The Differences between County,County-level City and Municipal District in the System of Administrative Divisions in China

Administrative division is an important means of political power reorganization and management,resource integration and optimal allocation,which profoundly shapes the spatial layout of urban development in China.To clarify and compare differences between counties,county-level cities and municipal districts is the primary premise for the study of administrative division and urban development.This paper analyzes the institutional differences between counties and county-level cities,as well as counties,county-level cities and municipal districts,from the aspects of organizational structure,urban construction planning,land management,finance,taxation and public services.The research shows that the establishment of counties,county-level cities and municipal districts adapt to different levels and stages of economic and social development,and the conversion from county to county-level city and the conversion from county(or county-level city)to municipal district are both important transformation ways to change their administrative systems,which has different management system and operation pattern.At the same time,the transformation of county-level administrative region is also a“double-edged sword”,we should think about the administrative system as a whole to decide whether it should be adjusted,and effectively respond to the actual needs of local economic and social development.

The Dilemma of “Backward Countryside” and “Congested City” to Be Tackled

Statistics shed light on a tremendous imbalance inherent inChina’s urbanization process.Secondary and tertiary industriesmake up the lion’s share of GDP with figures of48.9%and39.4%respectively,while the primary industry only accounts for11.7%.By this measure,China can be said to be an industrializedcountry,or at least to have entered the intermediate phase ofindustrialization.In terms of demographic composition,

Thinking on Beautiful Countryside Construction Based on Land Consolidation in Hefei City

This paper stated the background under which beautiful countryside construction was proposed;reviewed the new countryside construction profile of Hefei City before beautiful countryside construction was proposed;analyzed the practices of beautiful countryside construction of Hefei City from the perspective of the land consolidation when considering the development of new-type urbanization conjunctively;then,on the basis of the analysis,it proposed a consideration that the land consolidation and beautiful countryside construction practices of Hefei City should be used for reference,that is to say,the city should focus on beautiful countryside construction planning and comprehensively promote the land consolidation.And it also indicated that there were three kinds of relations needed to be treated well and"five combinations"needed to be done well in land consolidation.

Investigation of Village Greening in the New Countryside Construction of Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province

On the basis of field investigation in 13 typical villages in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, and questionnaire survey over 45 local residents, this paper analyzed rural production and living environment, greening conditions, and villagers' consciousness about greening in the local area, and proposed 5 major principles for village greening: government plays the leading role, rural households are subjects; adopt unifi ed planning and coordinated development; choose suitable species for suitable land according to actual conditions; put ecology on the top priority, balance economic and ecological development; facilitate operation and management. In addition, the paper highlighted 5 characters in village greening, namely, cultural, ecological, practical, concise, and lifeconcerned.

City Professionals Bring Their Skills to Countryside

In October 1995 eight departments of the central government and the Party central committee, including the Ministry of Culture and the CPC Publicity Department, jointly launched a national program to send culture （principally entertainment） to the countryside. In 1996, under the joint sponsorship of ten departments of the central authorities, the national program broadened to include science/technology and medical services. The program, known as ＂Three Things for the Countryside,＂ has been executed for ten years. How good is their effect？ What are peasants＇ reactions to the program？ To find an answer, these reporters have recently visited Tianjin, Hunan and Shandong.

Research on the Low-carbon-high-value Agriculture Technology in the Comprehensive Improvement of Intra-county Environment Pollution——Taking the Development of Cultivation and Breeding Industry in the Ecological Cyclic Agricultural Garden in Shaoshan Irri

