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Growth in car ownership has significant impacts on the use of urban space and management of urban environments, which makes it a topic of increasing interest especially for developing countries such as China. The dynamics of and factors influencing ownership in Chinese cities need careful investigation. Using fixed effects models applied to annual panel data (1994–2012; 293 cities) this study aimed to achieve the following: 1) assess the relationships between car ownership and average annual income per capita , population, built-up area, road area per capita , urban population density, number of taxis and bus passenger volume; 2) examine the variation of these relationships across geographical regions (East, middle, and West China) and city sizes (cities with small, medium, large, and super-large populations). The results showed that car ownership was positively associated with average annual income per capita , built-up area, road area per capita , urban population density, and number of taxis at the national level. All associations, except with the number of taxis, varied significantly across geographical regions. Built-up area, road area per capita , and number of taxis had different associations with car ownership depending on city sizes. The findings improve the understanding of relationships between car ownership and urban environments vis-a-vis variations in income and infrastructure per capita , population density, and transportation alternatives. These results have important policy implications for managing cars and health problems related to cars in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial parks have been tested in various regions around the world, in attempt to foster innovation and fuel economic growth. Despite the importance of industry co-agglomerations in regional growth, few studies examine them in regional geographic space. This paper combines exploratory spatial data analysis and input–output method to explore the spatial pattern of key industrial co-agglomerations in Beijing, which is illustrated by location, function, frequency, spatial hierarchy and spacing. The results contribute to linking abstract economic and actual geographical spaces in urban and regional growth, enabling urban and regional planners to judge and evaluate planning initiatives before and after implementation. The failure of sub-center plans and risks of industrial parks schemes in Beijing are addressed. By considering industrial input–output relations including environmental and human resources, urban planners can optimize the development of such co-agglomerations to foster sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic clusters have been recognised as important elements of urban and regional economic strategies, but their role in spatial planning is under-appreciated. This paper examines the initiatives and outcomes of economic clusters in relation to urban spatial planning in the periods of planned and market economies in China. Through an examination of the planning and development practices in Beijing, the effect of economic clusters in facilitating local growth and shaping urban spatial structure is revealed. The significance of economic clusters in achieving synergy between economic and spatial policies is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The peri-urban area of fast growing Chinese cities is under great pressure from the land demands of urban expansion, resulting in the loss of arable land, environmental deterioration and social exclusion of village communities. The recent development of agro-tourism enterprises in peri-urban areas, as a form of commercial urban agriculture, offers a means to promote integrated urban and rural development in a manner that can counteract some of the negative impacts of urbanization. This paper describes and analyzes the performance of a large-scale agro-tourism enterprise, Xiedao Green Resort in Beijing, over the period 2004–2008. The business model combines agricultural production and tourism services fostering a demand-supply relationship between urban and rural areas. It offers a way to improve the quality of agricultural products and services, while developing multiple functions of agro-tourism which have wider economic, environmental and social benefits, creating opportunities for integrated and sustainable urban–rural development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The sustainability under different scenarios is evaluated by system dynamic models. • The models examine 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. • Five scenarios were designed under the framework of the shared socioeconomic pathways. • The urban sustainability index in each city vary under different policy scenarios. • The approach can also be applied to other regions to provide decision support of urban sustainable development. With the building of sustainable cities being listed as one of the Sustainable Development Goals in the 2030 Agenda, cities in developing countries are facing more severe challenges. Therefore, it has become very urgent to evaluate and compare sustainability under different policy intervention scenarios. Based on the principle of system dynamics, this study constructed an urban sustainability evaluation model covering six subsystems: economy, livelihood, risk, environment, pollution governance, and resource. Using 13 cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as study cases, 5 future policy scenarios were designed under the framework of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways to simulate the variation of the urban sustainability index in each city by 2035. The results reveal that: (1) Medium and small-sized cities around Beijing are facing more challenges to achieve sustainable urban development; (2) the urban sustainability index in each city varies under different policy scenarios. (3) the gap of urban sustainability in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region does not show a significant narrowing trend and is likely to widen in the future. The approach can also be applied to other regions to provide decision support for choosing urban development pathways after comparing possible future trajectories of sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]