IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i1p152-d1022838.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unveiling the Regional Differences and Convergence of Urban Sprawl in China, 2006–2019

Author

Listed:
  • Qixuan Li

    (School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410012, China)

  • Ying Xu

    (School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410012, China)

  • Xu Yang

    (School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410012, China)

  • Ke Chen

    (School of Public Administration, Hunan University, Changsha 410012, China)

Abstract

There is an obvious imbalanced regional development among eastern, central, and western China. This is also a fundamental problem that policy makers and planners need to address. Specific to urban development, we wondered whether there were regional differences in urban sprawl and whether this trend was under control. By using the urban sprawl index (USI), this paper investigated the spatiotemporal pattern of urban sprawl from 2006 to 2019, and its regional difference and convergence among eastern, central, and western China. It finds that the cities with high, medium, and low sprawl in the east and west regions are distributed with a clear geographical pattern, while the distribution in the central region has no intuitive geographical features. Also, the proportion of cities with high sprawl in the eastern region is more than that in the other regions, with low sprawl in central China and medium sprawl in the western region. Moreover, urban sprawl in all three regions showed a downward trend, but this process was fluctuating and had obvious phase characteristics. It can be concluded that there is a convergence trend in urban sprawl in China over the research period, and the club convergence effect exists in the eastern, central, and western regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Qixuan Li & Ying Xu & Xu Yang & Ke Chen, 2023. "Unveiling the Regional Differences and Convergence of Urban Sprawl in China, 2006–2019," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:1:p:152-:d:1022838
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/152/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/152/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nathan Nunn & Diego Puga, 2012. "Ruggedness: The Blessing of Bad Geography in Africa," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(1), pages 20-36, February.
    2. J. Paul Elhorst & Sandy Fréret, 2009. "Evidence Of Political Yardstick Competition In France Using A Two‐Regime Spatial Durbin Model With Fixed Effects," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 931-951, December.
    3. Chun-Chung Au & J. Vernon Henderson, 2006. "Are Chinese Cities Too Small?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(3), pages 549-576.
    4. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    5. Bev Wilson & Arnab Chakraborty, 2013. "The Environmental Impacts of Sprawl: Emergent Themes from the Past Decade of Planning Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-26, August.
    6. Y.H. Dennis Wei & Xinyue Ye, 2009. "Beyond Convergence: Space, Scale, And Regional Inequality In China," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 100(1), pages 59-80, February.
    7. Ning Wang & Zhigang Chen & Tianshu Li & Mengjia Zhen, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Pattern Evolution and Influence Mechanism of Urban Vertical Expansion: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, March.
    8. Kun Ge & Shan Zou & Danling Chen & Xinhai Lu & Shangan Ke, 2021. "Research on the Spatial Differences and Convergence Mechanism of Urban Land Use Efficiency under the Background of Regional Integration: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Zone, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    9. Belal N. Fallah & Mark D. Partridge & M. Rose Olfert, 2011. "Urban sprawl and productivity: Evidence from US metropolitan areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(3), pages 451-472, August.
    10. Xin Zhang & Jinghu Pan, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Factors of Urban Sprawl in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    11. Fernando Rubiera Morollón & Victor M. González Marroquin & José Luis Pérez Rivero, 2016. "Urban sprawl in Spain: differences among cities and causes," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 207-226, January.
    12. Vincent Dupont, 2007. "Do geographical agglomeration, growth and equity conflict?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(2), pages 193-213, June.
    13. Jintao Wang & Shiyou Qu & Ke Peng & Yanchao Feng, 2019. "Quantifying Urban Sprawl and Its Driving Forces in China," Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society, Hindawi, vol. 2019, pages 1-14, May.
    14. Ben Gardiner & Ron Martin & Peter Tyler, 2011. "Does spatial agglomeration increase national growth? some evidence from Europe," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(6), pages 979-1006, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jie Shen & Chunlai Chen & Mengyu Yang & Keyun Zhang, 2019. "City Size, Population Concentration and Productivity: Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 27(1), pages 110-131, January.
    2. Xu Yang & Xuan Zou & Xueqi Liu & Qixuan Li & Siqian Zou & Ming Li, 2023. "The Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in China’s Counties," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Guangdong Li & Chuanglin Fang, 2014. "Analyzing the multi-mechanism of regional inequality in China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(1), pages 155-182, January.
    4. Zhonghua Cheng & Xiaowen Hu, 2023. "The effects of urbanization and urban sprawl on CO2 emissions in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1792-1808, February.
    5. Javier Barbero & Ernesto Rodríguez-Crespo, 2022. "Technological, institutional, and geographical peripheries: regional development and risk of poverty in the European regions," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(2), pages 311-332, October.
    6. Junhua Li & Wenli Cheng, 2015. "Country Size, Economic Structure and Transaction Efficiency: An Asymmetric Spatial General Equilibrium Model of Income Differences across Nations," Monash Economics Working Papers 17-15, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    7. Kodila-Tedika, Oasis & Asongu, Simplice A. & Cinyabuguma, Matthias & Tchamyou, Vanessa S., 2017. "Financial development and prehistoric geographical isolation: global evidence," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 283-306, December.
    8. Ugo Fratesi, 2008. "Regional policy from a supra-regional perspective," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 42(3), pages 681-703, September.
    9. Frick, Susanne A. & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2018. "Change in urban concentration and economic growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 156-170.
    10. Yan, Siqi & Peng, Jianchao & Wu, Qun, 2020. "Exploring the non-linear effects of city size on urban industrial land use efficiency: A spatial econometric analysis of cities in eastern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Amavilah, Voxi Heinrich, 2018. "Endogenous constraints, coefficients of economic distance, and economic performance of African countries – An exploratory essay," MPRA Paper 90065, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Cheong, Tsun Se & Wu, Yanrui, 2013. "Regional disparity, transitional dynamics and convergence in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-14.
    13. Wei Sun & Xiaona Lin & Yutian Liang & Lu Li, 2016. "Regional Inequality in Underdeveloped Areas: A Case Study of Guizhou Province in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    14. Ezebuilo Romanus Ukwueze & Ekene Stephen Aguegboh, 2018. "Institutional Determinants of Economic Growth in ECOWAS Sub-Region," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(5), pages 75-79.
    15. Juan C Duque & Nancy Lozano-Gracia & Jorge E Patino & Paula Restrepo, 2022. "Urban form and productivity: What shapes are Latin-American cities?," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(1), pages 131-150, January.
    16. Bertocchi, Graziella, 2011. "Growth, Colonization, and Institutional Development: In and Out of Africa," IZA Discussion Papers 5856, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Xu, Cheng-Gang & Guo, Di & Jiang, Kun & Yang, Xiyi, 2017. "Clustering, Growth, and Inequality in China," CEPR Discussion Papers 12543, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    18. Quintero, Luis E. & Roberts, Mark, 2023. "Cities and productivity: Evidence from 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    19. Celbis M.G. & Crombrugghe D.P.I. de, 2014. "Can internet infrastructure help reduce regional disparities? : evidence from Turkey," MERIT Working Papers 2014-078, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    20. Fernando Rubiera-Morollón & Ruben Garrido-Yserte, 2020. "Recent Literature about Urban Sprawl: A Renewed Relevance of the Phenomenon from the Perspective of Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-14, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:1:p:152-:d:1022838. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.