ON DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE CITIES IN CHINA

The large cities in China have grown rapidly during the past 40 years. By the end of 1990, there were 59 large cities with a population of 0.5 million or more in the China's Mainland, of which 31 cities have a population of more than 1 million. Under the situation of controlling and developing, the characteristics of the large city grooth may be generalized as follows: 1. Large cities have developed rapidly, but their proportion of number and population in the whole national urban system has dropped. 2. The proportion of coastal large cities some what dropped, the inland large cities increased rapidly.3. Most of the provincial capitals have developed into large cities. Due to the concentration of industry and population to the cities, especially to the large cities, the cities scales are expending and the urban problems are strenghtened. The economic efficiency in large cities is decreasing, the Problems in infrastructure construction are becoming more and more serious. The coming 10 to 20 years are an important period for large city development in China. With the social and economic development, the large city growth will continue. The urbann agglomerations-taking the extra-large and medium-sized cities as their centres will come into being in China. the industries such as finance, trade,information and real estate will increase greatly and will form the major part of urban area, with the restructuring of industries in metropolitan regions.

Sodium Content in Takeaway Meals Sampled from Three Large China Cities

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate salt levels in popular hot takeaway meals in three large China cities, and to compare the difference in sodium content in different types of takeaway meals. Methods: We randomly collected a total of 4450 samples of 7 different types of takeaway meals, which were the most consumed by local residents from takeaway platforms. The main ingredients, auxiliary ingredients, as well as the weight used in takeaway meals were collected. The sodium content in takeaway meals was obtained by calculation. Results: Obtained results show that the sodium content in three large China cities is alarmingly high. Comparing medians (interquartile range) of takeaway meals from different cities, Beijing contained the highest sodium content per portion (1371.3 mg (890.3 - 2137.4)), followed by Hangzhou (1348.45 mg (694.25 - 1541.62)) and Shanghai (340.1 (259.75 - 942.25)). In addition, the sodium content between pasta and porridge, Chinese meals, and western meals show significant differences (p 0.05). Compared with Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes, the average sodium content exceeded dietary recommendations for one takeaway meal. The sodium content differed among takeaway meals prepared with various cooking methods and meats. Conclusion: Notable differences are detected in takeaway meals’ sodium content between several large cities in China. To meet China’s target salt intake, consumers in these cities are highly recommended to reduce sodium content in their everyday meals.

International Arts Festivals Visitors＇ Motives and Profile Characteristics： The Case of Two Medium-Sized Greek Cities

This paper presents an analysis of two renowned international arts festivals visitors＇ motives and profilecharacteristics, in two medium-sized Greek cities： the Kalamata International Dance Festival （KIDF） and theDrama International Short Film Festival （DISFF）. The purpose of the study was to determine the reasons visitorsattend these festivals, which is necessary for building more concise marketing strategies and, therefore,more successful and sustainable events, with long-term benefits, ranging from the local to the national levels.The research addresses international arts festivals that share four main characteristics： （1） they host internationalprofessional artists; （2） they feature explicitly-stated artistic visions and objectives; （3） they are publicly funded;and （4） they have achieved a consecutive 23 years of successful presence in each city. These two case studiesrepresent two cultural events which have managed to maintain their popularity and high status, on the Europeanfestival map, as well as to raise their host cities＇ cultural and tourism standards, despite the serious economiccutback they have both faced. Due to limited available funds, the festivals lack marketing resources andspecifically data collection on visitor motivation, a gap which this study aims to remedy. Primary datawere collected with the aid of online structured questionnaires, distributed and collected during autumn2016. Altogether, 130 questionnaires were answered by visitors of the DISFF and 186 questionnaires wereanswered by visitors of the KIDF. Even though both festivals share similar characteristics regarding theirorganization and their aims, our analysis emphasized the heterogeneity of the motives of attendance in connectionwith the visitors＇ profile characteristics, for each event. While some similarities were found, especially betweendemographic sample characteristics and visitors＇ profiles, the general picture to emerge from the findingsindicates significant differences between the two cases. Arts festivals-goers do not appear to constitute a singlehomogeneous market; rather, each event appears to attract different audiences for different reasons. Theimplications of these findings, deriving from statistical analysis, are discussed and suggestions for further researchare outlined. This research aims to contribute to knowledge concerning the marketing strategies of internationalarts festivals in medium-sized cities, useful for research and academic purposes, as well as to local and nationalauthorities and other agencies and bodies, responsible for urban tourism and cultural city/town planning andmanagement.

