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Through a study of the behaviour of already debt-ridden local governments in response to the Made in China 2025 policy, this paper explores whether local governments prioritized State interests over local interests, when their financial involvement was required. Deploying a panel data analysis for more than 280 prefectural-level cities, this paper finds that, despite having been subject to an "Administrative Subcontract" arrangement under which the Central Government appoints top local officials, local economic/debt interests were prioritized over national policy implementation under fiscal decentralization. Instead of promoting infrastructure development, the Made in China 2025 policy provided an opportunity for local governments to raise capital via Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFV) primarily for debt refinancing, despite the State's numerous attempts to control the growth of local government/LGFV debt. Some policy implications concerning i) the effectiveness of national policy implementation on local levels under "Administrative Subcontract" and ii) the debt situations of prefectural-level Chinese cities and their effects on China's economy in general are then discussed. • National policy required local government investment under fiscal decentralization. • Local leadership faced with dilemma between career prospects and mounting debt. • Prefectural-level cities prioritized local interests over State interests. • The Made in China 2025 policy triggered further accumulation of local debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mega-city regions have attracted wide attention in China, recent 'metropolitanization' at the multi-city scale is poorly understood. To tackle the void, this paper examines the emergent 'metropolitan plans' (dushiquan guihua) since 2019 and identifies a paradigm shift in metropolitanization from 'territorial urbanization' to 'multi-city regionalism' in China. We find that 1) as a fuzzy and dynamic concept, the metropolitan region has been mainly employed as a policy object for state rationalities and has been upscaled from a city region scale to a multi-city scale; 2) regarding planning practices, the new metropolitan plans function as an overall collaborative framework to support priority tasks for city regionalism in a shorter term rather than formulating long-term spatial strategies; 3) as space of governance, the recent state-orchestrated metropolitan region reflects the newest round of state rescaling process to cope with domestic uneven development and urban issues through 'urban unification', and its materialization heavily relies on concrete cross-boundary projects delivery and coordination through soft governance. These findings not only provide conceptual clarity and relational understandings of the metropolitanization process but also exemplify the distinctiveness of the Chinese metropolitanization approach in terms of scalar logic, planning style, and associated governance mechanisms. This paper furthers the understanding of the divergence and diversity of metropolitan planning and governance practices in different political-economic circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cities for the elderly are crucial for advancing inclusive smart cities amidst urbanization and population ageing. While the age-friendliness of smart cities is increasingly emphasized, differences across various fields of age-friendliness in smart cities remain unclear. In the context of smart city construction gradually shifting to a people-centered approach, it is also urgent to carry out refined assessment and heterogeneous analysis of the perceptions and needs of different groups of citizens. This paper delves into the evaluation of age-friendliness in smart cities (AFSC). And the heterogeneity of age-friendliness of various fields of services in smart cities is explored, as well as the AFSC deviation in perceptions between elderly people and non-elderly people. First, the main fields and evaluation indicators of AFSC are identified. Then, the AFSC evaluation model is established which is combining the improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (IAHP), the CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and improved Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method (IFCE). Finally, a case study is conducted in Nanjing, China. The results show that the AFSC of Nanjing has a score of 61.41, which indicating a favorable level. Furthermore, heterogeneity analyses showed that there are significant variations in age-friendliness across different fields within the city: smart life and consumption, smart recreation and entertainment, smart transportation and mobility have a favorable level of AFSC, while the other fields are deficient. The overall AFSC score for non-elderly citizens is significantly higher than that of elderly citizens, and elderly citizen' perceptions of AFSC vary according to elements of their personal physical condition and elements of their personal socio-economic status. In addition, the study proposes differentiated enhancement of AFSC in all fields, accurate enhancement of AFSC by identifying specific elderly citizens, and integrated enhancement of AFSC by adopting multi-dimensional measures. This study reveals age-friendliness in different fields of smart cities, clarifies the perceived heterogeneity of age-friendliness of smart cities among different groups of citizens, and enriches the intersection research of smart cities and age-friendly cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both state-led and market-led institutional arrangements have been experimented in China to form collaborative governance among diverse stakeholders in participatory urban regeneration. Relatively less is known about how institutional arrangements as structural constraints impact the formation of collaborative governance. Building upon Giddens' structuration theory and collaborative governance theory, this paper develops a novel framework that converges on the reciprocity between structural and agency elements and applies it to two residential regeneration cases in Shenzhen. The findings reveal that in residential regeneration, the state-led institutional structure has a greater capacity than the market-led structure to create relational links for community participation. Various factors, including variations in land property rights, path dependencies and institutional certainties, explain the findings. The formation of collaborative governance relies on the shaping effect of structural elements on agents' behaviors in institutional design, including well-designed rules to regulate sanctions, constitute common meaning and premium-allocated resources in accordance with stakeholders' responsibilities. These findings contribute to a better understanding of collaborative governance and help improve participatory urban regeneration policymaking in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is gradually and directly making rural collective land available on the land market. It is important to understand how stakeholders collectively treat and manage this land, and if this collective action leads to effective and sustainable results. This paper, however, revises Ostrom's framework of collective action by constructing the joint analysis of social capital, trust, and cooperation performance, in order to better capture the distinction between voluntary action and enforced action of stakeholders towards a sustainable goal. We analyze the role of voluntary collective action through higher-order structural equation modeling (HSEM), applied to a database consisting of 324 households in Jiangsu Province, China, collected in 2022 and 2023. The results suggest that social capital effectively promotes villagers' trust in policy implementers by establishing new institutions, increasing actors' trustworthiness, and improving channels of information exchange, and the first two means are more effective than the latter. We also demonstrate the significant positive effect of trust on cooperation performance, with trusting relationships with familiar groups and the credible behavior of policy implementers affecting performance outcomes of collective action. Moreover, social capital drives cooperation performance through the mediating effect of mutual trust that it breeds. With this revised framework and verified hypotheses one can thus create more effective policies to avoid inequality and informality in the land marketization process in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The change in urban construction land (UCL) and rural residential land (RRL) and their coupling relationship are the main manifestation of urban-rural construction land transition (URCLT) and the mapping of urban-rural factor flow. It is of great significance to systematically understand and master its laws for expanding the theory of land use transition (LUT) and adjusting the man-land relationship between urban and rural area. This paper constructs a theoretical model of URCLT, analyses the spatial and temporal characteristics of urban and rural construction land (UARCL) scale, elasticity and structure transition in Shandong Province from 1996 to 2015, reveals the transition process and coupling mechanism of UCL and RRL by using the method of geographic detector. The research shows that the UCL and RRL in Shandong Province have evolved along a coordinated track of increase and decrease as a whole, but with certain periodic fluctuations, resulting in insufficient elasticity and structural transition of URCLT. The rationalization degree of UCL growth was reduced, the low synchronization and non-synchronization of RRL reduction predominates, while the dominant type of urban-rural human-land relationship changed from urban-rural (UR) increase or decrease coordinated to both urban (U) and rural (R) increase uncoordinated. The URCLT had obvious spatial differences. The UARCL in the "blue-yellow" economic zone and the provincial capital urban agglomeration was active, but was dominated by uncoordinated transition, and the non-synchronization reduction of RRL was dominant. The factors influencing the transition of URCL were complex, diverse and unstable, and the transition mechanism was the interaction process of self-regulation of population, industry and land elements within the urban and rural system and intervention of external natural environment, science and technology and institutional policies. Highlights • The paper constructs a theoretical model of URCLT. • The paper reveals the transition process and coupling mechanism of URCLT. • The factors influencing the URCLT were complex, diverse and unstable. • URCLT was driven by the interaction of natural background, economic development, social progress and policy innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract With the development of urbanization more focusing on quality and human-orientation in the transitional period, the mixed characteristics and challenges in peri-urban China are emerging. The emergence and promotion of Area Development PPP (ADP) as an effective and innovative development model in peri-urban areas offer a feasible way to address the development needs. This paper is trying to explore and examine this innovative model firstly by identifying the three main features of the mixed land development in peri-urban China in terms of properties, functions and the development patterns. Secondly, this paper tries to describe and review the practice and spatial pattern of PPP (Public Private Partnership) and ADP projects in China. Thirdly, this paper takes Gu'an Industrial Park PPP project as the typical case to further verify the effectiveness of the ADP model. Finally, this paper attempts to answer the question how to realize the mixed land use by discussing the rationale and key points of the ADP model in combination with the theory of urban growth coalitions. The research shows that the ADP model can be a successful solution for quality peri-urban development in terms of mixed land use. This model may lay the foundation for in-depth comparative study and provide useful references for other developing countries in their peri-urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract China has witnessed substantial and surging internal migration over the past three decades, and the ascendant trend of migration will continue within the New Urbanization in China, shaping drastically China's population redistribution, and inducing surge of crowded cities and "hollowing village". This paper analyzed the spatial-temporal patterns of migration at provincial level during 2000–2010, and found: (1) the migration pattern demonstrated increasingly strengthened polarity in migration pool and source regions/provinces and migration flows. (2) The interregional/interprovincial migration population was higher than the intraregional/intra-provincial, and the gap between them strengthened with time. (3) The migration population grew with time, but the migration distance almost kept unchanged. To analyze the determinants of migration, this paper adopted an improved gravity model which introduced environment variables and included five types of variables, and found: (1) the path dependence variable had the most significant impact on migration, and the wages of staff and workers followed in 2000 and 2010. (2) The wages of origin provinces exerted a strong "push" to migrants, larger than the "pull" from the destination provinces in 2000, and the "push" changed to smaller than the "pull" in 2010. (3) Natural environment gradually became an attractive factor that migrants took into consideration, and the obstruction of distance to migration gradually reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban village regeneration has been considered an effective way to achieve the vision of transforming the arrival cities in China to affordable cities. However, the existing research into urban village regeneration does not pay enough attention to the group of rural migrants, and the dynamic process of their participation is indistinct. With a theoretical underpinning of the conception of Arrival City and Affordable City and the ladder theory of participation, this paper attempts to understand the practices of rural migrants' participation in urban village regeneration and, more importantly, to unpack the underlying mysteries of the transition process from arrival cities to affordable cities in China. The paper finds that rural migrants are involved in urban village regeneration indirectly, as opposed to directly or not participating at all. Before a regeneration project take places, they are expelled and ostracised by the alliance of "government-developer-villager" because of their informal identities. After the project, middle-class migrants lived in the regenerated urban villages but suffered from social exclusion. Most of the migrants gather in the newer urban villages or form new arrival cities in the urban periphery, resulting in potential social conflicts and a vicious cycle of "regeneration – migration – regeneration – migration". The vision is realised only in the environment and discourses from the alliance, but not in terms of rural migrants. China's urban transition from arrival cities to affordable cities is incomplete and one-sided. This transition, guided as it is by the existing mechanism of urban village regeneration, undermines social equity and causes social conflicts, which is not sustainable. These findings and proposed corresponding suggestions can serve as valuable references for the practices of public participation in urban regeneration that are underway in developing countries or where there is eagerness to transition effectively from arrival cities to affordable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is experiencing rapid progress in industrialization and urbanization. Characteristic towns (Tese Xiaozhen) are one of the important drivers for China's urbanization, industrialization and agricultural modernization in the 21st century. Each of the towns has its own characteristics. At present, however, it is unclear for them about (i) what characteristics should be promoted, (ii) how urban land should be planned and (iii) which industry should be focused on. The public infrastructure and services in towns are usually under-developed, compared to cities. This paper first explores the designation of a brand-new type of new towns in China, i.e. “characteristic towns”, to meet the need of the current urbanization in China. The paper focuses on the principles of “agglomeration” and “livability”, in socioeconomic and cultural contexts. This is exemplified by a case study of Zhejiang's version of characteristic towns. The findings suggest that the success of cultivation of towns is closely associated with agglomeration and livability. In the short term, identifying characteristics is the core element in the development. For the longer term, a comprehensive integration of industrial policy and land use policy is needed to ensure continuous capital investment and revenue generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature on migrants' subjective wellbeing (SWB) in Chinese cities has highlighted the crucial role of social ties, yet the pathways by which social ties influence their SWB remain poorly understood. Using Guangzhou survey data and multilevel linear regressions, this paper examines the extent to and ways in which migrants' social ties with neighbours enhance their SWB, with a particular focus on the distinction between the main effects and buffering effects of their neighbourhood ties. Results from multilevel models reveal that neighbourhood ties enhance migrants' SWB in a direct manner, but no evidence shows that neighbourhood ties lessen the negative impacts of neighbourhood deprivation. Results also illustrate that the association between neighbourhood ties and SWB is stronger for locals than for migrants. This paper contributes to our understanding of migrants' SWB by disentangling the positive effects of their social ties with neighbours and investigating the role of migrants' neighbourhood ties in relation to stress arising from neighbourhood deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional innovation systems (RISs) characterized periodical and is suitable for analyzing the Chinese economy which has entered the new normal. However, few scholars analyze and identify the stage of RISs from the perspective of life cycle. This paper divides the life cycle of RISs into four stages: initial stage, growth stage, maturity stage, and decline stage. Based on the analysis of the characteristics in every stage of the life cycle in the RISs, this paper constructs entropy weight disturbing attribute model to identify the stage of 31 provincial innovation systems in China. The research results show that all the RISs in maturity stage belong to the eastern developed regions, and innovation achievement capacity is significant. The RISs are widely distributed which are in the growth stage. The innovation efficiency capacity, innovation growth capacity and innovation network capacity of RISs which are in growth stage are in a high level. The provinces with the innovation system in the initial stage are mainly in the backward areas of the west, and the innovation growth capacity is better than other innovation capacities. Mastering the evolutionary stage of the RISs is helpful to promote the implementation of innovation-driven development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public rental housing (PRH) projects are the mainstream of China's new affordable housing policies, and their integrated sustainability has a far-reaching effect on medium-low income