Development of Sustainable Urban-Rural Integration:Dongtan Case Study

The environmental impact issues,such as global warming and expansion of the urban zone,seem more serious and have become the biggest defining challenges of the 21st century.Climate change can lead to water shortages,desertification,land degradation,air pollution,rising sea levels,accelerated deforestation,and exacerbated economic pressures.Global urban growth greatly impacts changes in sociability,humanity,and the environment of the Earth.The human presence,especially in cities,seriously affects resource use and waste disposal,and they are consuming natural resources faster than the planet can sustain during urbanization,changing how people live.China,with a population of 1.3 billion,has seen tens of millions of people living in the countryside migrate to cities,especially megacities,since the 1980s.As a result of its decision to industrialize and urbanize to boost the economy,China has become the world’s second-largest consumer of energy.In recent years,China’s government has quickly recognized the lessons of“limits to growth”and has taken action by initiating the construction process in Dongtan,Shanghai,China.They are making efforts to build urban-rural integration communities to promote sustainable development.Based on a literature review focusing on Dongtan,research questions are raised according to the research objective:(1)What are the challenges of sustainable development in urban-rural integration?(2)What practices has Dongtan implemented for sustainable development,or how is sustainable development being applied to Dongtan?(3)What are the social,political,environmental,and economic concerns regarding the sustainable development of Dongtan?The sustainable urban-rural integration concerns the ecological,economic,environmental,and psychological aspects of urban-rural integration design and management.The overall objective is to promote sustainable development in economic,social,ecological,and spatial dimensions.It will be a liveable,complete community that makes economic,environmental,and social sense locally while also contributing to national and global sustainable development.It will serve as a compelling model for how to build sustainable urban-rural integration worldwide.

A new approach towards the sustainability of urban-rural integration:The development strategy for central villages in the Abbasiya District of Iraq using GIS techniques

The development of rural areas usually has a positive impact on the urban-rural integration. This study explores an innovative approach to stimulate rural development by proposing qualified villages as central villages that can provide basic urban services for their residents and residents of neighboring villages. This approach can contribute to overcoming the various problems that rural areas faced at the social, economic, and environmental levels. It seeks to achieve spatial sustainability of rural areas, representing a new approach by integrating urban development methods to revitalize rural villages. The study analyzed 15 villages belonging to Abbasiya District of AL Kufa City in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq. Based on the GIS techniques and the analysis of urban service indicators(village population, percentage of urban building materials used in villages, distance between village and health centers, distance between village and main roads, nature of economic activity, distance between village and educational institutions, distance between village and drinking water sources, number of communication towers, and distance between village and urban administrative center), this study proposed that Abu Gharb and Albu Ghraib can served as central villages in Abbasiya District in the future. This study establishes a new rural spatial structure to achieve rural sustainable development, improves the development status of rural areas, and provides a theoretical basis for the government and relevant institutions to use urban service indicators, achieving rural sustainable development and formulating relevant development policies in Abbasiya District.

Development Path of Urban-rural Integration

The urban and rural areas are regarded as two major components of the regional economic system. Only through joint balanced development of the two can we achieve overall economic optimization and social welfare maximization. But the great social division of labor has separated urban areas from rural areas,which casts the shadow of city-oriented theory on cooperative relations between urban and rural areas. Mutual separation between urban and rural settlements and independent development trigger off a range of social problems. We must undertake guidance through rational development path of urban-rural integration,to eliminate the phenomenon of urban-rural dual structure,and promote the sustainable development of population,resources and environment in urban and rural areas as soon as possible.

A Comparative Study of Development and Reform of Urban-Rural Integration in Chengdu and Chongqing Based on System Theory

Chengdu and Chongqing,as two core cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle,have always been in the front rank of development and reform of urban-rural integration in China.But due to different basic conditions,ideas and priorities are different in the two cities.This paper establishes an analysis framework based on system theory,conducts a systematic comparison on the development and reform of urban-rural integration in the two cities to achieve a comprehensive comparison study and finds out that:(a) Owing to different basic conditions,Chengdu and Chongqing have adopted different reform ideas and measures.Chengdu places more emphasis on systematic advancement,while Chongqing attaches more importance to key breakthroughs.(b) Chengdu’s high level shows that in the practice of urban-rural integration,independent policies and measures in local areas have limited effects.System efficiency can surpass the sum of local areas’ efficiencies only if a systematic method is adopted to comprehensively promote policies and measures for institutional innovations in various fields.

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.

