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The functional evolution and system equilibrium of urban and rural territories

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Abstract

The coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems has long been a scientific issue of concern in geography and socioeconomic development in China. Based on Territorial Function Theory, this paper establishes a theoretical framework to support the coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems, analyzes the trend of functional evolution, discusses the impact of efficient allocation and orderly element flow on system equivalence development, and puts forward approaches and policy suggestions for equilibrium development in the future. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The evolution of urban and rural territorial functions has experienced four stages: rural to rural, rural to urban transition, rural to urban, and urban to urban. In this process, territorial functions have been developed to be hierarchical and advanced. (2) Functional evolution enables urban and rural comparative advantages to be transformed from value difference to value equivalence. Increasing the flow intensity and reconstructing the flow space have become the necessary conditions for the coordination of development. (3) Land is the most important resource in China, and land system reform is the key to achieving equivalence development of urban and rural territorial systems, thereby determining the future equilibrium development of the two systems.

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Funding

Foundation: National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41630644

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, 100101, China

    Jie Fan, Sisi Li, Kan Zhou, Dong Chen & Jianxiong Wu

  2. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jie Fan, Sisi Li, Kan Zhou, Dong Chen & Jianxiong Wu

  3. Institute of Science and Development, CAS, Beijing, 100190, China

    Jie Fan, Zhongrui Sun & Rui Guo

Authors
  1. Jie Fan
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  2. Sisi Li
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  3. Zhongrui Sun
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  4. Rui Guo
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  5. Kan Zhou
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  6. Dong Chen
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  7. Jianxiong Wu
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Correspondence to Jie Fan.

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Fan Jie (1961-), PhD and Professor, specialized in regional development and planning. E-mail: fanj@igsnrr.ac.cn

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Fan, J., Li, S., Sun, Z. et al. The functional evolution and system equilibrium of urban and rural territories. J. Geogr. Sci. 32, 1203–1224 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-1993-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-1993-6

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