The comprehensive improvement strategy of intra-county environment pollution in the city and countryside was searched.By the research method which combined the microscopic view,the macroscopic view with the dynamic perspective,the seriousness of rural water quality,soil and atmospheric pollution in Xiangxiang,Xiangtan and the surrounding areas in Shaoshan irrigated area was revealed.The control measure which was 'four-dimensional pollution in the city and countryside'—— low-carbon-high-value agriculture and the technology innovation was proposed.The low-carbon-high-value technology innovation industrialization demonstration in three parts which included the pre-production,mid-production and post-production deep-processing of cultivation and breeding industry in the ecological cyclic agricultural garden in Shaoshan irrigated area was the driving force.We tried to propel the low-carbon ecological cultivation and breeding industry which included the paddy rice,grass,tree,medicinal herbs and pig,cow,chick,duck,fish.We wanted to relieve the structural unbalance of previous cultivation and breeding industry,'cheap grain hurting the farmers' and the short-leg problem of social-economic-ecological benefit.The results showed that the low-carbon-high-value agricultural system was a poly-generation technology system which promoted the multi-level and grading utilization,saved the energy,reduced the consumption and cleaned the production based on the ecology.

Welfare effects of rural-urban land conversion on different aged land-lost farmers:exemplified in Wuhan city

Rural-urban land conversion is a universal phenomenon in the rapid process of economic development and urban growth.The welfare of farmers who lost their farmland attracted a widespread concern within the society and academia.However,further research about differentiated policies according to the characteristics of different farmer groups is still need to be conducted.This article divides the land-lost farmers into three age groups:younger than 45,45-65,and more than 65.It proposes a welfare index system including eight functional areas based on different age groups of affected farmers,taking four districts of Wuhan City as case study area.Fuzzy mathematics method is used to derive the aggregated welfare effect index.Our analysis show that the overall welfare levels of land-lost farmers of all age groups declined,but with a varying degree,with the level of welfare in those farmers who are 45-65 years old,younger than 45 years old,and older than 65 years old decreased by 18.7%,16.6%,and 12.7%,respectively.The direction and degree of effects on the functional activity index varies among different groups.Economic conditions,living environment,health,and social participation of all age groups decrease while social security and housing conditions increase.On the other hand,development opportunities,social communication,and leisure have different changing directions in different age stages.These results call for differentiated and tailor-made compensation policies for land-lost farmers,towards improving the welfare levels of all farmers and reduce the disparity among them.

Spatiotemporal Evolution of Ecological Security in the Wanjiang City Belt,China

Ecological security is the foundation and guarantee of sustainable development,and its importance is increasingly widely recognized and valued by the world.The Yangtze River Basin is an important ecological security barrier in China and the Wanjiang City Belt(WCB)along the Yangtze River is directly related to the ecological security pattern of the entire basin.Based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response(DPSIR)model and a geographical information system(GIS)platform,an ecosystem security evaluation index system was constructed to measure and evaluate the evolution of ecosystem security in the WCB,China.Results showed that:1)From 2000 to 2018,the overall level of ecological security in the study area was in a state of either early warning or medium warning,but the level of ecological security in each prefecture-level city was significantly different.2)From the perspective of the evolution of the ecosystem,the value of its comprehensive evaluation index dropped from 4.255 in 2000 to 3.885 in 2018.From the perspective of subsystems,the value of Pressure comprehensive evaluation index is much higher than that of other subsystems,indicating that during the rapid development of the social economy,the pressure on the natural environment tended to rise,and triggered changes in the State and Response subsystems.3)The coefficient of variation(CV)of the Driver was much higher than other factors influencing the ecological security system.There are large differences in the economic development and ecological evolution of the cities in the WCB.This study has improved the theoretical research on regional ecological security,and has certain practical guiding significance for building a beautiful,green and sustainable China and promoting global ecological security.