families' well-being and social stability. However, there are few quantitative researches on the integrated sustainability of PRH projects. Our study tries to fill this gap through proposing an assessment model of the integrated sustainability for PRH projects. First, this paper defines what the sustainability of a PRH project is. Second, after constructing the sustainable system of a PRH project from the perspective of complex eco-system, the paper explores the internal operation mechanism and the coupling mechanism among the ecological, economic and social subsystems. Third, it identifies fourteen indices to represent the sustainability system of a PRH project, including six indices of ecological subsystem, five of economic subsystem and three of social subsystem. Fourth, it qualifies the weights of three subsystems and their internal representative indices. In addition, an assessment model is established through expert surveys and analytic network process (ANP). Finally, the paper carries out an empirical research on a PRH project in Nanjing city of China, followed by suggestions to enhance the integrated sustainability. The sustainability system and its evaluation model proposed in this paper are concise and easy to understand and can provide a theoretical foundation and a scientific basis for the evaluation and optimization of PRH projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has undergone a dramatic transition echoed the unprecedented urbanization and economic growth since the late 1970s. The current research on urbanization has overlooked the transformation consistency between urban and rural areas. Although the Chinese central government has focused on improving rural residents' livelihood, it is still far from achieving coordinated urban–rural development. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of China's urban–rural development transformation (URDT) based on three indicator systems, namely the urban–rural development level (URDL), the urban–rural structure level (URSL), and the urban–rural coordination level (URCL). Findings from this investigation show that universal and intense URDT has taken place in China over the last two decades. This has been accompanied by growth of URDL and URSL and deterioration of URCL. There are, however, obvious spatial disparities in the different aspects of URDT. The western and northeastern regions of China have experienced slower transformation than other regions between 1990 and 2010. Correlation analysis among the sub-index shows that coordinated urban–rural development needs a certain initial socioeconomic level and moderate changes of URDL and URSL. This paper suggests that more attentions should be paid to rural areas and lagging areas in central and western China. Given the regional disparities of URDT, the most effective way to achieve urban–rural integration in China is by taking the overall considerations of development policies of both region and urban–rural areas aimed at various urban–rural development transformation characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the level of urbanization in China now exceeding 50%, its collective rural land system is under increasing pressure, creating conditions in which there is increasing conflict between the efficient use of land for agricultural purposes and its retention as security for the rural population. This paper first examines the fundamental nature of China's collective land system by analyzing the collectivization history of China, then provides a comprehensive appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the collective land system's role in history and the challenges it faces in modern times. The main changes needed for the current collective system are identified as (1) the establishment of a new transfer mechanism for potential collective construction land, (2) the completion of land rights verification and consolidation work, and (3) the endowment of villagers with more rights to enjoy the distribution of land incremental value. The paper's main contribution is to question the relevance of collective rural land system in contemporary China, where a shift is now taking place from one of pure economic development to one involving more social concerns, and propose potential viable amendments to integrate the need for both perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land system science provides a theoretical lens for deepening our understanding of interactions between social and environmental systems. Synthesis and integration of land system science and land use transitions are vital for advancing Global Land Project, and providing a platform for integrating knowledge from multiple fields and for translating explorative research into solution-oriented research. In the context of growing urbanization, the adoption of rural vitalization and urban-rural integrated development strategies has an impact on land use transitions in rural China. Thus, this paper has two major goals. The first is to unite the theory of human-environment interaction territorial system with Chinese rural development strategy to provide a theoretical framework to explain land use transitions against the context of rapid urbanization, including a "conflict-coordination" theoretical model of regional land use transitions, the perspectives of structural change and functional change of land system, and coupling pattern and process to adjust and control land use transitions. The second goal is to deploy the theoretical method in an attempt to advance rural development strategy via adjusting and controlling land use transitions. By using human geography to reinvigorate land system science, this paper calls for integrated theoretical approaches to comprehend land use transitions and associated regional development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current literature about the effectiveness of land consolidation especially hollowed village consolidation (HVC) is dominated by static studies interpreting the failures and success of certain project in a specific stage. However, HVC as a complex progress takes time to take effects with social learning modifying perceptions of those affected. Based on survey data on residents' characteristics, living conditions and perceptions, and K-means Clustering Method and ANOVA analysis, this paper depicted how farmers' perceptions of HVC are changed. Under the guidance of social learning theories, this research found that farmers' acceptance of HVC gradually increased with the progressive integration of the rural community in regional development. However, inter-group differentiation could be detected, with their household characteristics. The authors argue that the decision makers should pay attention to the three-stage authority and policy foci development process in HVC program implied by social learning theory. The decision maker should respect the development procedures and underpin the key driving factors affecting rural households' satisfaction at a every stage thus ensuring the effectiveness of HVC: (stage 1) sufficient publicity, participation promotion, and stakeholder integration should be highlighted before implementation; (stage 2) communal administration, community activities, industrial development and sector integration should be given more attention to achieve better construction performance in the developing stage; and (stage 3) self-innovation, mutual coordination, community awareness, common well-being are key factors for sustainable development of newly built key settlements/communities. • Land consolidation with resettlement as a complex progress takes time to take effects, in which social learning modifies perceptions of those affected. • The paper describes the rural households' dynamic perceptions and reveal the mechanism behind changes using K-means Clustering Method and variance analysis. • The strategies with diverse focus should be mapped out in every phase of the program to ensure its effectiveness, delegating the authority from government, to local community and local residents gradually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial reconstruction of rural settlements is one of the important methods for coordinating the relationship between people and land in rural areas and promoting rural revitalization. Based on the theoretical framework of rural settlement space reconstruction from the perspective of rural livability and population flow, this paper took Longxi County in the loess hilly region of Longzhong in China as an example. Based on cross-sectional survey data of 213 administrative villages in 2020 as evaluation units, we analyzed rural livability and population flow intensity, and identified the types of rural settlement spatial reconstruction. The results show that: (1) The spatial differences in the rural natural environment, residential environment, economic and social environment, and overall livability of Longxi County were significant. They have significant river and road directivity. The livability of villages along the river in the middle of mountain area was better than that of villages along the hilly and mountainous in the south and northwest; (2) The population flow of Longxi County was classified into three types: cross-regional population flow, population flow within the county and population flow within the town. The trend of cross-regional population flow is significant. However, the activity of cross-regional population flow was not high, mainly with low and medium levels. The villages with strong population flow were also highly integrated, and vice versa; (3) Based on the evaluation results of rural livability and population flow, we divided the 213 administrative villages into four types of reconstruction: agglomeration and promotion type, potential advantage type, restricted expansion type, and layout optimization type. Then, we optimized and