Classification and Spatial Pattern of Township Development in Liaoning Province, China

The classification of township development types is an urgent problem that requires solution to enable the township to choose an appropriate development path. Using a township development classification method, we determine the township development types and their spatial patterns in Liaoning Province, China. The results showed that the patterns of township development types based on their general advantages had significant spatial differentiations. The planting, and livestock and poultry breeding township development types based on general advantages were mainly distributed across the central plain of Liaoning Province, China, and also concentrated in Dandong City–Dalian City along Yellow Sea coast, and in the northwest of Chaoyang City. The business and tourism, industry and mining, and residence township development types based on general advantages were distributed mainly along the Shenyang–Dalian Economic Belt in the central and southern Liaoning Province. The ecology township development type based on general advantages was mainly distributed in the eastern and western Liaoning Province to maintain regional ecological security. Township development types based on non-advantages were sporadically distributed in the middle and western Liaoning Province. Based on the classification and spatial patterns, the differences between the distribution of twonship development types and the plan for the major functional areas of Liaoning Province were proposed which could provide the basis for the optimization of the major functional areas.