The Evolution and Differentiation of Economic Convergence of Resource-based Cities in Northeast China

A key target of the overall strategy implementation for regional development since the 18th Party Congress of China has involved taking measures to narrow regional disparities. This is because resource-based cities' economic development has fallen below general levels due to resource exhaustion and an unbalanced industrial structure, among other factors. Further, an economic gap has long existed between Northeast China's large number of resource-based cities and non-resource-based cities. This article comprehensively studies the economic convergence of Northeast China's resource-based cities and non-resource-based cities from 1996 to 2015 by using a dynamic panel to analyze not only the economic development of different industries and types of cities, but also the main factors that influence economic development. The empirical results demonstrate that economic convergence exists in both resource-based and non-resource-based cities, but the economic gap between them has clearly narrowed since the implementation of a strategy to revitalize the Northeast's old industrial base. Shrinking cities are the fastest to converge, as mature cities are slower and regenerating cities are the slowest; regarding industry structure, the secondary industry dominates the economy in mature and shrinking cities, and the tertiary industry in regenerating cities. The primary stimulus in resource-based cities' economic development involves upgrading the industrial structure and investing in human capital. As China faces a ‘new normal' economy, resource-based cities in Northeast China should restructure the economy and perfect their market system to avoid again widening the economic gap.

Gini Index for Cities: A Preliminary Study on Regional Differences of Chinese City Size Distribution

City size distribution is of interest because of a number of key stylized facts, including notably Zipf's law for cities and the importance of urban primacy. But a new and more efficient method Gini index can be used for calculating regional city size distribution. This paper begins by developing a calculation method for the Gini index, dividing the whole country into 26 areas and then calculating each area's Gini index value. Based on these calculation results, this paper gives a preliminary study on regional differences of its city size distribution and the dynamics.

Land Characterization Analysis of Surface Temperature of Semi-Arid Mountainous City Abha, Saudi Arabia Using Remote Sensing and GIS

This knowledge of land surface temperature and its spatial variations within a city environment is of prime importance to the study of urban climate and human-environment interactions. Few studies have examined the influence of land use and terrain on the surface temperature effects of semi-arid mountainous urban areas. This study investigates the urban environment characterization and its effects on surface temperature using remote sensing. The methodologies adapted for this study are geometric and radiometric corrections of satellite data, extraction of land use/land cover and digital elevation model, estimation of vegetation density using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and estimation of surface temperature and emissivity using temperature emissivity separation (TES) algorithm. Finally geospatial model and statistical techniques are used for assessing the overall impact of urban environmental characterization on urban climate of semi-arid region of Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Herein, results reveal that the spatial distribution of surface temperature was affected by land use/land cover (LULC) and topography. The high dense built-up and commercial/industrial areas display higher surface temperature in comparison with surrounding lands. There is gradual decrease of LULC classes’ surface temperature with the increase in altitude. The cooling effect towards the surrounding urban built-up area is found increasing at the hill located vegetated area, the downward slope and valley terrain inside the recreational park. Therefore the spatial variation in surface temperature also reflected the effects of topography on LULC classes. Suitable mountainous land use utilization would help to expand the cooling effect. In the future, the outcomes of this study could be used to build environmentally sustainable urban planning suitable to semi-arid regions and to create practices that consider the local weather environment in urban planning.

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF INDOOR FEATURES OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY FOR ROOMS FACING NORTH-SOUTH IN WINTER IN A LOW-LATITUDE PLATEAU CITY

Analyzing observations of wintertime air temperature in both indoor and outdoor surroundings in Kunming, a city lying in low latitudes, characteristics of temperature and humidity have been studied for the interior of rooms facing north-south under different weather conditions. Significant warming effect has been identified in terms of lowest and daily-mean indoor temperature in the area of Kunming. The heating amplitude ranges from 7.7C to 10.0C and from 4.6C to 5.8C for the interior part of rooms facing the south and from 4.6C to 7.0C and from 1.3C to 4.4C for the interior part of rooms facing the north, respectively for the two elements. The highest air temperature is higher indoor than outdoor for rooms facing the south, but otherwise is usually true for rooms facing the north. Additional findings point out that buildings not only help maintain relatively warm indoor temperature but delay its variation. The diurnal cycle of temperature indoor is smaller and ranges by 40% ~ 48% for south-facing rooms, and by 20% ~ 30% for north-facing rooms, than outdoor, and the highest temperature is about 2 hours late inside the room than outside. It shows how inertly indoor temperature varies. The work also finds that relative humidity is less indoor in southward rooms than in northward ones and difference is the largest on fine days but the smallest when it is overcast. For the diurnal variation, the indoor relative humidity is large at nighttime with small amplitude but small during daytime with large amplitude. The above-presented results can be served as scientific foundation for more research on climate in low-latitude cities and rational design of urban architectures.