reconstructed them according to local conditions This paper provides a scientific basis for the spatial reconstruction of rural settlements in the loess hilly region of Longzhong in China. In addition, it provides a theoretical reference for coordinating the relationship between people and land, and realizing rural revitalization. • Rural livability and population flow are the keys to rural settlement spatial reconstruction. • The evaluation index system of rural livable ability is constructed and the spatial reconstruction type of rural area in Longxi county is identified. • This paper discusses the spatial reconstruction mechanism of rural settlements and puts forward the reconstruction strategy of rural settlements. • To provide theoretical reference for coordinating rural man-land relationship and realizing rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the relationship and mechanism between home ownership and residential satisfaction in urban China using a large-sample survey data from Hangzhou city. It is found that home ownership does impact residential satisfaction. The paper identifies important differences in residential satisfaction across gender, generation, and economic status. Females seem to value owning a house much more than males. The older generation and high-income people have a higher residential satisfaction of owning a home than their counterparts. The research also identifies and examines the specific channels linking home ownership and residential satisfaction. Homeowners have a higher sense of belonging, more participation in social affairs and more right to education at a nearby school for their children than renters, and thus increase the likelihood of residential satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific and technological knowledge are increasingly becoming predominant in developing regional competitiveness and shaping the role of innovation in development. This paper focuses on the topological and spatial features of urban innovation networks in China. Using published papers and applied patents in biotechnology field from 2000 to 2012, we analyze the evolution of scientific knowledge networks (SKNs) and technological knowledge networks (TKNs). Four major findings are derived: (1) SKNs are much more complicated than TKNs in terms of size, ties, average degree and other indicators; (2) the two networks meet the scale-free networks, and the correlation analysis confirms the preferential attachment and dis-assortative traits in SKNs and TKNs; (3) spatial and temporal evolution of central nodes and networks structure show the hierarchical diffusion and contagious diffusion in both the networks; (4) multi-dimensional proximity (social, organizational, cognitive, geographical) well explains the knowledge spillover and innovation in SKNs, but it fails to explain them in TKNs. Moreover, social and organizational proximity weigh higher than the other two. The central nodes analysis helps cities better understand their position in networks. We find that comparative analysis of SKNs and TKNs contribute to recognizing the gaps of each city in innovation, which could assist in determining urban innovation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social and spatial patterns of ageing population in urban China illuminate the influence of the socioeconomic transformation associated with the dual economic system. Guangzhou, one of China's megacities, is used as a case study in this paper. Data from the 2010 National Census were used to examine the spatial differentiation and the related factors of ageing communities in Guangzhou. Using social area analysis, the study identified six categories of ageing communities: traditional inner-city communities, traditional danwei residential communities, commercial housing ageing communities, danwei compound ageing communities, immigrant ageing communities, and rural ageing communities. The paper analyses the reasons and processes leading to the clustering of the elderly population in each category of areas associated with distinctive spatial patterns of ageing differentiation. These patterns suggest that the socio-spatial differentiation of ageing communities is a joint outcome of urban development, housing policies, personal status and family relationships. The dynamics of both ageing in place and ageing with migration had a dual impact on the spatial, social and ecological patterns of ageing communities. The spatial differentiation of ageing communities in the study area should be taken into account when formulating urban planning and public policies. In addition, a dynamic public facility and service allocation system is also necessary to meet the needs associated with evolving socio-spatial urban restructuring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Guangdong Provincial government in China envisages co-operation between, and development of, the three cities of Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang. To these ends, it has sought to mobilise the region's untapped resources through policies encouraging these cities' integration and growth. However, the policy and rhetoric of inter-city integration has not yielded concordant material outcomes. Instead, the three separate municipal governments have engaged with the policy agenda not in pursuit of co-operation and integration, but rather to take advantage of otherwise unavailable opportunities to boost their individual economic competitiveness. This paper examines the disjuncture between the rhetoric of inter-city co-operation and the material reality of competition in the Shantou-Chaozhou-Jieyang city-region. The paper takes significance first, in its critical exploration of the grounded and political processes underpinning the formation and implementation of the city-regional integration policies proliferating in China recently. The paper's second point of significance lies in its contribution to broader literature on city-regionalism and state rescaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an anti-intensification phenomenon in China's economically developed areas with highly intensive cultivated land use. Deconstructing characteristics and trends of anti-intensification will help achieve sustainable production that maximizes social and economic benefits. This paper constructs an anti-intensification cultivated land use (ACLU) evaluation system to measure the ACLU state and mechanism on multiple spatial scales. Jiangsu Province in China, with a developed economy, is used as a case area to discuss ACLU's changing trends and characteristics from 2000 to 2015. Results show that Jiangsu's ACLU at the macro-regional level manifested in the input intensity has gradually slowed down. Meanwhile, the utilization level has shown a significant downward trend, and the output dimension has a negative feedback effect. At the micro-patch level of 1 km, within the 90% confidence interval, around 47.12% of the cultivated land showed an anti-intensification downward trend, and approximately 22.03% of the cultivated land showed an anti-intensification upward trend. Generally, ACLU has strong spatial agglomeration and scale attenuation law, and small scale can better reflect its changes and development trends. Besides, ACLU influencing factors show differences in different locations, regions, and scales, which may be closely related to the ACLU's complex driving mechanism oriented by man-land relationships evolution. Identifying anti-intensification phenomena and characteristics can provide new ideas for differentiated cultivated land protection, construction, and restoration measures. [Display omitted] • Anti-intensification of cultivated land use (ACLU) may threaten food security. • ACLU is a necessary stage of the sustainable intensification process. • This paper quantifies ACLU's trends and characteristics based on 1 km grid units. • 69.15% of the cultivated land in Jiangsu has a significant anti-intensification trend. • ACLU has strong spatial agglomeration and scales attenuation law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite massive new town development in megacities in China, none of the prior studies examined commuting disparities of residents of different income groups living in various types of new towns. Based on established literature on urban structure and commuting and income disparities in commuting, this paper has examined the roles of income and new town types in commuting distance, mode, and time differences. Based on Beijing's new town development context, we categorize its six major new towns into residential, national park-driven industrial, market-based industrial, and satellite new towns. Using descriptive analysis and regressions on 595 new town residents, we find that high-income commuters tend to have longer commuting distances and times and are more likely to drive to workplaces. Those living in the residential new town tend to have longer commuting distances and times. Results also show the transportation resource differences in different types of new towns. Those living in the residential new town are more likely to commute by public transit. Results also show the transportation difficulties for low-income residents who live in satellite towns. Though high-income commuters living in those towns have significantly longer commuting distances, they do not necessarily have longer commuting times than low-income people living in these towns. This study has several implications for future research and policy implications for new town development in China and other transit-dependent cities in Asia and Global South. • This paper examines commuting disparities across different types of new towns and income groups in Beijing. • High-income commuters tend to have longer commuting distances and times and are more likely to drive. • Those living in the residential new town tend to have longer commuting distances