A comparison of higher education location patterns in Guangdong China and California USA

This paper explores and compares Higher Education Location patterns in Guangdong China and California USA. By applying the GIS techniques and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), location patterns of higher education are mapped, quantified and compared. Higher institutions in Guangdong China and California USA are both concentrated to urban regions characterized by dense population, large GDP and higher socioeconomic status in the province (state). Location patterns of higher education are different in California and Guangdong. At the city level, regional configuration of HE in Guangdong is denser than that in Californian. At the sub-city level, global spatial patterns are similar, but local spatial autocorrelation indicators demonstrate that the local spatial patterns between California and Guangdong are different.