On arable land changes in Shandong Province and their driving forces

IntroductionAlmost all the provinces and autonomous regions in China have experienced decrease of arable land in the processes of economic development, population growth and urbanization. The situation is more serious in Shandong Province because of the big population and being an agricultural province. From 1949 to 1999, the arable land was decreased by more than 2 million ha in this province accompanied by rapid population growth. The total population in the province in 1999 was twice of t…     

Population,urbanization and economic scenarios over the Belt and Road region under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

The countries throughout the Belt and Road region account for more than 60% of the world's population and half of the global economy. Future changes in this area will have significant influences on the global economic growth, industrial structure and resource allocation. In this study, the proportion of the urban population to the total population and the gross domestic product were used to represent the levels of urbanization and economic development, respectively. The population, urbanization and economic levels of the Belt and Road countries for 2020–2050 were projected under the framework of the IPCC's shared socioeconomic pathways(SSPs), and the following conclusions are drawn.(1) The population, urbanization and economic levels in the Belt and Road region will likely increase under all five pathways. The population will increase by 2%–8%/10 a during 2020–2050 and reach 5.0–6.0 billion in 2050. Meanwhile, the urbanization rate will increase by 1.4%–7.5%/10 a and reach 49%–75%. The GDP will increase by 17%–34%/10 a and reach 134–243 trillion USD.(2) Large differences will appear under different scenarios. The SSP1 and SSP5 pathways demonstrate relatively high urbanization and economic levels, but the population size is comparatively smaller; SSP3 shows the opposite trend. Meanwhile, the economy develops slowly under SSP4, but it has a relatively high urbanization level, while SSP2 exhibits an intermediate trend.(3) In 2050, the population will increase relative to 2016 in most countries, and population size in the fastest growing country in Central Asia and the Middle East countries will be more than double. Urbanization will develop rapidly in South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, and will increase by more than 150% in the fastest growing countries. The economy will grow fastest in South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia, and increase by more than 10 times in some counties with rapid economic development.     

Research on the suitability of population distribution at the provincial scale in China

The relationship between population distribution and resources, environment and social-economic development has a significant influence on the human development. This paper set up a set of index system and model methods for the assessment of the coordination between population and resources, environment and social-economic development, and it quantitatively evaluated this coordination at the provincial scale in 2000 and 2010 respectively Based on this set of index system, the suitability degree and the spatial-temporal pattern of population distribution at the provincial scale were carefully characterized. The restriction of population distribution at the provincial scale was graded and classified, and the coordinated development strategy of population, resources, environment and social economy was finally put forward. The results showed that： （1） The environmental suitability of population distribu- tion at the provincial scale was generally high in China, which tended to be stable from 2000 to 2010. （2） The restriction of water and land resources at the provincial scale was generally strong in China, but it tended to be weak from 2000 to 2010. （3） The coordination degree between the social-economic development and population distribution at the provincial scale was mostly at a middle level, which was in the positive upward path from 2000 to 2010. （4） The suitability of population distribution at the provincial scale was mostly at a middle level, all of which was rising from 2000 to 2010. （5） The coordination degree between population dis- tribution and resources, environment and social-economic development at the provincial scale was divided into four grades, including basic coordination, relative coordination, awaited coordination and urgent-needed coordination. （6） The basic ways to promote the coordinated development of population, resources and environment in different regions in China can be summarized as： implementing the strategy of population agglomeration and evacuation, guiding the orderly flow of population, optimizing the spatial distribution of popu- lation and drawing up the spatial planning of population development.     

