Spatial distribution of the comprehensive level of urbanization and its driving factors in Inner Mongolia

Based on the entropy method,we estimated the comprehensive level of urbanization in Inner Mongolia in 2007 and 2013 from population,space,economy,society,labor and employment,and infrastructure and ecological environment. Then,with GIS autocorrelation and hot- spot analysis method,we studied the geographic distribution and evolution of comprehensive level of urbanization. And the results are as follows. The comprehensive levels of urbanization were quite different in the spatial distribution. The spatial pattern of comprehensive levels of urbanization in Inner Mongolia was stable in the two years,which was more advanced in eastern and western regions than that in middle region. The spatial autocorrelation of comprehensive level of urbanization became from weak to strong. The hot- spot region was Erdos. The cold- spot regions were Wulanchabu City and Xilingole area. Spatial differences in regional conditions for development and geographical differences in regional economic development were the driving factors of the spatial differentiation of the comprehensive level of urbanization in Inner Mongolia.