Study on Non-engineering Countermeasures of Meteorological Disaster Prevention in Large Cities

For the main meteorological disasters and their characteristics in big cities of China,from city planning,laws and regulations,disaster management,contingency plan implementation,monitoring and early warning,information spreading,disaster insurance,science propaganda and so on,we put forward the suggestion of strengthening non-engineering countermeasures of meteorological disaster prevention in large cities of China,providing decision-making reference for urban disaster prevention and mitigation.

Five-force Analysis and Market Strategies of Budget Hotels in Small and Medium-sized Cities --ake Xuchang Jinjiang INN for Example

Budget hotels, as an emerging hotel model, were started and attained a rapid development in China in the last ten years, and have proven to be important part of China抯 hotel industry. As competitions in the hotel industry become increasingly fiercer, budget hotel brands launch a fight for seizing more market share. Therefore, it is necessary for Xuchang Jinjiang INN as a famous hotel brand to be distinguished from the hotel product strategies of the developed economic areas in the development environment of the small and medium-sized tourism cities, so as to adapt to the characteristics of regional market.

On the Development Principles and Models of Recreational Belt around Small and Middle Cities

The definition and type of recreational belt around metropolis were introduced,the development principles of recreational spot around small and middle cities were analyzed.With Baoding City as an example,the empirical analysis was conducted,and the development models of recreational spot around metropolis in Baoding City were put forward.

Vulnerability of Large City and Its Implication in Urban Planning: A Perspective of Intra-urban Structure

Vulnerability is a new field and analytical tool in the study of urban safety. Analysis and assessment of vulnerability provide a new basis for urban planning. This study constructed a quantitative index system for assessing vulnerability, based on the city′s sensitivity and emergency response capacity. City size, density, and spatial form influence a city′s sensitivity to crises and risks, to which vulnerability is positively related. Levels of socio-economic development, infrastructures, and emergency management contribute to a city′s emergency response capacity, with which vulnerability is inversely associated. Vulnerability of 19 large Chinese cities was assessed. Harbin and Shenzhen demonstrated the highest and lowest vulnerability among 19 cities, while Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou ranked the 5th, the 9th and the 12th. Spatially, northern cities tended to be more vulnerable than southern cities. And the differences in vulnerability among cities were explored based on cities′ physical geography conditions, level of socioeconomic development, infrastructures, regional status, history of disaster, history of urban planning and development, government policies, etc.

A complete introduction to the SCJ proposal and its commentary on the development of seismically resilient cities

In modern society, the population, wealth and social functions are increasingly concentrated in a few large cities. Such concentration brings about efficiency while at the same time it increases the vulnerability of the society. To address this issue, the Science Council of Japan（SCJ） published a proposal entitled ＂Shape Cities and Societies Safer against Severe Earthquakes＂. It makes a variety of suggestions for enhancing the seismic resilience of large cities, including：（1） comprehensive thinking based on the latest scientific knowledge and rich imagination;（2） selection of sites suitable for residence and social activities;（3） introducing the urban seismic coefficient;（4） promoting the enhancement of the seismic performance of buildings and civil structures;（5） easing the concentration of population and functions;（6） building communities that enable shelter and escape;（7） resilient technology of information and communication system and its effective utilization;（8） preparation and implementation of emergency response after earthquakes;（9） development and application of new structural seismic technology;（10） learning from domestic and foreign earthquake disasters and launching of international cooperation and knowledge sharing and（11） taking actions from a multidisciplinary perspective. The proposal is introduced in this paper.

