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Transforming the Peri-Urban Fringe in China: The Example of Xi’an-Xianyang

Author

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  • Guy M. Robinson

    (Department of Geography, Environment and Population, School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia)

  • Bingjie Song

    (Department of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Chang’an Campus: No. 620, West Chang’an Avenue, Changh’an District, Xi’an 710119, China)

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in the past four decades has transformed the hinterlands of China’s major cities. While urban growth has consumed large quantities of farmland, many of the remaining farms in the country’s peri-urban fringes have responded to the nearby presence of a fast-expanding and wealthier urban market by changing the farm enterprise to cater directly for this market. The various responses are exemplified herewith, for the metropolis of Xi’an-Xianyang (13 million population), in north-west China’s Shaanxi Province. Based on participant observation and structured interviews with a sample of farmers from three peri-urban fringe villages, the study charted changes in ecosystem services as a quantitative measure of change between 1986 and 2017. An additional Delphi approach focused on the chief technological innovations during this period. The survey revealed the growing multi-functionality of those villages that had switched from traditional grain production to horticulture, supported by various government-funded programs. A significant development has been the introduction of farm-based tourism catering for urban-based tourists. The physical appearance of the fringe now resembles the so-called desakota landscape associated with south-east Asian cities, as massive new urban-industrial complexes sit alongside villages amidst islands of intensive farmland. The conclusion addresses key issues regarding the overall sustainability of agriculture within this fast-changing process of rapid urbanization.

Suggested Citation

  • Guy M. Robinson & Bingjie Song, 2018. "Transforming the Peri-Urban Fringe in China: The Example of Xi’an-Xianyang," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3932-:d:179067
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    Cited by:

    1. Song, Bingjie & Robinson, Guy M. & Bardsley, Douglas K. & Xue, Yanlong & Wang, Bing, 2023. "Multifunctional agriculture in a peri-urban fringe: Chinese farmers’ responses to shifts in policy and changing socio-economic conditions," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Chun-Lin Lee & Chiung-Hsin Wang & Chun-Hung Lee & Supasit Sriarkarin, 2019. "Evaluating the Public’s Preferences toward Sustainable Planning under Climate and Land Use Change in Forest Parks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Irena Niedźwiecka-Filipiak & Justyna Rubaszek & Jerzy Potyrała & Paweł Filipiak, 2019. "The Method of Planning Green Infrastructure System with the Use of Landscape-Functional Units (Method LaFU) and its Implementation in the Wrocław Functional Area (Poland)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-23, January.

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