Regional Solutions to Urban-Rural Coordinated Development in the Megacity Regions II

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3441

Special Issue Editors

1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2. China Regional Coordinated Development and Rural Construction Institute, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: public participation and community planning; rural construction and planning; urban form and planning; spatial structure and regional planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2. China Regional Coordinated Development and Rural Construction Institute, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: community planning; rural studies; housing and travel behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, China
Interests: real estate; housing; land and planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
1. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
2. China Regional Coordinated Development and Rural Construction Institute, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: regional planning; community participatory planning; urban and rural human settlements construction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the Special Issue of Land on “Regional Solutions to Urban-Rural Coordinated Development in the Megacity Regions II”. 

We are pleased to invite researchers from different disciplines, such as urban planning, human geography, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences, and other related disciplines, to submit papers to this Special Issue on “Regional Solutions to Urban-Rural Coordinated Development in the Megacity Regions”. Multidisciplinary research that addresses multiple social-environmental–economical facets, with regard to transitional urban-rural development from regional perspectives, is particularly welcome. This Special Issue will shed light on the development of megacity regions across countries as a spatial form of urban-rural integrated development, which plays a crucial role in regional economic development.

The U.N. Habitat has acknowledged that strengthening urban-rural linkages is vital for achieving sustainable urbanization in human settlements of all sizes. This has been reaffirmed by recent inter-governmental debates, with the strengthening of urban-rural linkages included both as a sustainable development target and a vital issue in regional development. A megacity region comprises a cluster of highly networked urban settlements anchored by large cities (Yeh and Chen, 2019). Substantial studies were conducted as early as the 1920s and included terms such as megalopolis, metropolitan area (region), urban agglomeration, metropolitan coordinating region, city group, and city cluster (Fang and Yu, 2017). The complex and dynamic nature of urban-rural interactions tests the capacity of existing governance structures to address pressing regional challenges (Dabson, 2019).

Policymakers are increasingly paying attention to how urbanization will transform regions. However, less attention is currently being paid to the complex rural-to-urban and urban-to-rural interactions within megacity areas. The urban-rural linkages are among the most critical dimensions through which urban and regional systems are reconstructed and integrated. A truly integrated approach to urban-rural coordination development must go beyond intra-city policy coordination and traditional rural issues. However, with growing concerns regarding urban-rural dissonance and divides, regional governance, collaboration, and policies to address urban-rural disparities are less considered. Therefore, policies and planning are required in response to these challenges and the emerging megacity regions in the new wave of urban-rural transition and integration.

Against this background, this Special Issue aims to analyze regional planning practices for towns/cities and rural areas to successfully develop urban-rural integration and promote multilevel and regional governance. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • The historical evolution of issues and challenges of megacity regional development;
  • The diverse influences of urban agglomeration and metropolitan coordinated regions;
  • The analysis and evaluation of urban-rural development within megacity regions;
  • Regional solutions seeking to alleviate urban-rural challenges;
  • The spatial consequences of regional planning for urban-rural integrated development;
  • Strategies to address rural revitalization challenges in metropolitan areas;
  • Cohesion policies to strengthen urban-rural linkages through megacity regions;
  • Approaches to strengthening cross-functional regional systems toward an urban-rural balance through regional policymaking.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wei Lang
Dr. Tingting Chen
Prof. Dr. Eddie C.M. Hui
Prof. Dr. Xun Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • megacity regions
  • metropolitan coordinating region
  • urban agglomeration
  • urban-rural systems
  • coordinated regional development
  • regional planning and governance
  • integrated urban-rural development
  • structures and networks
  • rural construction and evaluation
  • human settlement environment improvement

