Study of and Prospects on the Self-Organizing Evolution Stage of County Urbanization in Hubei

Abstract

By using the self-organization theory, this paper is designed to study openness, non-equilibrium, fluctuation, competition, and other issues in the county urbanization evolution of Hubei since the founding of modern China considering urban development, population migration, industrial conversion and other dimensions. It divides the historical period into four phases: a suspending and atrophy period from 1949 to 1978, a compensatory increase period from 1979 to 1985, a discrepancy evolution period from 1986 to 2000, and a depth differentiation period from 2001 to present. Before the reform and opening up of China, Hubei followed a non-self-organizing urbanization model under the unique governance and guidance of the State; the practice of emphasizing urban and industrial development at the expense of the rural and agriculture development impeded the county development and accumulation. After the reform and opening up, Hubei started to adopt a diversified, interactive, self-organizing urbanization model based on the government, enterprises, and individuals. Facing the change in external conditions that “to open for invigoration – to transfer the center of gravity eastward – the loss is exacerbating,” the county has experienced a varied urbanization process, from the ‘full leap’ of small towns and the sudden rise of medium and small cities, to polarized development of districts and counties surrounding large cities, reflecting the competitive upgrading of a self-organizing system from “individual to town to region” and a self-adaptation of “creation – priority – protection.” the paper theoretically explains reasons for why the present county urbanization in Hubei falls behind that of other, namely: transient glory and inescapable impedance and loss, which are results of the history, but also an inevitable choice of the market economy under the world pattern. Furthermore, it predicts that with changes in the national strategy and global patterns in the future, Hubei may experience an unprecedented turnaround in terms of the county development.