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Urban Agglomeration Formation and Its Spatiotemporal Expansion Process in China: From the Perspective of Industrial Evolution

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Abstract

Urban agglomeration research has received increasing attention in China’s national development strategies, and has become a hot topic in academic research. This study develops a theoretical framework that explores the formation mechanism and expansion process of urban agglomerations from the perspective of industrial evolution, and identifies the development issues and their causes by taking Yangtze Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomerations as case studies. In the process of urban agglomeration formation within a free market, as has happened in Yangtze Delta region, the central city develops first, its secondary industry is then transferred to its neighboring cities, and the work division and cooperation with the neighboring cities is gradually established. However, in the 1990s, aiming to become an international metropolis, Beijing implemented a series of administrative policies to encourage the reduction of the secondary industry and the development of the tertiary industry, before its secondary industry were fully developed and transferred to its neighboring cities. This delayed the integration process and the development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. This study builds a good foundation for the construction of the theoretical system’s urban agglomeration study, and provides references for decision making in an urban agglomeration development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Fangqu Niu & Xinyu Yang

  2. Collaborative Innovation Center for Geopolitical Setting of Southwest China and Borderland Development, Kunming, 650500, China

    Fangqu Niu

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

    Fangqu Niu & Xinyu Yang

  4. School of Public Administration, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010070, China

    Fang Wang

Authors
  1. Fangqu Niu
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  2. Xinyu Yang
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  3. Fang Wang
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Correspondence to Fang Wang.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41801149), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA19040401), Young Talents of Science and Technology in Universities of Inner Mongolia (No. NJTY-20-B09), Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KF2018-05)

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Niu, F., Yang, X. & Wang, F. Urban Agglomeration Formation and Its Spatiotemporal Expansion Process in China: From the Perspective of Industrial Evolution. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 30, 532–543 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-020-1094-3

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