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 8217 KiB  
Article
Spatial Differentiation and Influencing Factors of Tertiary Industry in the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration
by Xiaodie Yuan, Baoyu Chen, Xiong He, Guojun Zhang and Chunshan Zhou
Land 2024, 13(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020172 - 01 Feb 2024
Viewed by 541
Abstract
The tertiary industry has become the main driving force for China’s economic development, and the adjustment and optimization of its structure are important prerequisites for achieving high-quality economic development. Existing studies have mostly focused on the spatial layout and influencing factors of the [...] Read more.
The tertiary industry has become the main driving force for China’s economic development, and the adjustment and optimization of its structure are important prerequisites for achieving high-quality economic development. Existing studies have mostly focused on the spatial layout and influencing factors of the tertiary industry, with insufficient exploration of its internal structure. In this study, the PRD urban agglomeration is selected as the study area. On the basis of classifying the tertiary industry, the Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, and local spatial autocorrelation are used to explore the spatial differentiation of various tertiary industries. The influencing factors are analyzed using geographical detectors, and suggestions for future development strategies are proposed. The results show that in terms of regional differentiation, the agglomeration of various tertiary industries in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is the most significant, but there is insufficient spillover to surrounding cities. In terms of development structure, the level of agglomeration of the consumptive tertiary industry is higher, the public tertiary industry tends to be more evenly distributed, and the productive tertiary industry is relatively dispersed. In terms of influencing factors, the interaction between population and employment dominates the spatial differentiation and evolution of the tertiary industry in the PRD urban agglomeration. Therefore, in the future, the tertiary industry in PRD urban agglomeration should promote the optimization of industrial structure and regional coordinated development under the guidance of the government. Full article
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23 pages, 2917 KiB  
Article
Deciphering the Relationship between Regional Production Factors, Governance, and the Economic Performance of Metropolitan Areas in China
by Jia Yan, Zhigang Li, Yi Chen, Juan Zhang and Sifeng Nian
Land 2023, 12(12), 2185; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12122185 - 18 Dec 2023
Viewed by 665
Abstract
The metropolitan area serves as a vital catalyst for advancing the new urbanization strategy and remains a focal point of current academic research in China. This paper endeavors to explore the developmental mechanisms of China’s metropolitan areas, centering on the circulation of regional [...] Read more.
The metropolitan area serves as a vital catalyst for advancing the new urbanization strategy and remains a focal point of current academic research in China. This paper endeavors to explore the developmental mechanisms of China’s metropolitan areas, centering on the circulation of regional production factors within these urban conglomerations. Additionally, it introduces the hypothesis of various spatial governance models for these metropolitan areas. Drawing upon theoretical research, the paper substantiates the hypothesis regarding the development mechanisms and spatial governance model of metropolitan areas through several case studies. Finally, we present the principal research findings concerning the development mechanisms and spatial governance models of China’s metropolitan areas, along with issues in need of further examination. Full article
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15 pages, 2485 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Spatial Heterogeneity of Rural Development in Laos Based on Rural Building Spatial Database
by Shangqian Li, Yutian Liang, Xin Deng, Weipan Xu and Xun Li
Land 2023, 12(11), 2008; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12112008 - 02 Nov 2023
Viewed by 621
Abstract
The countryside is the principal area of population agglomeration with a high incidence of global poverty problems. As a shelter for the daily life of rural inhabitants, the rural buildings constitute the element of rural settlements. Moreover, they can directly characterize the level [...] Read more.
The countryside is the principal area of population agglomeration with a high incidence of global poverty problems. As a shelter for the daily life of rural inhabitants, the rural buildings constitute the element of rural settlements. Moreover, they can directly characterize the level of rural development. Therefore, in the new stage of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this study selected Laos as the main study area and investigated the effect of different factors on the spatial heterogeneity of rural development based on the rural building spatial database. With the geodetector, the results are summarized as follows: (1) The spatial pattern of rural buildings in different regions of Laos varies significantly, with hot spots areas of rural buildings mainly located in the central and southern regions, while cold spots areas are mainly concentrated in the northern region. (2) Slope, transport infrastructure, and public service are the dominant elements influencing the spatial differentiation of rural buildings in Laos, but spatial heterogeneity existed in different regions of factors. (3) The interaction detector shows that slope ∩ road is the dominant interaction factor influencing the spatial distribution pattern of rural buildings nationwide, and there are marked divergences in the interaction factors. Finally, this study combines the findings to propose corresponding countermeasures for promoting the development and construction of rural areas in Laos. Full article
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22 pages, 2343 KiB  
Article
Smart Cities Are More Populous: Evidence from China
by Xuanwei Chen, Mingwang Cheng, Xue Yang, Zhen Chu and Kaifeng Duan
Land 2023, 12(10), 1917; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101917 - 13 Oct 2023
Viewed by 904
Abstract
This paper examines whether the widespread adoption of digital technologies in cities has increased attractiveness. Based on China’s smart-city construction (SCC), a pilot program aimed at promoting applications of digital technologies in cities, this paper finds that SCC has led to a higher [...] Read more.
This paper examines whether the widespread adoption of digital technologies in cities has increased attractiveness. Based on China’s smart-city construction (SCC), a pilot program aimed at promoting applications of digital technologies in cities, this paper finds that SCC has led to a higher urban population growth in smart cities in China. Two potential channels are suggested by mechanism analysis: improved ecological environment resulting from digital governance with respect to pollution and green production; essential digital information provided by internet users. Specifically, relying on difference-in-differences analysis, the results reveal that, from 2005 to 2017, SCC in China led to approximately 4.4% higher urban population growth in smart cities relative to non-smart cities. In particular, evidence from migrant survey data suggests that smart cities are more favorable destinations for distant migrants, and migrants with higher educational attainment and income. Our findings highlight the importance of digitalization in urban development. Full article
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