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Intensive land use can support sustainable socioeconomic development, especially in the context of limited land resources and high population. It is measured by land-use intensity that reflects the degree of land-use efficiency. In order to support decision-making for efficient land use, we investigated the mechanism whereby natural and socioeconomic factors influence land-use intensity from the perspectives of overall, region-, and city-based analysis, respectively. This investigation was conducted in Chinese cities using the multiple linear stepwise regression method and geographic information system techniques. The results indicate that: (1) socioeconomic factors have more positive impact on land-use intensity than natural factors as nine of the top 10 indicators with the highest SRC values are in the socioeconomic category according to the overall assessment; (2) education input variously contributes to land-use intensity because of the mobility of a well-educated workforce between different cities; (3) the increase in transportation land may not promote intensive land use in remarkably expanding cities due to the defective appraisal system for governmental achievements; and that (4) in developed cities, economic structure contributes more to land-use intensity than the total economic volume, whereas the opposite is the case in less-developed cities. This study can serve as a guide for the government to prepare strategies for efficient land use, hence promoting sustainable socioeconomic development.
