Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.

On integrated urban and rural development

Cities and the countryside have long been an inseparable organic whole.China's new model of high-quality urbanization requires integrated urban and rural development and rural vitalization.Problems inherent to urban areas are caused by problems inherent to rural areas,and vice versa.Such problems are closely linked,and the compound each other to create“urban-rural problems.”As such,rural vitalization is necessary to prevent problems associated with growing cities,and the new model of urbanization is required to prevent problems in rural areas.Based on a review of domestic and foreign research on integrated urban and rural development,this study analyzes the root causes of persistent urban and rural problems and their counterposing patterns on a theoretical level;analyzes the main factors and driving mechanisms as well as the underlying pattern and sustainability of integrated urban and rural development;constructs a measurement test for integrated urban and rural development;and proposes a triangular model of integrated urban and rural development.It confirms that China's integrated urban and rural development is in the late period of urbanization,which features a high degree of integration and more urban areas and fewer rural areas.Subsequently,it will enter the final period of urbanization and a stage of deep integration,with more urban and fewer rural areas.In the future,it will be necessary to implement a strategy of deeply integrated urban and rural development and use new urbanization and rural vitalization to solve urban-rural problems and improve the quality of urban and rural development.New theories and methods of integrated urban and rural development will need to be created and an evaluation system to judge quantitatively the depth of integrated urban and rural development will need to be established,in order to create desirable urban and rural areas.Future efforts should aim to develop greater synchronization,deeper integration,and mutual success between the new model of urbanization and rural vitalization,so as to improve the high-quality development of,and modernize,both urban and rural areas.

Chengdu Urban-Rural Integration Exploration and Lessons–Book Review of Coordinating Urban and Rural Development in China: Learning from Chengdu

Coordinating Urban and Rural Development in China:Learning from Chengdu Authors:Ye Yumin,Richard Le Gates Year:2013Publisher:Edward Elgar Publishing ISBN:9781781952023(424 pages,in English)Urban and rural integration,i.e.,how to deal with the issues of urban and rural disparities,urban and rural development,farmers,agriculture,migrant workers(or urban,industrial new immigrants),

Experience of Overseas Countryside Development and Construction of “Beautiful Countryside” in Zhejiang

Countryside development paths and phase characters of typical developed countries and regions were analyzed,such as the East Asian Model(Japan and South Korea),and Western European Model(Germany and the Netherlands).The former is based on the big gap between urban and rural development,and the latter is based on the balanced development of urban and rural areas,both of them achieved the world’s leading level of countryside construction.In Zhejiang Province,"China’s Beautiful Countryside"represented by Anji,and"Zhejiang Green Agricultural Product Base"represented by Xianju emerged in the county level.Motivation mechanisms for countryside development in China and abroad were analyzed,including industrial system,infrastructure,ecological environment,and local culture.

CPC Central Committee and State Council Release Opinions Concerning Establishing and Improving the Institution, Mechanism, and Policy System for Urban and Rural Integrated Development

On May 6,2019,the CPC Central Committee and State Council released the Opinions Concerning Establishing and Improving the Institution,Mechanism,and Policy System for Urban and Rural Integrated Development(shortened into the Opinions in the following part).The Opinions suggests that by 2022,a primary urban-rural integrated development mechanism should be established.An institutional channel for free flowing of urban and rural elements should be basically opened up,the restrictions on urban permanent household registration should be gradually eliminated,the unified urban and rural construction land use market should be set up,the capacity of finance serving for countryside revitalization should be apparently promoted.

Influence of Rural Land Institutional Reform on Urbanization During the 13^(th) Five-Year Plan Period:A Case Study of Jiangsu Province

The rural land institutions have confined the process of China's urbanization for a long time. During the 13 th Five-Year Plan period, the Chinese government will push forward a new round of rural land institutional reform, so as to promote the restructuring of current rural land use pattern, change related elements concerning urbanization, and realize the transformation of the urbanization mode. Taking Jiangsu Province, a comprehensive pilot site of new urbanization at the provincial level in China, as an example, the paper summarizes the practical experience of rural land institutional reform in Jiangsu during recent years. Further, through analyzing the influence of rural land institutional reform on the urbanization process of Jiangsu Province during the 13 th Five-Year Plan period, the paper puts forward some policy measures, with the hope of providing a lasting impetus for the new urbanization in Jiangsu Province as well as a reference for other provinces in China.

The functional evolution and system equilibrium of urban and rural territories

The coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems has long been a scientific issue of concern in geography and socioeconomic development in China.Based on Territorial Function Theory,this paper establishes a theoretical framework to support the coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems,analyzes the trend of functional evolution,discusses the impact of efficient allocation and orderly element flow on system equivalence development,and puts forward approaches and policy suggestions for equilibrium development in the future.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The evolution of urban and rural territorial functions has experienced four stages:rural to rural,rural to urban transition,rural to urban,and urban to urban.In this process,territorial functions have been developed to be hierarchical and advanced.(2)Functional evolution enables urban and rural comparative advantages to be transformed from value difference to value equivalence.Increasing the flow intensity and reconstructing the flow space have become the necessary conditions for the coordination of development.(3)Land is the most important resource in China,and land system reform is the key to achieving equivalence development of urban and rural territorial systems,thereby determining the future equilibrium development of the two systems.

The Relationship between Government on One Side and the Market and Society on the Other in China’s Agricultural and Rural Development:An Analytical Framework

The integrated development of urban and rural areas requires that the government take responsibility for the overall development of the countryside. Chinese agricultural and rural policies characterized by state intervention and government leadership have played an important role in promoting agricultural development and increasing farmers’ incomes as well as balancing development in urban and rural areas. However, the effectiveness of current agricultural policies in promoting agricultural productivity is now clearly leveling off. Given this situation, the authors argue that it is imperative to construct a new analytical framework featuring government regulation and guidance of agricultural and rural development. In this framework, the government must clearly define the boundaries between its activities and those of the market and rural social organizations. While fully respecting the fundamental role of the market in allocation of resources and rural self-management, the government should exercise its power as a backstop. Further, the government needs to establish a logical sequence for government functions such as formulating the basic operating system of the market and society, correcting market failure and social dysfunction and cultivating market/social entities. To use this new analytical framework to strengthen and improve its regulation and guidance of agricultural and rural development, the government needs to reform the basic rural management and agricultural support and protection systems and to pay attention to the cultivation of market entities in agricultural production on the basis of agricultural marketization. Furthermore, it needs to construct a basic urban-rural integrated public service system with the government as the leading actor, carry out innovations in the management system of rural society and fully mobilize the social forces to take part in the administration of public affairs. It also needs to reconstruct the system of government administration and management to ensure the thorough implementation of agricultural and rural development policies.