Evolution and adjustment of land and housing policy in the process of China’s urbanization

Land and housing policy has been developing towards market pricing since reform and opening up of China.China has witnessed rapid urbanization and large population flows in recent years.In addition,the demand and supply of land and housing in urban and rural areas are in sharp contrast.These issues have brought greater challenges to current land and housing policy in China.This paper proposes the basic thinking for adjusting land and housing policy on the basis of the urbanization theory of Jean Gottmann and Terry,G.McGee,as well as the housing market filtering model.It also pushes forward the idea of establishing a construction land market that covers both urban and rural areas,and an interactive housing system,which would address the housing concerns of urban migrants and put to use vacant housing and idle homesteads in rural areas.

Proposed Relief Map of the Suitability of the Maranhão River Basin, Brazil, for Anthropogenic Use

In this paper, we proposed a method for mapping the suitability of land for intensive anthropogenic use in the Maranhao River Basin, in the state of Goiás, Brazil. We analyzed existing 1:250,000 maps of the local geology, drainage system topography and geomorphological features. We generated new information based on our analysis, including a compilation of basic morphometric data and a map of the slopes in the basin, which we used to construct the geomorphological suitability map of the watershed. Our results indicate that 40% of the study area can support intensive anthropogenic use;the remaining 60% of the basin area is categorized as “fragile” regarding the expansion of intensive land use.

Impacts of Cultivated Land Conversion on Environmental Sustainability and Grain Self-sufficiency in China

Using provincial data, the present paper examines the impact of cultivated land conversion on agriculture and the environment. It is found that the grain production center is gradually moving towards more fragile and water scarce areas, putting more pressure on the environment. Land conversion caused large losses in ecosystem service values in the 1990s, but large scale ecological restoration programs have been implemented since 2000 to compensate for such losses. The ecological restoration programs are concentrated in regions with relatively low land productivity, whereas cultivated land conversion usually takes place in areas with relatively high land productivity. Newly-cultivated land, especially that in areas marginally suit for agricultural production, is likely to have much lower productivity levels than the original cultivated land. Because the stock of potentially cultivable land is almost exhausted, China＇s grain self-suffiency policy can only be maintained by preserving the available stock of arable land and increasing its productivity in a sustainable way.

China's Construction Land Expansion and Economic Growth:A Capital-output Ratio Based Analysis

Since 2003, the Chinese Government has included land policy as an important component of macroeconomic policy. The present paper analyzes the impact of the expansion of construction land on economic growth in terms of the capital-output ratio. Using provincial panel data for China from 1999to 2005, we conclude that the excess expansion of China＇s construction land led to an increase in the capital-output ratio. Therefore, expanding construction land has made little contribution to economic growth. This paper argues that contractionary land policy does not deter high economic growth, and is a necessary condition for sustainable economic growth.