Sustainable Development Research in Chinese Medium-Sized City Based on SLEUTH

Compared with megacity, the medium-sized city is playing a more and more important part in the rapid urbanization process in China. Due to the expanding scale of the medium-sized city, urban growth is sprawl and this way leads to ecological, social and environment problems that are unsustainable. To measure the urban growth of the medium sized city, cellular automata (CA) model is employed. CA has proven to be a popular and effective modeling approach to investigate dynamic urban growth systems and for evaluating the impacts of possible policy options. We use the SLEUTH model, which is a well known CA model, to simulate the future urban growth of Huaian, Jiangsu province of China. The results confirm the value of SLEUTH which provides a rich exploratory of knowledge for evaluating the effects of possible decision-making in local government.

A Case Study of Affordable Housing in a Medium-Sized City in Central China

The main task of this paper is to explore the housing condition and housing policy in the vast but long-neglected middle-sized cities in China. Under the requirement of ＂Construction of 10 Million Units in 2011＂ from the central government, the affordable housing has started its nationwide building. Medium-sized cities are facing different developing periods but applying same housing policy as big cities. The paper examines the economic and social condition of the case city to find out the housing problems. It concludes that houses are affordable in these medium-sized cities, but housing policies are not implemented well. The paper proposed that housing affordability in medium-sized city is not about quantity but about quality. To keep houses affordable in these medium-sized cities, housing market, legislation, urban planning, public participation and intensive developments are all important.

Research on the Optimization Design of Intersections for Safe Operation of Large Trucks

When big trucks are running at urban road intersections,they are easy to interfere with other motor vehicles,and the turning big trucks are easy to have conflicts with non-motor vehicles and pedestrians,which will affect the safety of intersections.This paper first studied the intersection of trucks to the running trajectory,on this basis,through the establishment of mathematical model analysis of large truck steering conditions inside the wheel,and the influence of blind area to the driver.In the research of intersection safety design,the safety design is divided into three parts:Entrance road,internal operation and signal control.At the same time,the design method of the entrance road,the interior of the intersection and the signal control is given,which improves the safety of the truck driving at the intersection.Finally,the intersection of Jungong road and Zhoujiazui road in Yangpu district of Shanghai was selected as a case,and the optimal design of the intersection for large trucks was carried out through the investigation and analysis of actual data.The evaluation and analysis were carried out by using the multi-index matter-element model.The results show that the comprehensive safety correlation degree of the intersection is reduced to 0.42,and the safety level of is improved by one level.

Why Doesn't Planning Work in Large Cities in the Developing World? A Viewpoint Based on Population Underestimation

In developing countries, various plans are used to contain urban sprawl of large cities, though they are rarely successful. Previous studies mainly attribute the failure to unsystematic urban planning, problems of governance or implementation, and rapid economic development. We suggest that an underestimation of urban population numbers is also a key factor, and that population forecasting methods currently in use need to be revised Using panel data covering 110 major countries across 60 years （1950-2010）, this study examined the relationship between large cities, and countries＇ population numbers, urbanization rate, land area, and four dummy variables. Based on this, a simple and generalizable model is developed to project the population of large cities.

A research into the large-scaled spatial forms of cities based on urban design

In the process of unprecedented urbanization in contemporary China, a great many of Chinese cities have witnessed a rapid expansion of urban scale to different degrees. With the continuous compilation, amendment and enforcement of urban planning, the functional structure, spatial environment, street patterns and textures and even the social aspect of cities have changed conspicuously, all of which have directly happened to the spatial forms of the dimension, or even the multi-dimension of a certain city. By describing and analyzing the structure, evolution and explicit tokens of the spatial forms of cities, this thesis attempts to set up a model of factors that affect urban forms, as well as discuss the attributes, protection, adjustment and development-potential of urban land closely associated with forms. In addition, on the basis of the professional features for urban design to participate in the modeling and construction-management of desirable spatial forms of cities, the author has put forward technical measures for quantitatively appraising and analyzing the large-scaled spatial forms of cities, thus offering technical support to municipal governments and management departments of planned construction.

