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Semi-urbanization and evolving patterns of urbanization in China: Insights from the 2000 to 2010 national censuses

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Abstract

Based on the prefecture-level data of the 2000 and 2010 national censuses, the spatial evolution of China’s semi-urbanization is analyzed in this study. The stages of urbanization are re-examined by considering semi-urbanization. Nine types of urban development are presented according to the relations between semi-urbanization and urbanization, and China’s urbanization is divided into five stages, namely, high incoordination, incoordination, low coordination, coordination, and high coordination. Results show that China’s semi-urbanization rate varies significantly from one area to another; its order in 2010 from the highest to the lowest value was as follows: east, middle, west, and northeast. Urbanization and semi-urbanization rates in inland cities increase much faster than those in coastal cities. In addition, semi-urbanization displays a spatial pattern similar to that of urbanization across China, with the sole exception of the northeastern region. Through a spatial autocorrelation analysis, the spatial concentration of semi-urbanization is determined to be increasing. High-value concentration areas are expanding in the coastal east, whereas low-value concentration areas are growing in the northeast. Lastly, the evolution of China’s urbanization model suggests a weakening trend of coordination between urbanization and semi-urbanization over the studied decade. Semi-urbanization can be viewed as a special production of China’s hukou system, which restricts the permanent settlement of migrants in cities. As such, China’s semi-urbanization trend is expected to exhibit a reversed U-shaped pattern as urbanization and citizenization develop.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Xiang Liu & Guangzhong Cao

  2. School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, China

    Xiang Liu

  3. Center for Population and Development Studies, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China

    Tao Liu

  4. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China

    Hanchu Liu

Authors
  1. Xiang Liu
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  2. Guangzhong Cao
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  3. Tao Liu
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  4. Hanchu Liu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guangzhong Cao.

Additional information

Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41371166

Liu Xiang (1992–), Master, specialized in urban planning and urban geography in China.

Cao Guangzhong (1969–), PhD and associate professor, specialized in urban geography.

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Liu, X., Cao, G., Liu, T. et al. Semi-urbanization and evolving patterns of urbanization in China: Insights from the 2000 to 2010 national censuses. J. Geogr. Sci. 26, 1626–1642 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-016-1348-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-016-1348-2

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