Study on the Modes and Strategies of Integrated Urban-Rural Construction

The connotation of urban-rural integration,its construction courses,construction modes in China and abroad are introduced in this study,the problems emerging from the urban-rural integration practices are analyzed,and strategies for the urban-rural integration in China are proposed.

Investigating the urban-rural integrated town development strategy on the basis of the study of rural forms in Nantong,China

Urban-rural integrated development is the priority task of China due to the wide development gap between cities and villages caused by the most rapid economic growth in history.In the province-city-town-village administrative system of China,town,as the smallest urban form,is the social,economic,and cultural center of a rural area and becomes the key to many development problems.An improved township enhances living standards and creates numerous jobs in rural areas,and it will provide opportunities for urban-rural sustainable integration.This paper introduces three typical rural forms in Nantong and demonstrates the objective fact that rural form is an important manifestation of residents,living habits,historical context,and the regional characteristics of rural areas.Then,this study aims to find the close inner relationship between rural form and town development through a comparative study of morphological indicators.Therefore,on the basis of full understanding of rural forms,this study proposes that town development from the perspective of serving the countryside,improving the quality of life of rural residents,and protecting the rural landscape texture with regional characteristics is the development mode conforming to the spirit of sustainable development.

On Narrowing Income Gap, Integrated Urban-Rural Development and Common Prosperity

The discussion of common prosperity in this paper revolves around the following two aspects. First, the promotion of common prosperity requires a solid material foundation;solving poverty as measured by the absolute income standard serves as the basic requirement of becoming rich;the future rural relative poverty is a common problem and challenge that most of China’s provinces are facing;and increasing farmers’ income is a problem that must be solved within the framework of integrated urban-rural development. Second, narrowing the income gap is one of the essential requirements of common prosperity;narrowing the income gap to a certain level and achieving the unity of the development and sharing and the harmony of efficiency and fairness constitute the essential component of “common”;and the current urban-rural absolute income gap in China remains large, which violates the concept of shared development, is not conducive to sharing the achievements of economic development by the people as a whole, inhibits economic growth, and hinders the construction of a new development paradigm. Therefore, firmly grasping the mainline of integrated urban-rural development, strengthening overall planning and top-level design, and compensating for the institutional disadvantages of the dual division of urban and rural areas should be the main strategic focuses for promoting common prosperity in China.

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),

Methods of Land Management in the Construction of Urban and Rural Integration

With the rapid development of the social economy,the pace of urban-rural integration construction has been accelerating continuously.From the actual situation at this stage,it is necessary to maintain the sound relationship of coordination,interaction and mutual advance between the city and the village.In the process of building urban-rural integration,we should focus on strengthening the development of land management,so as to improve the rationality of land development and utilization,and maximize the value of land while protecting rural farmland resources.The author explores and analyzes the problems existing in the land management work in the urban-rural integration construction.An effective way is put forward to carry out land management work in urban and rural integration construction,which contributes to the improvement of the quality of land management work.

Can the integration between urban and rural areas be realized?A new theoretical analytical framework

Urban-rural integration is an advanced form resulting from the future evolution of urban-rural relationships.Nevertheless,little research has explored whether urban and rural areas can move from dual segmentation to integrated development from a theoretical or empirical perspective.Based on the research framework of welfare economics,which offers an appealing paradigm to frame the underlying game between cities and villages,this study clarifies the ideal state of urban-rural integration.It then proposes a series of basic assumptions,and constructs a corresponding objective function and its constraints.Moreover,it assesses the possibility of seeing the transmutation from division to integration between urban and rural areas with continuous socio-economic development.The authors argue that the ideal state of urban-rural integration should be a Pareto-driven optimal allocation of urban-rural resources and outputs,and the maximization of social welfare in the entire region.Based on a systematic demonstration using mathematical models,the study proposes that urban and rural areas can enter this ideal integrated development pattern when certain parameter conditions are met.In general,this study demonstrates the theoretical logic and scientific foundations of urban-rural integration,enriches theoretical studies about urban-rural relationships,and provides basic theoretical support for large developing countries to build a coordinated and orderly urban-rural community with a shared future.

试论我国失业压力缓解

伴随经济体制、经济增长方式的转变和产业结构的调整，失业问题正成为我国社会经济中一个日益突出的问题。据统计，我国停产半停产企业职工约５００万人，虽未停产半停产但因任务不饱满、管理不善等原因，每周工作时间不到法定工作时间的劳动者约有２０００万人。我国农村...