and times. • Those living in the residential new town are more likely to commute by public transit. • Results also show the transportation difficulties for low-income commuters living in satellite towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Affordable housing projects are becoming increasingly important in China, and they have remarkable social impacts. Yet, there is lack of appropriate methodologies for ex-post assessment of those social impacts. This knowledge gap will be filled in by this paper through proposing a new methodology, containing 24 assessment indicators in 3 categories, i.e. socio- economic effects (SE), mutual adaptabilities (MA) and social risks (SR). Considering inter- relationships among categories and indicators, the Analytic Network Process (ANP) method is adopted to determine the respective weight of each category and indicator, followed by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation–based assessment model. Then, the proposed methodology is exemplified with an affordable housing project in Nanjing city of Eastern China. The results show that the project has produced quite positive social impacts, and reveal the improvement directions at category level, where SE should be the emphasis and SR has the largest potentiality. At indicator level, reducing crime cases around the studied project, providing better communication and water supply facilities of the studied project and improving the outbound public transport of the studied project are pressing issues. Finally, this paper is concluded with possible future works. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: With a background of rapid urbanization and an already vast population in China, promoting land use efficiency to curb urban sprawl has significant influence upon sustainable urban development. As the “world’s factory”, improving industrial land efficiency is pivotal in optimizing urban land use. Using a binary logistic analysis based on the data from 2000 to 2011 in Hangzhou, this paper analyzes whether the policy from the central government to promote industrial land leasing publicly at the end of 2006 reduced underdevelopment and idled land use behavior. It has been found that the industrial land use is more influenced by industry sub-type, the year of the land lease and land size than policy intervention. In light of strong government intervention, a lack of equity with a bundle of conditions for land development without strictly implementing measures that do not conform with land leasing contracts leads to one-on-one negotiation, relatively low land leasing prices compared to the secondary market land price, and low land use efficiency. Thus, this paper suggests that government intervention should focus more on promoting a more market-oriented environment with strict supervision during land development, rather than on specific conditions on each industry sub-type and factory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Based on a representative survey of migrants in Fujian Province, a major migrant destination in China, this paper provides a more accurate and objective picture of the new generation migrants and their differences from and similarities to the first generation migrants. While the paper confirms some common understanding of the differences between the first and the second generations of migrants in the literature in terms of their individual characteristics and personal attitudes, it demonstrates that the differences between the two generations are often exaggerated by some popular perceptions of their socioeconomic status and their readiness for integration into the destination cities, and that there are still some remarkable similarities between the two generations in these aspects. The results of statistical modelling also suggest that the generational change per se plays insignificant roles in determining migrants' situation in the cities. The paper argues that two structural factors, namely the existence of rural–urban disparity and the dominance of labour-intensive industries in the economy, constrain more fundamental changes in the generational transition of migrants in China, and that the above understanding of the new generation migrants has important policy implications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The promotion of creativity is a crucial element in China's attempts to upgrade its economic structure. In this context, creative spaces, located in derelict industrial sites, have become prominent symbols of China's so-called Second Transition (Bottelier, 2007). The basic hypothesis of this paper claims that the development of these sites not only implies a restructuring of inner city brownfields, but also new modes of urban governance. Altogether eight creative spaces in China will be compared over time. The empirical research is based on qualitative interviews and an extensive evaluation of policy documents. This paper argues that the governance of creative spaces can be described as a path from informal experiments at the local micro-level to the development of a comprehensive toolset of mainstream policies at the municipal level. This happened in face of the shifting acknowledgment of creative industries from the national level. Consequently, Beijing and Shanghai became spearheads regarding the legalization of creative spaces. This paper further shows that within the institutional milieu of creative spaces, the local state acts as a very pragmatic key decision maker. In conclusion, the local state plays several decisive roles in the course of the development of creative spaces: a transformer of land use rights, a regulator in developing a legislative framework, a mediator between former operator and real estate developer, an investor and distributor of public funds, a supervisor and manager of the local economic development and last but not least a supervisor of creative spaces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China already has more numerous and larger cities than ever before. If the current trend holds, by 2025 it will have a predicted 1 billion of urban population and 8 megacities, each containing 10 million residents or more. China is facing enormous challenges when it comes to balancing rapid economic development with social development, sustainable use of resources and environmental protection in its fast-growing urban areas. Of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, 7 are in China. To meet these challenges, China has become a vast living laboratory for experiments on sustainable urban development. This paper reviews the use and development of city concepts and approaches regarding sustainable urban development in China. The large number of different concepts used appears to be partly due to institutional reasons and partly because they involve gradual changes in national policies. However, the data indicate that the concepts are generally becoming more comprehensive in relation to sustainable development, including social and heritage aspects. The most common barrier to the development of sustainable cities in China is still lack of clear visions, targets and indicators for sustainable development. More holistic approaches are needed for integrated urban planning, such as that used in Tangshan Bay Eco-city, a joint project between Sweden and China. This paper proposes the use of metabolic thinking and eco-cycle models derived from the discipline of Industrial Ecology to support urban planners in developing more sustainable and resource-efficient urban pathways. This will require closer cooperation between academics and practitioners and better monitoring of projects. Finally, it will be important to identify ways to scale up successful interventions in the urban area, rather than just moving from one innovative pilot project to the next. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper tries to explain one paradox: why does the division of planning power in China's metropolitan cities become more administratively centralized in the context of political decentralization? This paper argues that centralization of planning responsibilities to the consolidated metropolitan city government enables the local government to effectively mobilize land-based financial resources for fast economic development, which is a responsibility coming with the decentralization process and has been a dominating criterion when local government performance is evaluated. The centralization trend reflects an issue-oriented rationale for structuring metropolitan government and planning, which is similar to its western counterpart, but conditioned on China's view of active planning. A case study of the Yongzhou City is included to help understand the economic forces and fiscal motivation that has driven China's metropolitan government and planning reforms, and the spatial development strategies enabled or strengthened by the centralization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rapid socio-economic development in China has increased social inequalities in various areas. So far, there has been considerable literature which studied objective residential disparities, but little research has investigated the differences in residents' satisfaction. Using large-scale 2006 residential survey data from Dalian, this paper examines the degree of disparities from three aspects: residential location, housing characteristics, as well as residential satisfaction. Results suggest that significant income-based disparities in residential environment do exist in Dalian. An investigation of the most vulnerable group yielded results consistent with existing knowledge of inequalities. It is shown that a higher ratio of low-income residents live in less livable neighborhoods and smaller housing space, while having a lower rate of homeownership and satisfaction than other groups. Further, the paper examines how