Abstract:Urban development intensity can directly indicate human activities intensity, which provides valuable information on instructing urban planning and sustainable development. This paper developed a multidimensional measuring system of urban development intensity from a perspective of social, economic, and ecological coupling system. The urban development intensity of the center and three sub-centers in Hangzhou was measured to uncover the spatial characteristics based on the integration of multi-source spatial data. Results indicated that the urban development intensity in Hangzhou declined from the center to the sub-centers. The high intensity development was mainly occurred in the city center, which implied that evacuation function needs to be further enhanced in the main center. Moreover, the development intensity of each sub-center in was different. Jiangnan sub-center and the center represented a cross-river integration, while Linping sub-center and Xiasha sub-center were spatially independent. The hotspot distribution of building intensity, intensity and output intensity were consistent, while the area with high environmental responding intensity was concentrated in the boundary between the center and the sub-centers, which exhibited spatial heterogeneity. The developed multidimensional measuring system by integrating multi-source spatial data has a great potential for characterizing urban development intensity, which is valuable for improving urban planning and management in a detailed manner.