“Three-Plan Integration”: Exploring the Order and Regulation Capacity of Spatial Planning

China's spatial planning system has a tradition of prioritizing vertical control over horizontal coordination, which leads to conflicts among various plans for one area. This has brought many problems to the spatial management of Chinese cities. Since socio-economic development plan, urban-rural plan, and land use plan are the three major elements of China's spatial planning system, conflicts among them can be taken as an intensified case of the system's problems, and the practice of three-plan integration should focus on bridging the gaps and solving conflicts among them, so as to eventually eliminate predicaments to China's spatial planning. Currently, due to influences of the actual law and governance systems, threeplan integration is largely a sort of government-led planning coordination dedicated to urban-rural spatial development. In the context of China's constantly deepened political and economic system reforms, three-plan integration, together with the extended multi-plan integration, will surely play an important role in the construction and exploration of China's spatial planning system.

Analysis on the Theoretical Basis of Rural Revitalization Strategy

The rural revitalization strategy represents a quantum leap in both the theory and practice of rural development in China,and serves as a crucial solution to address the array of challenges facing rural areas.Multi-dimensionally,the rural revitalization strategy sets out the general requirements of“building rural areas with thriving businesses,pleasant living environments,good social civility,effective governance,and prosperity,”which echo the measures of new urbanization:efficient,green,humanistic,well-governed,and inclusive.Specifically,“building rural areas with prosperity”aligns with the development requirement of urban-rural dual structure theory;“building rural areas with thriving businesses”meets the development requirement of the industrial division of labor and integration theory;“building rural areas with pleasant living environments and good social civility”follows the development requirement of sustainable development theory;and“building rural areas with effective governance”tallies with the development requirement of rural governance theory.Urbanization theory,urban-rural dual structure theory,the industrial division of labor and integration theory,sustainable development theory,and rural governance theory serve as crucial theoretical references for the rural revitalization strategy,helping make clear its conceptual underpinnings.

Land consolidation： An indispensable way of spatial restructuring in rural China

The implementation of new type industrialization and urbanization and agricultural modernization strategies lacks of a major hand grip and spatial supporting platform, due to long-term existed ＂dual-track＂ structure of rural-urban development in China as well as un- stable rural development institution and mechanism. It is necessary to restructure rural pro- duction, living and ecological space by carrying out land consolidation, so as to establish a new platform for building new countryside and realizing urban-rural integration development in China. This paper develops the concept and connotation of rural spatial restructuring. Basing on the effects analysis of industrialization and urbanization on rural production, living and ecological space, the mechanism of pushing forward rural spatial restructuring by carry- ing out land consolidation is probed. A conceptualization of the models of rural production, living and ecological spatial restructuring is analyzed combining with agricultural land con- solidation, hollowed villages consolidation and industrial and mining land consolidation. Fi- nally, the author argues that a ＂bottom-up＂ restructuring strategy accompanied by a few ＂top-down＂ elements is helpful for smoothly pushing forward rural spatial restructuring in China. In addition, the optimization and restructuring of rural production, living and ecological space will rely on the innovations of regional engineering technology, policy and mechanism, and mode of rural land consolidation, and more attentions should be paid to rural space, the foundation base and platform for realizing urban-rural integration development.

Land use transition and rural spatial governance: Mechanism, framework and perspectives

The pattern for utilization of rural space is closely related to rural transformationdevelopment (RTD). The problem of rural space utilization is an important manifestation of theuncoordinated relationship between land use patterns and rural development status during atransformation period. Considering the rural space utilization issue, this article seeks to analyzethe interaction mechanisms between land use transition (LUT) and rural spatial governanceand then build a rural spatial governance analysis framework based on LUT. Also, thepaper explores the internal relationship between rural spatial governance and rural vitalizationand discusses the research prospective of the interaction. The study found that: (1) Ruralspace utilization has systemic problems such as limited development space, ill-defined ownershipand poor organization, which have become important obstacles for rural development.(2) The uncoordinated relationship between LUT and RTD is an important reason for the dilemmasurrounding rural space utilization. (3) The LUT provides a basis for determining thetiming of rural spatial governance, specifying spatial governance objectives, and clarifyingrural spatial governance methods. (4) The construction of a comprehensive analysis frameworkof “matter-ownership-organization” of rural space based on the LUT has created conditionsfor the orderly promotion of rural spatial governance. (5) Rural spatial governance whichfacilitates the integration of urban-rural development is an important foundation for rural vitalization.(6) Interaction analysis of LUT, RTD and rural spatial governance is conducive tofacilitating research on the operational mechanism of rural regional systems and to expandingthe research field of rural geography.