Mapping and measuring urban-rural inequalities in accessibility to social infrastructures

Equal access to social infrastructures is a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development,but has long been a great challenge worldwide.Previous studies have primarily focused on the accessibility to social infras-tructures in urban areas across various scales,with less attention to rural areas,where inequality can be more severe.Particularly,few have investigated the disparities of accessibility to social infrastructures between urban and rural areas.Here,using the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan urban agglomeration,China,as an example,we investigated the inequality of accessibility in both urban and rural areas,and further compared the urban-rural difference.Accessibility was measured by travel time of residents to infrastructures.We selected four types of social infrastructures including supermarkets,bus stops,primary schools,and health care,which were funda-mentally important to both urban and rural residents.We found large disparities in accessibility between urban and rural areas,ranging from 20 min to 2 h.Rural residents had to spend one to two more hours to bus stops than urban residents,and 20 min more to the other three types of infrastructures.Furthermore,accessibility to multiple infrastructures showed greater urban-rural differences.Rural residents in more than half of the towns had no access to any infrastructure within 15 min,while more than 60%of the urban residents could access to all infrastructures within 15 min.Our results revealed quantitative accessibility gap between urban and rural areas and underscored the necessity of social infrastructures planning to address such disparities.

Spatial Distribution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)from the Perspective of Urban-rural Differences:A Case Study of Jiaodong Peninsula,China

There are significant differences between urban and rural bed-and-breakfasts(B&Bs)in terms of customer positioning,economic strength and spatial carrier.Accurately identifying the differences in spatial characteristics and influencing factors of each type,is essential for creating urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.This study used density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise(DBSCAN)and the multi-scale geographically weighted regression(MGWR)model to explore similarities and differences in the spatial distribution patterns and influencing factors for urban and rural B&Bs on the Jiaodong Peninsula of China from 2010 to 2022.The results showed that:1)both urban and rural B&Bs in Jiaodong Peninsula went through three stages:a slow start from 2010 to 2015,rapid development from 2015 to 2019,and hindered development from 2019 to 2022.However,urban B&Bs demonstrated a higher development speed and agglomeration intensity,leading to an increasingly evident trend of uneven development between the two sectors.2)The clustering scale of both urban and rural B&Bs continued to expand in terms of quantity and volume.Urban B&B clusters characterized by a limited number,but a higher likelihood of transitioning from low-level to high-level clusters.While the number of rural B&B clusters steadily increased over time,their clustering scale was comparatively lower than that of urban B&Bs,and they lacked the presence of high-level clustering.3)In terms of development direction,urban B&B clusters exhibited a relatively stable pattern and evolved into high-level clustering centers within the main urban areas.Conversely,rural B&Bs exhibited a more pronounced spatial diffusion effect,with clusters showing a trend of multi-center development along the coastline.4)Transport emerged as a common influencing factor for both urban and rural B&Bs,with the density of road network having the strongest explanatory power for their spatial distribution.In terms of differences,population agglomeration had a positive impact on the distribution of urban B&Bs and a negative effect on the distribution of rural B&Bs.Rural B&Bs clustering was more influenced by tourism resources compared with urban B&Bs,but increasing tourist stay duration remains an urgent issue to be addressed.The findings of this study could provide a more precise basis for government planning and management of urban and rural B&B agglomeration areas.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Urban-rural Construction Land in Rural Industrialized Areas in China:Case Studies in Changyuan City and Xinxiang County of Henan Province

Since China’s reform and opening up in 1978,the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization in China had led to dramatic changes in the pattern of urban-rural land use.In this paper,we focused on the rural industrialized areas in central China(Xinxiang County and Changyuan City of Henan Province).We used the average nearest neighbor index,spatial statistical analysis,and a structural equation model to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban-rural construction land based on multisource spatial data and survey data.The results showed that:1)from 1975 to 2019,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas had evolved from homogeneous distribution to local agglomeration.In terms of comparative analysis of cases,the spatial distribution of urban-rural construction land in Changyuan City had shown a trend from diffusion to agglomeration,and Xinxiang County had overall shown a spatial change from homogenization to agglomeration and then to regional integration development.2)The hot spots with increased urban-rural construction land significantly expanded,and they had a high degree of spatial overlap with industrial development.Among them,Xinxiang County was concentrated in central and marginal areas,and Changyuan was mainly concentrated in central urban areas.3)From the evolution of spatial proximity of urban-rural construction land,rural industrialized areas generally decline,showing the characteristics of internal differentiation in the rate of change.4)Industrial development,social economy,the policy environment,and urban development played a positive role in promoting the expansion of urban-rural construction land in rural industrialized areas.To promote the optimal use of regional land and the integrated development of urban-rural areas,we should combine the advantages of regional endowment,formulate development strategies according to local conditions,and adjust the way that land is used in a timely manner.

