中國中部地區(qū)都市圈建設研究

中國中部地區(qū)都市圈建設研究

Abstract

UrbanizationisoneofthemajordriversofeconomicgrowthanddevelopmentinChina.Overthelastfewdecades,Chinahaswitnessedrapidurbanization,withlargenumbersofpeoplemigratingfromruralareastourbancentersinsearchofbettereconomicopportunities.Thishasledtotheformationofurbanagglomerationsorcityclusterswhichareimportantnodesofeconomicdevelopment.TheCentralRegionofChinahasreceivedsignificantattentioninrecentyears,andvariousmeasureshavebeentakentoboosteconomicdevelopment.

ThispaperaimstoexploretheconceptofurbanagglomerationsanditssignificanceintheCentralRegionofChina.ItprovidesanoverviewoftheurbanizationtrendsinChinaandthefactorscontributingtotheformationofurbanagglomerations.TheCentralRegionofChinaisthenanalyzedwithregardstoitspotentialforurbanizationandthechallengesthatitfaces.Finally,thepaperproposesaframeworkforthedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsintheCentralRegionofChina.

Introduction

Chinahasbeenexperiencingrapidurbanizationinrecentyearswiththenumberofpeoplelivinginurbanareasincreasingfrom17.9%in1978to60.6%in2019(NationalBureauofStatisticsofChina,2020).Thishasledtotheformationoflargeurbanareasoragglomerationswhichcontributesignificantlytoeconomicdevelopment.Today,Chinahasover20urbanagglomerationsthatarehometomorethan100millionpeople.

Urbanagglomerationsaredefinedasagroupofcitiesandtheirsurroundingareasthatareintegratedintoasingleeconomicunitthroughtheflowofgoods,people,andinformation(Wangetal.,2014).Theyareimportantcentersofinnovation,economicgrowth,anddevelopmentbecauseoftheconcentrationofpeople,resources,andinfrastructure.UrbanagglomerationsarealsoresponsibleforasignificantproportionoftheGrossDomesticProduct(GDP)ofChina.

TheCentralRegionofChinaincludessixprovinces,namelyAnhui,Henan,Hubei,Hunan,Jiangxi,andShanxi.AlthoughtheCentralRegionhasbeenlaggingbehindotherregionsineconomicdevelopment,ithassignificantpotentialforurbanizationandthedevelopmentofurban

agglomerations.ThispaperaimstoexploretheconceptofurbanagglomerationsanditssignificanceintheCentralRegionofChina.

UrbanizationtrendsinChina

Chinaisundergoingarapidprocessofurbanizationwithasignificantproportionofitspopulationmovingfromruralareastourbancentersforbettereconomicopportunities.Thenumberofpeoplelivinginurbanareasincreasedfrom191millionin1978to851millionin2019(NationalBureauofStatisticsofChina,2020).Thishasledtotheformationoflargeurbancentersoragglomerationswhichcontributesignificantlytoeconomicgrowthanddevelopment.

Chinahasover20urbanagglomerationsthatarehometomorethan100millionpeople.ThethreelargesturbanagglomerationsaretheYangtzeRiverDelta,thePearlRiverDelta,andtheBeijing-Tianjin-Hebeiregion.TheseregionsareresponsibleforasignificantproportionofChina'sGDP,withtheYangtzeRiverDeltacontributing23%oftheGDPin2018(NationalBureauofStatisticsofChina,2019).

Factorscontributingtotheformationofurbanagglomerations

Theformationofurbanagglomerationsisinfluencedbyvariousfactors,includinggeographicproximity,economiclinkages,governance,andinfrastructure.Urbanagglomerationsareformedwhencitiesandtheirsurroundingareasareinterdependenteconomically,socially,andculturally.Thedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsisfacilitatedbythefollowingfactors(Wangetal.,2014):

1.Geographicproximity:Citiesthatarelocatedclosetoeachotheraremorelikelytoformanurbanagglomerationbecauseoftheeaseoftransportationandtheflowofgoods,people,andinformation.

2.Economiclinkages:Thedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsisfacilitatedbythepresenceofeconomicactivitiesthatcomplementeachotherindifferentcities.Forexample,acitythatspecializesinmanufacturingcanbelinkedtoacitythatspecializesinresearchanddevelopmenttocreateatechnology-intensiveindustrialcluster.

3.Governance:Theformationofurbanagglomerationsrequireseffectivegovernancestructuresthatprovideaunifiedpolicyframeworkforthedevelopmentoftheregion.

4.Infrastructure:Thedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsisfacilitatedbythepresenceofadequateinfrastructuresuchastransportation,communication,andenergysystems.

PotentialforurbanizationintheCentralRegionofChina

TheCentralRegionofChinahassignificantpotentialforurbanizationandthedevelopmentofurbanagglomerations.Theregionhasalargepopulationandabundantnaturalresourceswhichcanbeleveragedforeconomicdevelopment.TheregionisalsostrategicallylocatedwitheasyaccesstomajortransportroutessuchastheYangtzeandYellowRivers.

TheCentralRegionofChinahasadiverseeconomywithasignificantpresenceofindustriessuchasmetallurgy,chemicalengineering,andmachinerymanufacturing.Theseindustriescanprovideastrongbasefortheformationofurbanagglomerationsintheregion.Thereisalsosignificantpotentialforthedevelopmentoftheservicesectorintheregion.

ChallengestourbanizationintheCentralRegionofChina

AlthoughtheCentralRegionofChinahassignificantpotentialforurbanization,italsofacesseveralchallenges.Theseinclude:

1.Environmentaldegradation:TherapidpaceofurbanizationhasledtoenvironmentaldegradationintheCentralRegion.Thishasresultedinincreasedairpollutionandwaterscarcity,whichcanaffectthehealthofthepopulationandhindereconomicdevelopment.

2.Inadequateinfrastructure:TheCentralRegionofChinalacksadequateinfrastructuresuchastransportation,communication,andenergysystemsfortheformationofurbanagglomerations.

3.Lowlevelsofinnovation:Theregionlacksstronginnovationcapabilities,whichcanhindereconomicdevelopmentandtheformationofurbanagglomerations.

4.Inadequategovernancestructures:Thedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsrequireseffectivegovernancestructuresthatprovideaunifiedpolicyframeworkforthedevelopmentoftheregion.TheCentralRegionofChinalacksstronggovernancestructures,whichcanhinderitsdevelopmentasanurbanagglomeration.

FrameworkforthedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsintheCentralRegionofChina

Toaddressthesechallenges,thefollowingframeworkisproposedforthedevelopmentofurbanagglomerationsintheCentralRegionof

China:

1.Strengthenenvironmentalprotectionlaws:Environmentalprotectionlawsshouldbestrengthenedtoensurethattherapidpaceofurbanizationdoesnotleadtoenvironmentaldegradation.

2.Developinfrastructure:TheCentralRegionofChinashoulddevelopadequateinfrastructuresuchastransportation,communication,andenergysystemstofacilitatetheformationofurbanagglomerations.

3.Developinnovationcapabilities:Theregionshoulddevelopstronginnovationcapabilitiesbyinvestinginresearchanddevelopmentandimprovingthequalityofeducation.

4.Improvegovernancestructures:TheC