainable development in Jiangsu province based on the method of principal component analysis (PCA). The results indicate that the scores of PCA correctly reflect the present regional development situation; different cities in Jiangsu province are faced with different problems in regional sustainable development, to improve the economic strength, reduce the spatial difference, simultaneously take use of resources rationally and protect environment should be the main contents of regional sustainable development in Jiangsu province.