Impact of City Scale and Regional Difference on Small & Medium-Sized Cities' Development and Its Implication

By studying the relationship between urban development performance and city scale and regional difference, this paper aims at revealing the real challenges faced by small and medium-sized cities(referred to as SMSC hereafter) in China. It analyzes the growth of different-sized cities, their positions in China's overall urban system, the influence of city scale on their capability in migrant absorption, economic development, public service, and environmental remediation, as well as the capability difference among SMSCs. Results show that city scale is less a determinant in economic development capability and per capita ownership of public service than in economic performance, quality of public service, and environmental remediation capabilities. Besides, there are many other factors determined by regional differences instead of city scale. Therefore, in the context when SMSC plays an increasingly important role in the process of urbanization, relevant parties should avoid the "trap of scale," and re-position urbanization within the framework of sustainable development.

Study on administrative division reform of China’s small and medium-sized cities in the urbanization process

Throughout the world,urbanization has been basically understood to refer to the process of increasing population flow from rural to urban areas.To adapt to this irreversible process,besides eradicating the urban-rural dual household system,China needs to accelerate the building of administrative system in small and medium-sized cities,which will enable them to absorb more migrants from rural areas,and thereby help ease the burden on large cities,and forge a sensible urban system.According to the statistics in this paper,by 2050,China’s urbanization rate will reach around 80%.This calls for as many as 1,050 small and medium-sized cities,i.e.,those capable of accommodating less than 500,000 residents.Currently,however,there are only 383 cities of that scale in China.Therefore,we need to think hard and clearly about how counties and towns are best developed under the urbanization drive,how to achieve optimal administrative structure through reclassification and adjustment of different administrative units,and how,in general,to enhance the quality of urbanization in China.

The Dilemma and Way-Out of Urban and Rural Planning Management in China's Small and Medium-Sized Cities

In China, for small and medium-sized cities, urban and rural planning management should play an important role during the process of urbanization. However, it failed to do that in reality due to a series of limits, such as local fiscal deficiency, scarce human resources, incomplete management systems, historic planning defects, inadequate supervisions, and imperfect regulations, etc. This paper made a comprehensive analysis on the dilemma of urban and rural planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities and the interests and status of the government, enterprises and public in space resource allocation and put forward the methods to improve the quality of planning management in China's small and medium-sized cities from the view of systems and mechanisms.

On the Socio-Economic Development Features on the Fringe Areas of Large Cities in China

Regional studies are basically carried out in three areas. Studies on regional develop-ment theory, the characteristics and state of regional development, and on decision mak-ing and policy, In recent years, regional development theories were introduced to China,such as growth pole theory, gradient theory, and central place theory, etc. Much benefi-cial work has been done concerning these theories. Much exploration has also been madeon decision-making and policy studies in connection with regional, territorial and cityplanning. However, not much has been done with regard to the research on the character-istics and state of regional development and most of them are descriptive. Therefore, thereis a lack of guiding theory for decision-making and policy studies and also a lack of re-search, on regional characteristics and state, which has inevitably resulted in erroneousdecision-making and reform measures. The stepping up of research on the charecteristicsand state plays a key role in raising, the regional scientific research level. In this article, theauthors concentrate their research on the city fringe areas and try to explore thesocio-economic features and state of these particular areas.

以人为本推进超大特大城市户籍制度改革的路径选择

自上一轮户籍制度改革实施以来,常住人口300万以下城市的落户门槛已经完全放开,破解部分常住人口300万以上的大城市和超大特大城市的落户限制成为户籍制度改革接下来的突出任务。当前,户籍制度改革的福利扩散(落户)与福利剥离(居住证)二元并行路径面临困境,在政策上陷入了“落户悖论”:如果推进落户,在超大特大城市户籍门槛很难进一步降低,且在农业转移人口落户意愿不高的背景下,落户已很难继续推进;如果不推进落户转而依靠居住证,在核心公共服务难以进一步与户籍脱钩的条件下,农业转移人口仍需要通过落户实现市民化。破解“落户悖论”,推进以人为本的新型城镇化,可实施“愿落尽落+负面清单”改革方案:在完全放开超大特大城市落户限制的同时,将少数高含金量公共服务列入负面清单,落户者须满足负面清单中公共服务的提供部门所制定的附加条件,才能享受该公共服务。这一改革方案具备较好的经济性、道义性和可操作性,是放开超大特大城市落户限制的可行路径。