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.

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.

Thinking about Value Realization of Ecological Products under the Background of Urban-rural Integration in Chengdu“Western Control”Area

Chengdu's development strategy of“western control”has laid a solid ecological background for 8 western districts,cities and counties and cultivated good ecological resources.The integrated urban-rural development in the new era will realize the balanced development of urban and rural areas and give full play to the value of rural ecological resources through the“powerful combination”of urban and rural areas.To realize the urban-rural integration and high-quality rural development in Chengdu“western control”area,it is necessary to enhance the awareness of ecological resources and ecological products,and carry out unified planning of ecological infrastructure,ecological material products and ecological service products in the whole“western control”area.Meantime,ecological restoration must be carried out scientifically,and scene design for value transformation of ecological products should be implemented innovatively.

AN OVERVIEW ON THE URBAN-RURAL INTERACTION IN THE PAST 50 YEARS IN CHINA

China is a country with a long history of agricultural development,the tr adition of bureaucratic administra-tion and economic management system s for the social development.In its t ransition from traditional society to modern soci-ety during the past 50years,the rela tions between rural areas and urban a reas have been kept abnormal if considered from the point of view of the modernized co untries.Today,China still has its more than 70percent of population,bu t limited capital,lower technology and underdeveloped culture,in the rural areas.This unbalance forms not only the o bstacles to China’s modernization of social development,but also the barriers to th e society,economy and environment sustainable devel-opment.This paper focuses on the dis cussion about the coordinate develo pment of the relations between rural and urban in the past 50years,and the authors hold that only has the abnormal relation between the two areas been corrected,could China’s future development of natio nal economy be successful.

Effects of land use change on the spatiotemporal variability of soil organic carbon in an urban-rural ecotone of Beijing,China

Understanding the effects of land use changes on the spatiotemporal variation of soil organic carbon （SOC） can provide guidance for low carbon and sustainable agriculture. In this paper, based on the large-scale datasets of soil surveys in 1982 and 2009 for Pinggu District -- an urban-rural ecotone of Beijing, China, the effects of land use and land use changes on both temporal variation and spatial variation of SOC were analyzed. Results showed that from 1982 to 2009 in Pinggu District, the following land use change mainly occurred： Grain cropland converted to orchard or vegetable land, and grassland converted to forestland. The SOC content decreased in region where the land use type changed to grain cropland （e.g., vegetable land to grain cropland decreased by 0.7 g kg-1; orchard to grain cropland decreased by 0.2 g kg-l）. In contrast, the SOC content increased in region where the land use type changed to either orchard （excluding forestland） or forestland （e.g., grain cropland to orchard and forestland increased by 2.7 and 2.4 g kg-1, respectively; grassland to orchard and forestland increased by 4.8 and 4.9 g kg-1, respectively）. The organic carbon accumulation capacity per unit mass of the soil increased in the following order： grain cropland soil〈vegetable land/grassland soil〈orchard soil〈forestland soil. Therefore, to both secure supply of agricultural products and develop low carbon agriculture in a modern city, orchard has proven to be a good choice for land using.

Spatial-temporal Evolution of the Urban-rural Coordination Relationship in Northeast China in 1990-2018

To comprehensively understand the law of urban-rural relationship and propose scientific measures of urban-rural coordinated development in Northeast China,this study uses the coupling coordination degree model and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)model to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns and the corresponding driving mechanisms of its urban-rural coordination since 1990.The results are as follows.First,the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China was very low and improved slowly,but its stages of evolution is a good interpretation of the strategic arrangements of China's urbanization.Second,the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China had spatial differences and was characterized by central polarization,converging on urban agglomeration,which was high in the south and low in the north.Moreover,the gap between the north and south weakened.Third,the spatial-temporal evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China was influenced by pulling from the central cities,pushing from rural transformation,and government regulations.The influence intensity of the three mechanisms was weak,but the pulling from the central cities was stronger than that of the other two mechanisms.Furthermore,the spatial difference between the three mechanisms determines the spatial pattern and its evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China.Fourth,to promote the development of urban-rural coordination in Northeast China,it is essential to advance urban-rural economic correlation,enhance the government^role in regulating and guiding,and adopt different policies for each region in Northeast China.

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.