Urban Social Mobility Plight of City Wives from Countryside

Through field investigation,this paper discusses the social mobility of city wives from countryside and analyses the causes of the upward social mobility plight of this group in urban society.The author believes that city wives from countryside cannot continue to move upward in urban society because of their lack of culture capital and social capital.To break such plight of upward mobility for the group demands the system renovation.

田园城市？花园城市？--对霍华德Garden City的再认识

霍华德的著作《GardenCitiesofTomorrow》自被翻译为中文并引入中国后,关于GardenCity究竟应译为田园城市还是花园城市这一关乎理论核心思想的问题始终众口难调。本文试图通过对霍华德原著的深入研读,从Garden City理论背景的研究、规划方案的剖析、理论本质的解读、霍华德城乡观的挖掘、著作命名逻辑的分析五个方面进行探究,并在此基础上得出结论:一方面,霍华德提出GardenCity理论的初衷是为解决当时日益严重的城市问题提供一种社会改革的"正确的思想体系",他在构建的理想城市GardenCity上寄托了对美好城市新生活的向往,garden代表了英国居住生活的传统;另一方面,"田园城市"这一译名,为GardenCity理论带来新的更深的误解。因此,唯有还原Garden City思想的本质,才能回归霍华德的本意。

Spatial Differences of Coastal Urban Expansion in China from 1970s to 2013

As the ′economic engines′ of China,coastal cities have developed and expanded considerably since the 1970 s.In this study,information on the urban expansion process of Chinese coastal cities from the 1970 s to 2013 was retrieved.Through the analysis of stage characteristics,spatial expansion modes,influences on land use,centroid shifts,and spatial morphological evolutions,the spatial differences of coastal urban expansion were revealed.Results indicate that 1) the expansion stages of southern coastal cities are more complex than those of northern coastal cities,and the expansion ranges and speeds of the former are far higher than those of the latter;2) the spatial expansion of southern coastal cities mostly adopt a single mode,whereas northern coastal cities mostly adopt a mixed mode;3) significant spatial differences in the occupations of different land sources exist between the south and the north along the coastline;4) the centroid of coastal cities tends to migrate toward the coastline,and the centroid shift distances of southern coastal cities are clearly higher than those of northern coastal cities;and 5) the spatial morphology of southern coastal cities tends to be compact,whereas that of northern coastal cities tends to be loose.Policies have a powerful significance in terms of guiding urban expansion and its spatial differences in coastal cities.Urban expansion in coastal cities will encounter new opportunities and challenges under the guidance of new types of urbanization strategies.

基于Landsat遥感数据的城市热岛效应及影响因素——以襄阳市为例

以Landsat 8 TIRS遥感影像为基础数据,运用遥感技术反演襄阳市地表温度,计算热岛效应强度指数,定量分析襄阳市城市热岛效应的时空分布特征及发展趋势,并结合归一化植被指数(NDVI)、归一化建筑指数(NDBI)与地表温度进行相关性分析,探索地表植被分布状况和建筑密度对城市热岛效应的影响。结果表明,襄阳市的城市热岛效应在2014—2017年逐渐增强,热岛扩散范围主要为城市新建开发区及交通网的延伸区域。城市地表温度与归一化植被指数呈明显负相关关系,与归一化建筑指数呈明显正相关关系,且地表温度与归一化植被指数相关性尤为突出。建议在城市发展建设过程中,加强城市绿化投入,合理增加城市植被覆盖度及适度降低城市建筑密度可缓解城市热岛效应。

