Comprehensive Urban Assessment and Major Function Verification Based on City Examination: The Case of Hubei Province

China’s major function-oriented zoning (MFOZ) serves as a crucial policy instrument for functional regulation of land use, playing a significant role in the latest territorial spatial planning. Studies on the implementation of MFOZ have been conducted since its release in 2012, but there is a lack of comprehensive methods to assess the effectiveness of its implementation. In China, the newly initiated City Examination provides novel technical support for verifying MFOZ planning, addressing the gap in comprehensive evaluation methodologies and channels. This study proposes a comprehensive urban assessment framework and a major function classification approach based on City Examination data, enabling the identification of implementation deviations in MFOZ planning based on the current urban conditions reflected by City Examination. The methodology incorporates dimensionality reduction, multi-indicator clustering, entropy-weighted overlays, and natural break classification techniques and examines the degree of strategic deviation in China’s MFOZ through a comprehensive and systematic assessment. Due to the timeliness and long-term nature City Examination data, the method allows for the long-time dynamic tracking and evaluation of the real-time progress in MFOZ. Empirical analysis of Hubei Province revealed that 77.9% of its urban development aligns with the 2011 MFOZ scheme while demonstrating discernible deviation types and hierarchical discrepancies, with geographically clustered patterns observed among cities exhibiting such deviations.