housing reform in China influences residential disparities. Results indicate that low-income residents are faced with housing affordability problems under the market system as they have a lower ratio of owning commodity housing. However, the housing market provides them the much needed housing supply and choices, and is thus likely to increase their likelihood of satisfaction. For the high-income group, although their housing space increases greatly through the housing market, it may not outweigh the various locational and pricing advantages often associated with the past work unit housing. It is found that owning commodity housing has a lower probability of residential satisfaction for them. As home ownership does not necessarily improve the residential satisfaction level for low-income residents, it is suggested that adequate provisions of low-rent housing together with strict implementation of income criteria to be eligible for applying subsidized housing might be helpful to reduce residential disparities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China has recently seen the proliferation of regional plans. This paper tries to understand the development of regional plans from the perspective of state restructuring and changing regional governance. In contrast to conventional wisdom, which predominantly describes China''s decentralization, another aspect of ‘recentralization’ is highlighted here. The paper focuses on a case study of Yangtze River Delta Regional Plan. It is argued that the latest regional plans are used by the central government to coordinate diverse local interests to achieve a more balanced development. However, complex politics between different levels and divisions of government make this plan an impossible project to deliver central regulation on contemporary city-regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The institutional driver, i.e., the relaxation and reform in the hukou system, is considered the most important factor in the increasing mobility in post-reform China in the literature. This paper argues that the above institutional factor was influential in the initial increase of migration in the 1980s. Subsequent increase in the migration scale from 1990 to 2000 was driven largely by rapid and unbalanced economic development in China. The framework of time–space geography is adopted in this study. It is argued that various factors have different characteristics of dynamic response and spatial diffusion. For example, economic reform and open door policy have been implemented with increasing intensity since 1978. But they have a clear pattern of spatial diffusion. The time–space geography of development indicates that some areas would first become major destinations of migration, to be followed by other areas later. On the other hand, the registration of temporary population was introduced in the whole country at almost the same time in 1985. It has one-off impact on migration. But population in less developed areas may respond to relaxed migration control and migration opportunities in advanced areas gradually. Their response time is determined by their migration tradition, ability as well as distance from the destinations of opportunities. This paper makes a detailed time–space analysis of the migration patterns in China using migration data from 1990 and 2000 censuses and 1995 and 2005 population surveys. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines how different weighting methods affect the results of urban competitiveness ranking. Using a hierarchical indicator system that considers economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the competitiveness of Chinese cities as a case study, it shows that principal component analysis (PCA) produces rankings of urban competitiveness that are significantly different from the alternative equal weighting (EW) method. Moreover, PCA generates problematic weights for some indicators and assigns a small weight to the environmental performance of cities. The paper investigates these problematic results and argues for the necessity of deliberating more consciously on appropriate weighting methods in the construction of composite indicators in urban competitiveness studies and beyond. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the rapid urbanization of Chinese cities with a focus on the plans for a new, ongoing urban sub-centre in the north-west of Shanghai: Zhenru Urban Sub-Centre. Information-rich urbanization is a defining feature of the 21st century, reshaping cities and communities in China and in developing countries around the world. The scale and pace of change requires a solid systems approach of urban development. In 2011, China announced that it has reached an urbanization rate of 50%. If we take rapid urbanization as a given and that it is already well underway, it is still widely unclear what research needs to be conducted and policy changes made to support municipalities of fast transforming cities and to avoid repeating the development mistakes that have occurred in industrialized nations, i.e. driving urban growth with high consumption patterns without fully considering the environmental and social needs and occupants'' behaviour and aspirations. This paper compares two cases of urban development patterns for new sub-centres for polycentric city structures: It relates to new urban sub-centres in Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China), and the relationship of these sub-centres to ‘Network City’ theory. Network theory is useful in this context as the ‘network’ metaphor and concepts of decentralization seem to have replaced the ‘machine’ metaphor which was based on efficiency based on the availability of cheap fossil fuels. As cities aim to move towards more resilient urban ecosystems and polycentric systems, the case of Potsdamer Platz Berlin, compared to Zhenru Sub-Centre in Shanghai, is discussed. Both are transport-oriented developments promoting mixed-use density and less car-dependency. According to documentation of the Shanghai municipality, Zhenru urban centre, which is currently in its planning phase, is supposed to become a ‘new sustainable sub-centre for a growing metropolis’. Based on the Potsdamer Platz experience, a series of careful recommendations are formulated for the design and development of such centres, knowing that it is rather difficult to translate from one case to the other. The conclusion includes five lessons (recommendations) from Potsdamer Platz for the urban design of new sub-centres to ensure a delivery of economical, social and environmental sustainable outcomes. A core finding is that drawing lessons from the German case study for Chinese urbanization seemed a useful tactic and gave a sense that there are underlying urban design strategies. However, the conversion of such strategies to another cultural and social context requires further research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research examines government policies and urban transformation in China through a study of Hangzhou City, which is undergoing dramatic growth and restructuring. As the southern center of the Yangtze River Delta, an emerging global city region of China, Hangzhou has been restlessly searching for strategies to promote economic growth and survive the competition with Shanghai. This paper analyzes Hangzhou’s development strategies, including globalization, tourism, industrial development, and urban development, in the context of shifting macro conditions and local responses. We hold that urban policies in China are situated in the broad economic restructuring and the gradual, experiential national reform and are therefore transitional. The paper suggests that China’s urban policies are state institution-directed, growth-oriented, and land-based, imposing unprecedented challenges to sustainability and livability. Land development and spatial restructuring are central to urban policies in China. Last, while Hangzhou’s development strategies and policies to some extent reflect policy convergence across cities in China, local/spatial contexts, including local settings, territorial rescaling and land conditions, are underlying the functioning of development/entrepreneurial states. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rapid urbanization in China has induced profound changes in the relationship between urban and rural areas, especially in urban agglomerations. This paper contributes a better understanding of the mechanisms of urban-rural interactions in urban agglomerations by considering the perspective of the spatial organization of urban-rural integration (SOURI). Using the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration in Central China as an example, this study used a spatial autocorrelation analysis to quantify the agglomeration and diffusion patterns of the population and firms as proxies to reveal the spatial organization pattern of urban-rural integration (SOPURI). The results showed that 1) the spatial proximity and centralization trends of SOURI were obvious in 2005–2015 in this region; 2) the urban districts of prefecture-level cities, especially Changsha, played an important role as the main centres; 3) due to diffusion effects from the central urban districts, a few county-level cities and county towns began to appear as sub-centres; and 4) the function of towns needed enhancement. Furthermore, a model of an urban-rural multi-level polycentric network was proposed to guide the optimization of SOURI in urban agglomerations with an emphasis on the three-level centres of city-town-village and networking linkages. Following the model, optimization policies for the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration are discussed. • Spatial proximity of urban-rural interaction is still prominent. • Centralization trend of spatial organization of urban-rural integration is obvious. • Agglomeration