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Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Urban Systems in China during Rapid Urbanization

Author

Listed:
  • Huan Li

    (Collaborative Innovation Center for China Economy, School of Economics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China)

  • Yehua Dennis Wei

    (Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China
    Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9155, USA)

  • Yuemin Ning

    (Centre for Modern Chinese City Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China)

Abstract

The structure of urban hierarchy and the role of cities of different sizes have drawn considerable scholarly interests and societal concerns. This paper analyzes the evolution and underlying mechanisms of urban hierarchy in China during the recent period of rapid urbanization. By comparing scale changes of seven types of cities (megacity, large city, Type I big city, Type II big city, medium-sized city, type I small city and type II small city), we find that allometry is the main characteristic of urban hierarchical evolution in China. We also test the validity of Zipf’s law and Gibrat’s law, which broaden the scope of existing studies by including county-level cities. We find that urban hierarchical distribution is lognormal, rather than Pareto. The result also shows that city size growth rates are constant across cities of different types. For better understanding of the mechanisms of urban hierarchical formation, we measure the optimal city size and resource allocation by the Pareto optimality criterion and non-parametric frontier method. The main findings are as follows: (1) scale efficiency is still at a relatively low level among the seven types of cities; (2) the economic efficiency of megacities and large cities is overestimated when compared to economic-environmental efficiency. Hence, this paper has two policy implications: (1) to correct factor market (land, labor and infrastructure investment) distortions among different types of cities for the improvement of efficiency; (2) to strengthen rural property rights to improve social equity, as well as land use intensity.

Suggested Citation

  • Huan Li & Yehua Dennis Wei & Yuemin Ning, 2016. "Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Urban Systems in China during Rapid Urbanization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-17, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:7:p:651-:d:73614
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    Cited by:

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    2. Arshad, Sidra & Hu, Shougeng & Ashraf, Badar Nadeem, 2019. "Zipf’s law, the coherence of the urban system and city size distribution: Evidence from Pakistan," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 513(C), pages 87-103.
    3. Xueyan Xu & Jun Gao & Zhonghao Zhang & Jing Fu, 2019. "An Assessment of Chinese Pathways to Implement the UN Sustainable Development Goal-11 (SDG-11)—A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Lie Ma & Dandan Li & Xiaobo Tao & Haifeng Dong & Bei He & Xiaosu Ye, 2017. "Inequality, Bi-Polarization and Mobility of Urban Infrastructure Investment in China’s Urban System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-19, September.
    5. He, Ming & Chen, Yang & van Marrewijk, Charles, 2017. "Urban Transformation and Technology Spillovers: Evidence from China's Electric Apparatus Sector," RIEI Working Papers 2017-01, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Research Institute for Economic Integration.
    6. He, Ming & Chen, Yang & van Marrewijk, Charles, 2021. "The effects of urban transformation on productivity spillovers in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 473-488.
    7. Lei Wang & Ruyin Long & Hong Chen, 2017. "Study of Urban Energy Performance Assessment and Its Influencing Factors Based on Improved Stochastic Frontier Analysis: A Case Study of Provincial Capitals in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Andreev, Vsevolod & Lukiyanova, Violetta & Kadyshev, Evgenii, 2017. "Analysis of people territorial distribution in regions of the Volga Federal District on the base of Zipf and Gibrat laws," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 48, pages 97-121.

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