The spatial pattern and governance of Zhongyuan Urban-Rural System in its development trajectory

It remains unclear on how transportation network interacts with economic network in an urban-rural agglomeration,while such knowledge is crucial for urban-rural system governance and sustainability.We explored such spatial interactions in the Zhongyuan Urban-Rural Agglomeration(ZURA)from 1995 to 2015.The structure of transportation network was measured by spatial syntax model,and that of economic network was gauged by improved gravity model.The associations between transportation and economic networks were investigated by conducting bivariate spatial autocorrelation analysis.The global Moran’s I showed that the two networks were positively correlated from 1995 to 2015.The local Moran’s I identified“high-high”associations between transportation and economic networks around core cities in 1995,which further extended to surrounding cities.Our results reveal that peripheral cities with highly developed transportation system have little spatial economic impact on neighboring rural areas,while cities with low transportation accessibility restrained its external economic influence of neighboring cities and rural areas.Our findings shed light on future urban-rural system governance,where the“multi-center,unbalanced”growth patterns of economic network and the“multi-core,multi-directional”structure of transportation network are more likely to contribute to the sustainability of urban-rural systems.

Soil quality and sustainable land use in urban-rural marginal area: a case study of Kaifeng

By using the basic theories of physical geography, land resources and ecology, this article analyzes the soil quality of the rural-urban marginal area in Kaifeng. Computer techniques, based on soil samples analysis, are used to study soil quality changes in the Kaifeng’s rural-urban marginal area. While focusing on nutrient circle key links of input and output in soil, relying on numerous practical survey data, this article reveals clearly the impact of land use change on soil quality.

Chinese Rural labors Transfer under the Coordination of Urban-Rural Development

The strategic significance of Chinese rural labor transfer is expounded.It is conducive to solving the three agricultural problems concerning agriculture,rural areas,and farmers and coordinating the urban and rural development;promoting the rational distribution of human resources and realizing the growth of national economy;restructuring industrial structure and improving Chinese market competitiveness.The problems in the transfer of Chinese rural labors are analyzed,which include the low overall cultural level of rural labors;imperfect organization developmental;weak management mechanism and imperfect supporting measures.The rational paths for Chinese rural labor transfer are pointed out,including break the urban and rural dual structure and realize the free move of rural labors;strengthen the organization construction to provide high-quality socialized service for rural labor transfer;perfect security system to foster favorable social environment for rural labor transfer;establish scientific management mechanism to realize the sustainable rural labor transfer.

Restrictions and Countermeasures of Rural Vocational Education in Urban-rural Integration

Developing rural vocational education is of great significance to urban-rural integration: developing rural vocational education is helpful to cultivating new farmers for construction of new socialist countryside,favorable to improving farmers' ability of finding jobs and starting undertaking, and beneficial to transfer of rural surplus labor and acceleration of urbanization. Restrictions on development rural vocational education mainly include: low value cognition of society and social assessment of rural vocational education; out of balance of cost and expected return of rural vocational education; the quality of supply of rural vocational education failure to satisfy demand of socio-economic development; imperfect rural vocational education system. In view of these,following countermeasures and suggestions are put forward: strengthen propaganda and guidance to build environment of public opinion for rural vocational education; push forward rural vocational compulsory education system to lay social foundation for rural vocational education; reinforce policy support to assist in building rural vocational education system; improve education system to build overall framework of rural vocational education; perfect laws and regulations to establish system and norm for development of rural vocational education.

The Approaches to Narrowing Urban-Rural Income Gap——From the Perspective of Rural Social Security

From the situations about the incomes and life quality of the urban and rural residents,the thesis briefly introduces the status quo of the urban-rural income gap and explores the impact of the income gap on social economy:firstly,it hampers economic development;secondly,it is detrimental to the social development.Then the thesis analyzes the role of a sound social security in narrowing urban-rural income gap:at first,it broadens the institutional environment of improving the agricultural efficiency;secondly,it eliminates the uncertainties influencing the farmers' income;thirdly,it improves the farmers' capacity to increase income;at last,it enhances the farmers' consciousness of wealth.Next the thesis inquires into the problems existing in the system of rural social security:the first problem is more obviously fragmented system;the second is inadequate security projects and narrower coverage;the third is an obvious lack of equality in urban and rural security;the fourth is even less sound management system;the last is the lagging of legislation.Afterwards the thesis proposes the countermeasures and suggestions to improve the system of rural social security and narrow urban-rural income gap:firstly,to integrate the social security system in rural areas;secondly,to perfect security projects and enhance the security system;thirdly,to integrate the administrative management of social security;at last,to enforce the legal system.

Comparative Research on Prediction Model of China's Urban-rural Residents' Income Gap

By using the data concerning China's urban-rural residents' income gap from 1978 to 2010,this paper mainly researches the application of several kinds of models in predicting China's urban-rural residents' income gap.By conducting empirical analysis,we establish ARIMA prediction model,grey prediction model and quadratic-polynomial prediction model and conduct accuracy comparison.The results show that quadratic-polynomial prediction model has excellent fitting effect.By using quadratic-polynomial prediction model,this paper conducts prediction on trend of China's urban-rural residents' income gap from 2011 to 2013,and the prediction value of income gap of urban-rural residents in China from 2011 to 2013 is 14 173.20,15 212.92 and 16 289.67 yuan respectively.Finally,on the basis of analysis,corresponding countermeasures are put forward,in order to provide scientific basis for energy planning and policy formulation:first,strengthen government's function of public service,coordinate resources,and strive to provide an equal opportunity of development for social members,so as to promote people's welfare and promote social equality;second,breach industrial monopoly and bridge income gap between employees in monopoly industry and general industry;last but not the least,support,encourage and call for government to establish social relief fund,adjust residents' income distribution from the non-governmental perspective,and endeavor to promote the income level of low-income class.