effects of cities play a dominant role in urban-rural integration. • Functions of small towns need to be further improved in urban-rural integration. • Urban-rural multi-level polycentric network is an effective model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nationwide migrations have drawn much attention from both geographical and social sciences. Compared to census-data-based studies, data collected from broadly used location-awareness devices enable us to describe migrant patterns with timely and fine spatial resolutions. Using a mobile positioning dataset, this paper first analyzes the spatial patterns of mobile-data-based active population estimation (MAPE) and aims to uncover the socioeconomic factors associated with migrant patterns based on the MAPE change around the Chinese Spring Festival of 2016. Time series analysis presents obvious regular patterns and characteristics of MAPE before and during the holiday. Results from a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model show that MAPE differences are significantly associated with the development of secondary and tertiary industries, wage levels and foreign investments. Spatial disparities of the GWR model coefficients reveal that areas in China have different degrees of association with the explanatory variables. Explanations of this spatial nonstationary phenomenon are further detailed with the perspective of a geographical background. Finally, associated social and economic development strategies among cities in China are analyzed, and policy implications regarding the newly emerged data and their insightful findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing public acceptance of hazardous chemicals factory in China. By using structural equation modelling approach, perceived risk, perceived benefit, perceived fairness, trust in government and positive affect tag are examined as impact factors. Data is collected from the local public and the general public by internet-based questionnaires. The results show that NIMBY effect is significant to hazardous chemical factory because for the local public who live nearby, perceived risk has the greatest impact on the acceptance, but perceived benefit is not significant, and positive affect tag has significant influence on both perceived risk and perceived benefit. While for general public, perceived benefit is significant to the acceptance, but perceived risk not is statistically significant and positive affect tag influences perceived benefit only. The results also indicate that perceived fairness and trust in government affect the acceptance of both groups, and trust in government affect perceived fairness, perceived risk and perceived benefit. This study contributes to the management of sitting problems of hazardous chemical factory by providing understanding of impact factors on the public acceptance. Recommendations for improving public acceptance are offered at last. Highlights • For the local public, perceived risk has the greatest impact on the acceptance, but perceived benefit is not significant. • For general public, perceived benefit is the most significant impact factor influencing the acceptance, but perceived risk is not significant. • Perceived fairness and trust in government affect the acceptance of the local public and general public. • Trust in government affects perceived fairness, perceived risk and perceived benefit. • The public acceptance can be enhanced through the improvement of trust in government and perceived fairness in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Urban regeneration often involves complicated power relations among different stakeholders, in addition to the multi-actor governance structure. With a theoretical underpinning of the concept “regime building”, this paper examines how urban coalitions are being forged or dismantled in the process of redevelopment of urban villages in China. More importantly, this paper aims at illustrating how different forms of power relations eventually assist, deter and impact on the outcome of urban regeneration in this rural–urban transition in China. From examining the two cases (one more satisfactory than the other) in Shenzhen, we find that local authority in China plays a much more influential role than their counter-parts in the West. In addition, urban coalitions tend be more formal than that depicted by the Urban Regime theory. The more satisfactory case in this paper illustrates that the local authority which is diplomatic in their negotiation and shows commitment to support the private sector in the process of regeneration, especially in terms of resources and planning policy, tends to build more sustainable coalition that works, and vice versa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper explores the possible effects of rural–urban migration and urbanization on China’s urban housing prices through focusing on a critical decade in urban housing reform, from 1995 to 2005. Compared with other countries, China differs, to a certain extent, in migration and urbanization patterns due to its unique Household Registration System (Hukou) and huge population base. However, very few empirical housing studies have examined the role of rapid urbanization and massive rural–urban migration in affecting housing price dynamics in China. This paper analyses the changes over time in housing prices in each Chinese province and examines empirically the determinants of urban house price at national and regional levels using time-series and cross-sectional data. The study finds that the abolition of the policy on the provision of welfare housing in 1998 is an important milestone in Chinese urban housing reform, which resulted in the market-oriented urban housing provision system. When comparing the results from coastal and inland provincial analyses, it is found that coastal provinces encountered greater pressure and challenges in dealing with the accommodation of migrants who were mainly from inland provinces. In contrast, inland provinces have relatively less pressure from migrants. The results from this paper are also in agreement with the hypothesis that regional variations in the urbanization level would have impact on the price of sold commodity houses. The results from this microlevel analysis of housing price may inform the Chinese policy makers to re-evaluate China’s urban housing reform policies from the perspective of facilitating labor migration and urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Numerous machine learning-based land change models have been presented by researchers over the last two decades. To date, however, far less have simulated multiple land use classes and specific land use subclasses at the same time. In some areas of the world, it is important to simulate both of these dynamics to understand fully the drivers and consequences of land change. One important example is the process of urbanization in China, as urban policies have been developed that guide urban expansion, rural protections, and urban subclass development. This paper presents a new model integrating geographic information systems (GIS) with artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict multiple transitions among land use types and urban subclasses in the Zhanggong District of Ganzhou city in China. We show that the model produces satisfactory goodness of fit values-based on location, quantity and spatial configuration-between simulated and observed land use maps for 2015. Our simulated future maps produced by the model for 2020 and 2025 demonstrate that transitions from farmland and forest to urban will remain the main pathway of urbanization although we predict that the rate will slow after 2025. The goals of urban planning should be aligned with land use planning according to "Combining multiple laws and regulations" in China. Taking into account the current and future land use transitions will enhance the accuracy and timeliness of land use policy making and urban land planning. For the sustainable land use in Zhanggong District, we argue for a strengthened regulation of the land market by government and believe that planning officials should guide the spatial distribution of land supply actively. Furthermore, improving the production, living and ecological functions of land resources are the key points to optimize urban land use functions and the allocation of land resources. We discuss how our model can be adapted to other areas to benefit land use management and urban planning in China. Highlights • GIS and ANNs were used to predict multiple land use transitions and urban subclasses. • A case study demonstrates that the model performs relatively well validated with several measures for goodness of fit. • The simulated maps suggest that farmland and forest are the most common candidates for urban expansion. • The methodology can be adapted to other study areas to benefit land use management and urban planning in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Urban residential land supply is both driven by and significantly influences urbanisation processes, the optimisation of which are necessary to address housing issues. At present, China's urban housing system has three major problems, namely a shortage of affordable housing, rapidly increasing prices for regular commodity housing, and an under-supply, relative to market demands, of high-end commodity housing, calling into question the effectiveness of existing land supply policies. This paper first reviews policies governing residential land supply and then considers these policies in light of findings from semi-structured interviews conducted with key actors and a survey of households in Hangzhou, a city of more than nine million in eastern China. These analyses show that although the Chinese government has undertaken steps to reform land use allocation and increase housing affordability