1950–2050年“一带一路”沿线国家人口与城市化发展的时空演变研究（英文）

This paper uses data for the period 1950–2050 compiled by the United Nations Population Division together with methods including spatial autocorrelation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and the standard deviational ellipse, to analyze the spatio-temporal evolution of population and urbanization in the 75 countries located along the routes of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21 st-century Maritime Silk Road, to identify future population growth and urbanization hotspots. The results reveal the following: First, in 2015, the majority of Belt and Road countries in Europe, South Asia and Southeast Asia had high population densities, whereas most countries in Central Asia, North Africa and West Asia, as well as Russia and Mongolia, had low population densities; the majority of countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa had rapid population growth, whereas many countries in Europe had negative population growth; and five Belt and Road countries are in the initial stage of urbanization, 44 countries are in the acceleration stage of urbanization, and 26 are in the terminal stage of urbanization. Second, in the century from 1950 to 2050, the mean center of the study area's population is consistently located in the border region between India and China. Prior to 2000, the trajectory of the mean center was from northwest to southeast, but from 2000 it is on a southward trajectory, as the population of the study area becomes more concentrated. Future population growth hotspots are predicted to be in South Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia, and hotspot countries for the period 2015–2030 include India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia, though China will move into negative population growth after 2030. Third, the overall urban population of Belt and Road countries increased from 22% in 1950 to 49% in 2015, and it is expected to gradually catch up with the world average, reaching 64% in 2050. The different levels of urbanization in different countries display significant spatial dependency, and in the hundred-year period under con-sideration, this dependency increases before eventually weakening. Fourth, between 2015 and 2030, urban population hotspots will include Thailand, China, Laos and Albania, while Kuwait, Cyprus, Qatar and Estonia will be urban "coldspots." Fifth, there were 293 cities with populations over 1 million located along the Belt and Road in 2015, but that number is expected to increase to 377 by 2030. Of those, 43 will be in China, with many of the others located in India, Indonesia and the eastern Mediterranean.     

Spatial quality： analysis of China＇s eco-environmental 1990-2010

Over the past two decades in China, stress on the environment has increased continuously. This paper will assess the change in environmental quality over time, and its spatial variation using data from the statistical yearbooks of 31 provincial administrative regions in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. These books provide a general assessment of the environment at the provincial level, and the three major economic regions from western to eastern China. By using the geographic information system （GIS） and SPSS, we analyzed the changing trend of China＇s eco-environment and calculated the changing trajectory in the gravity center of the eco-environmental quality. We conclude the following. （1） From 1990 to 2010, the rate of deterioration of the environment went down. We argue that the cause of this trend was neither the result as ＂the deterioration trend was under control＂ noticed by the government departments concerned, nor ＂the deterioration rate of the environment was increasingly intensified＂ suggested by many researchers. （2） Since 1990, the general environment has been worsening in China, but it was improved in some regions; however, the ecological deficit is still expanding and will last for a long time. （3） From western to eastern China, the deterioration rate of environmental quality was slowed down. The reasons include a good natural environment, a developed regional economy, and technology and finance in eastern China. （4） After extensive economic development in China, there are imbalances of population, economy, society, and the environment in the 31 provincial regions. The governments at all levels should play an important role in research and protecting the environment. In addition, it is imperative to implement positive measures such as controlling population, improving the environment, and promoting smart development to balance the socio-ecological system.     

中国流动人口空间格局的演变特征、形成机制及城镇化效应——基于2000和2010年人口普查分县数据的分析（英文）

China has witnessed unprecedented urbanization over the past decades.The rapid expansion of urban population has been dominantly contributed by the floating population from rural areas,of which the spatiotemporal patterns,driving forces,and multidimensional effects are scrutinized and evaluated in this study by using the latest national censuses conducted in 2000 and 2010.Analysis based on the county-level data comes to conclusions as follows.The spatial pattern of floating population has remained stable over the first decade of the new century.The top 1%cities with the largest floating population received 45.5% of all migrants in China.As the rapid development of mega-city regions,the coastal concentration areas of floating population tended to geographically united as a whole,whereas the spatial distribution of migrants within each region varied significantly.The migrant concentration area in the Yangtze River Delta was the largest and its expansion was also the most salient.However,the floating population has growingly moved into provincial capitals and other big cities in the inland regions and its gravity center has moved northward for around 110 km during the study period.The spatial pattern of floating population has been formed jointly by the state and market forces in transitional China and the impacts of state forces have been surpassed by those of market forces in the country as a whole.The attractiveness of coastal cities and counties to the floating population comes mainly from the nonagricultural employment opportunities and public services,reflecting that long-distance and long-term migrants have moved coastward not only to gain employment but also to enjoy city life.By contrast,in the central and western regions,places with a higher economic development level and at a higher administrative level are more attractive to floating populations,demonstrating that the state remains to play an important role in allocating economic resources and promoting regional development in inland China.As the main body of new urban residents,the floating population has contributed substantially to the elevation of the urbanization levels of migrant-sending and-receiving places,by 20.0% nd 49.5% respectively.Compared with extensively investigated interprovincial migrants,intra-provincial migrants have higher intention and ability to permanently live in cities and thus might become the main force of China’s urbanization in the coming decades.The internal migration has also reshaped China’s urban system in terms of its hierarchical organization and spatial structure.     