基于Landsat TM/OLI影像的哈尔滨市植被覆盖度与景观格局动态变化分析

以哈尔滨市为研究对象,依据2004、2010、2015、2020年Landsat TM/OLI遥感影像,利用归一化植被指数和像元二分模型方法提取该区域的植被覆盖度,结合植被覆盖度转移矩阵,分析植被覆盖度的时空动态变化。根据植被覆盖度分级结果,利用Fragstats4.2软件计算斑块面积、斑块个数、蔓延度与香农多样性指数4个景观格局指数,研究哈尔滨市景观格局的时空演变特征。结果表明,哈尔滨市2004—2020年高植被覆盖度和中高植被覆盖度的区域面积累计和分别占总面积的77.81%、72.54%、73.01%、83.31%,整体处于上升趋势。2004—2020年高植被覆盖度区域的景观百分比占据主导地位,其次是中高植被覆盖度区域,且大部分植被覆盖度区域斑块数量先增加后减少。从景观层次上,斑块聚合度降低、多样性略增加。探究哈尔滨市植被覆盖度和景观格局的动态变化,对城市规划设计和景观格局优化具有一定的指导和参考意义。

Vegetation dynamics of coal mining city in an arid desert region of Northwest China from 2000 to 2019

Coal mining has led to serious ecological damages in arid desert region of Northwest China.However,effects of climatic factor and mining activity on vegetation dynamics and plant diversity in this region remain unknown.Wuhai City located in the arid desert region of Northwest China is an industrial city and dominated by coal mining.Based on Landsat data and field investigation in Wuhai City,we analyzed the vegetation dynamics and the relationships with climate factors,coal mining activity and ecological restoration projects from 2000 to 2019.Results showed that vegetation in Wuhai City mostly consisted of desert plants,such as Caragana microphylla,Tetraena mongolica and Achnatherum splendens.And the vegetation fractional coverage(VFC)and greenness rate of change(GRC)showed that vegetation was slightly improved during the study period.Normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)was positively correlated with annual mean precipitation,relative humidity and annual mean temperature,indicating that these climate factors might play important roles in the improved vegetation.Vegetation coverage and plant diversity around the coal mining area were reduced by coal mining,while the implementation of ecological restoration projects improved the vegetation coverage and plant diversity.Our results suggested that vegetation in the arid desert region was mainly affected by climate factors,and the implementation of ecological restoration projects could mitigate the impacts of coal mining on vegetation and ecological environment.

Analysis on Land Ticket Transaction System of Chongqing Municipality

On the basis of analyzing essence of land ticket system of Chongqing Municipality and its transaction process,this paper studies the relationship between government and farmers and between city and countryside,and discusses the drawbacks of land ticket system in Chongqing Municipality. Results show that inherent drawbacks of land ticket system and wrong guidance of policies lead to suspicion of land ticket system occupying rural resources. Interregional exploitation and intergenerational exploitation are inherent mechanism of city exploiting countryside. Finally,it proposes increasing construction land index to satisfy demand of new socialist countryside construction primarily,to ensure rural social stability; Later,use land ticket index to fill the gap of construction land in economically developed areas,so as to alleviate conflict of urban land use and maximize circulation value of rural construction land. It is expected to provide theoretical reference for relevant departments to regulate land ticket transaction system and realize the harmonious development,between urban and rural areas.

Urban Energy Efficiency from Cities in China and Policy Implications

Using 1995-2006 panel data for 210 cities,this article firstly measures total factor energy efficiency for Chinese cities with constant return to scale data envelopment analysis model,and then describes the features of regional differences.The results show that the changing trend displays four "reversed U" shapes.A turning point of widening gap occurred among cities in 2000 and there was a certain convergence among four regions.Urban energy efficiency level is unstable.Cities with low efficiency and high energy input will be the focus of energy-saving and reducing emissions.According to Tobit model,resource endowment,temperature,industrial structure,technology level and variety of policy factors should be treated differently in different situations.