Research on the evolution and driving forces of the new urbanization development in Anhui Province

A new urbanization evaluation index system is constructed based on the “Five-in-One” general layout. The entropy weight TOPSIS method calculates the new urbanization index of 16 prefecture-level cities in Anhui Province from 2006 to 2021. The differences and evolution patterns of the new urbanization level in different regions are analyzed using kernel density estimation and the Dagum Gini coefficient. The main driving forces for improving the new urbanization level are analyzed using principal component analysis. The results show that: (1) The new urbanization level of cities in Anhui Province generally exhibits an uneven distribution of “high in the southeast and low in the northwest,” with Hefei city consistently leading the province in the new urbanization level. (2) The main driving forces of new urbanization in Anhui Province vary at different times, with economic development and ecological civilization becoming key driving forces for new urbanization in Anhui Province from 2014 to 2021.