in its cities, significant opportunities for reform remain in both affordable and commodity housing sectors. Results from this study aid in formulation of a framework for residential land supply and a dynamic model for reform for Chinese governments to undertake to integrate housing provision across a range of household income and housing type classifications. The model demonstrates how reformation of the residential land supply system through improvements to the elasticity of residential land supply, optimisation of land supply for affordable housing, deregulation of land supply for and taxation of high-end commodity housing will significantly ease housing stress within Chinese cities. Finally, international experience indicates that the Chinese government can leverage revenues to acquire or otherwise support construction of additional affordable housing, with the increased volume of activity helping to arrest housing price inflation while achieving socialist ideals. Highlights • Current Chinese national government policies are insufficient to resolve urban housing shortfalls. • Demand for affordable housing far outstrips supply in urban China. • Limits on land allocation for villas increases competition for regular commodity housing. • Competition for regular commodity housing decreases access for moderate-income households. • A dynamic model for integrated housing provision across affordable and commodity sectors is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China''s rapid urbanization, characterized by large-scale rural–urban migration and radial expansion of urban built-up areas, produces a new type of urban neighbourhood, namely the “urban village” (chengzhongcun). This paper considers the urban village as a community of interest for urbanized villagers, a migrant settlement with low-rent housing, and an urban self-organized grassroots unit, respectively related to the ambiguous property rights, an informal rental market, and the vacuum of state regulation. The urban village is therefore viewed as an unregulated asset despite its unruliness and disorder. Meanwhile, the formation and dynamics of the urban village are understood from the perspectives of land use transformation and property rights redistribution, with an additional emphasis on the succession of traditional social norms and networks. In this sense, the urban village can be seen as a transitional neighbourhood, characterized by unstable land rights and a mixture of rural and urban society. Drawing from the empirical data of 11 urban villages from six large Chinese cities, this paper presents the general characteristics of urban villages. This study points out that the vacuum of state regulation in the urban village makes possible a means of subsistence for landless villagers and provides low-cost residential space for migrants. The transformation of the urban village under state regulation would produce complicated results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Obtaining equal urban public services is essential to social fairness. This paper presents and assesses the equal distribution of urban public service facilities in China by examining 177 public primary schools in downtown Hangzhou. First, we collect data on the spatial distribution, population access to services, and student enrolments from the case schools. Second, we build spatial and social equity models to assess the rate of present facilities' equity. This paper assesses spatial equity with factors such as school ranking, enrolments per thousand residents, and home-to-school distance by using the index's scoring method. The Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient were used for social equity evaluation, in which household registration, housing, and the number of school-age children per family reflect the education demand features, and the enrolments present the supply-side features. The findings show that the spatial distribution of the public primary schools in Hangzhou varies significantly from the centre to the periphery. In other words, accessibility decreases from the centre to the periphery direction. In terms of social equity, most citizens have access to low-quality education resources, while only a few citizens can enjoy high-quality education. Equal access to public primary schools faced three problems. First, there was insufficient investment by the local government, particularly in compulsory education. Second, there are variations in education investment among different administrative units in a district and historical inertia. For the sake of a fair distribution of public primary school services, it is essential to increase investment in compulsory education, upscale the enrolment of primary and middle schools, and boost teachers' competencies. Furthermore, to improve social equity, faculty exchange programs between non-key schools and top key schools should be launched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper traces the new trends of urbanization in post-reform China that are incommensurate with those under the ex-socialist regime as well as those in other market and reformed socialist countries. Three paradoxical dynamics appear: a leap forward of urbanization concurrent with the under-urbanized feature, the massive and sustained flow of rural-to-urban migration concomitant with the bulk of migrants without urban citizenship, and the phenomenal reorganization of urban space and the proliferating addition of new cities with inclusion of ample rural attributes. These new developments present a challenging opportunity for theoretical construction. The paper elucidates extant studies, deciphering the ways that they interpret new features of China''s urbanization under reforms. Integrating previous insightful but segmented perspectives on various aspects of China''s urban transition, the paper argues that, to conceptualizing distinctive political economy of China''s urbanization, one must incorporate the fundamentals of China''s economic system that account for the historically contingent causes resulting in the dynamics observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Globalization has resulted in the change of scalar relations of the state and the city in the contemporary world. The scale theory is developed mainly in the context of capitalist societies. As a general socio-spatial theory, this paper argues that the general principle of scale theory is also relevant to transitional socialist economies where scalar configuration has been rearticulated by liberalization and globalization. It is adopted to describe the profound transformations of the state and the city in China. Multi-scalar in perspective, this paper examines the urban spatial transformation and reconfiguration as rescaling and territorialization processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Currently, the subject of housing in China is of interest to many researchers, since improvements in living conditions have not kept pace with the territory''s economic growth. This paper describes basic housing situations in urban China, and assesses these conditions against the likely benefits its people may enjoy as a result of overall economic improvement over time. Housing affordability in China is a pressing social and economic issue, particularly for populations that are marginal to the housing market. This is due to affordability constraints as a result of the limited participation in key economic activities that restrict the marginalized groups from accessing the housing market. The persistent affordability crisis is discussed in this paper, which focuses especially on the accessibility restriction of potential homeowners to the private housing market. Furthermore, the paper explores the reasons behind homeownership constraints, and reviews government policies to seek alternative solutions to China''s housing problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China''s floating population is one of the most mobile populations in the world. Most of its members take the temporary form of migration, and maintain their double (rural and urban) residential status. In recent years, great efforts have been made to reform the household registration (Hukou) system, which has been regarded as the central mechanism underlying the unsettled nature of the floating population, in the hope that they will settle down in the cities and be fully integrated into China''s urbanization process. However, the effect of such reform has been limited. Based on a theoretical framework and empirical evidence from a survey, this paper argues that the temporary nature of the floating population is a result of not only the Hukou system, but also the combined effects of the intrinsic demand of the industrial society for temporary migrants, the household strategy of migrants to diversify and maximize economic opportunities and spread economic risk, and certain conditions of the current stage of development. The paper draws policy implications from the analysis, calling for policies not only to facilitate permanent settlement of migrants in the cities but also catering for their needs arising from the temporary form of migration, and their potential roles in the development of their hometowns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper serves as an introduction to the first part of this special issue of Habitat International on Urbanization in China. It discusses the context of globalization, and then tries to place Chinese cities within this context. Chinese cities are currently being forced into the age of globalization by many forces, such as entry into World Trade Organization and the expansion of the market economy. Thus, an examination of the re-structuring that is occurring and the changes that are taking place is timely. The papers in this collection fulfil this purpose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]