Granger Causality Test of Urban-rural Income Gap and Employment of Rural Labor Forces——A Case Study of Shouguang City

Taking Shouguang City in Shandong Province as an example, this article researches the mutual relationship between urban-rural income and employment of rural labor forces, and conducting cointegration test and Granger causality test on the variable sequences using statistical data. The results show that the average annual income of rural labor forces influences the income per capita of rural residents, and there is a Granger causality relationship between the income per capita of rural residents and urban employees' average wage. Engaging in production concerning agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery makes the total income per capita in rural areas of Shouguang City higher than the average wage of urban residents in Shouguang City, even in Weifang City. The comparative advantage in terms of income causes the city to loose attraction to rural residents in Shouguang City. The comparative advantage drives more rural labor forces in Shouguang City to engage in primary industry, thereby greatly reducing the pressure of employment and transfer of rural labor forces. Finally important following measures are put forward to promote employment and on-the-spot transfer of rural labor forces: vigorously propel agricultural industrialization; increase rural residents' income; improve the living conditions for rural residents.

RS and GIS-based Analysis of Landscape Pattern Changes in Urban-rural Ecotone:A Case Study of Daiyue District,Tai' an City,China

Based on RS data of Daiyue District,Tai'an City in 2000,2005 and 2010,changes of land use types in urban-rural ecotone of Tai'an City from 2000 to 2010 were analyzed.Ecological theories,ArcGIS techniques and landscape structure analysis software Fragstats were applied to select relevant landscape pattern indexes and analyze changes of landscape structure,and compare changes in two durations(2000-2005,2005-2010).The results showed that area of natural landscapes in the study area declined from 2000 to 2010,construction land expanded,land use types were mainly transferred from natural landscapes to man-made landscapes.In terms of landscape level,number of patches(NP),patch density(PD),patch shape index(SHAPE),Shannon's diversity index(SHDI) and Shannon's evenness index(SHEI) increased,the largest patch index(LPI) declined.In terms of type level,arable land were influenced by the most human interventions,large-scale patches turned fragmented,and landscape dominance degraded;woodland landscapes were concentrated in mountainous areas,waterscape indexes showed slight changes.Dominance of regional dominant landscape types degraded,landscape fragmentation and landscape heterogeneity increased,and landscape stability declined.

The Chinese Urban-rural Dual Economic Structure Model and Analysis

Based on the characteristics of urban-rural dual economic structure in China,we build a dynamic endogenous urban-rural dual economic model closely linked to China's reality,and carry out mathematical economics analysis of optimized conditions for urban and rural sectors. The main results show that:(i) The labor growth rate of urban-rural sectors must be greater than the time discount rate,or else there would be a vicious cycle of diminishing returns in the sectors;(ii) The accumulation rate of physical capital and human capital of urban-rural sectors,and the rate of technological progress,need to be greater than the corresponding depreciation rate plus the time discount rate,otherwise there would be a vicious cycle of diminishing returns in the sectors;(iii) The low accumulation rate in the rural sector,and the occurrence of labor outflow,human capital loss and lack of investment,will expand income gap between urban and rural areas,which is a reason for solidification of urban-rural dual economic structure.

The Research of the Balanced Development of China's Urban-rural Spatial Integration Based on the Evolution of Regional Spatial Structure

The general law of regional spatial evolution is researched.In the process of the evolution of four stages,namely the early stage of traditional agriculture and industrialization,the middle stage of industrialization,the later stage of industrialization and post-industrialization,the types of space are homogenized space,polarized space,pole-axis space and integrated space respectively;the choosing of the spatial location is influenced by economy,society and environment,and the spatial structure extends along with three-dimensional space.Based on the fact that China's urban-rural spatial structure evolution develops rapidly,and the outstanding characteristics of dual structure becomes the main obstacle to urban-rural balanced development,the thesis poses the countermeasures of China's urban-rural spatial integrated balanced development.It points out that the healthy development of socio-economy is the external environment of realizing urban-rural spatial integration;the urban-rural coordinated planning is the prerequisite of realizing urban-rural spatial integration;fulfilling the governmental function is the key to realizing urban-rural spatial integration;promoting agricultural industrialization is the approach to realizing urban-rural spatial integration;perfecting social security system is the basis of realizing urban-rural spatial integration.