Current situation and trend of arable land change in China

IntroductionAlmost all the developing countries have experienced the decrease of cultivated land in the process of population growth, economic development and urbanization. The situation is more serious in China because of the huge amount of population and relative limited arable land. From 1986 to 1995, the cultivated land has decreased nearly 7 million hectares, the amount of annual decrease is 0.7 million hectares in China according to the available statistical data. But the real situation…     

中国边境地区城镇化时空格局及其驱动力

Border area is not only an important gateway for inland opening-up,but also an important part of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society and optimizing national urban spatial pattern in China.Due to the location,natural resources endowment,and traffic accessibility,the urbanization speed is relatively slow in border areas.Therefore,it is a special area that needs to pay close attention to,especially under the background of the Belt and Road Initiative and China's regional coordinated development program.Based on the county-level data from 2000 to 2015,this paper tries to analyze the spatio-temporal pattern of urbanization in 134 border counties,and applies geographical detector method to study the driving forces of urbanization in border areas.Conclusions are as follows:(1)From 2000 to 2015,urbanization rate in border areas has been lower than the national average,and the gap has been widening.Some border counties in southern Xinjiang,Tibet,northeast of Inner Mongolia,and Yunnan,are even facing the problem of population loss.(2)In the same period,urbanization rate in the northwestern and southwestern border is low,while their urbanization rate grows relatively faster comparing with other border counties;urbanization rate in Tibet border is the lowest and grows relatively slowly;urbanization rate in the northeastern and northern border is slightly higher,but it grows slowly or even stagnates.(3)Transportation and industry are the important driving forces of urbanization in border areas,while the driving forces of market is relatively weak.And there are obvious mutual reinforcements among the driving forces,while the effort and explanatory power of resource force increases obviously after interaction.(4)Urbanization rate in the northwestern and southwestern border areas grows relatively fast,with industrial force and transportation force,market force and administrative force as the main driving forces respectively.Tibet border area has the lowest urbanization rate and growth rate,as the driving force of urbanization with strong contribution has not yet formed in Tibet.In the northeastern and northern border areas,the contribution of transportation force to urbanization is greater than other forces,and its interaction with market and industry has obvious effects.     

The provincial pattern of the relationship between urbanization and economic develop-ment in China简

Understanding the relationship between China＇s urbanization and economic de- velopment on a provincial scale is of profound theoretical and practical significance. Based on data from 124 countries or regions throughout the world and 31 provinces or autonomous regions in China, applying improved methods using the quadrant map approach, this paper analyzed the spatial pattern of the relationship between China＇s urbanization and economic development level. The study identified the following results. （1） The 31 province-level re- gions fall into six categories： only one region is in the category of sharp over-urbanization, 3 regions are in medium over-urbanization, 11 slight over-urbanization, 8 basic coordination, one medium under-urbanization, and seven slight under-urbanization. （2） There are signifi- cant regional differences on a provincial scale in the relationships between urbanization and the level of economic development. （3） The provincial pattern of urbanization and economic development is significantly different between east and west. The eastern coastal areas are mainly over-urbanized, while the central and western regions are mainly under-urbanized. （4） The relationship between urbanization and the level of economic development is similar to the Matthew effect. Hence, two important insights are proposed. First, the phenomenon of over-urbanization in some developed regions should be viewed with some concern and vigi- lance. Second, urbanization needs to be speeded up moderately in the central and western regions.     

中国人口地理学的过去、现在和未来——进展、挑战与机遇（英文）

Population geography(Pop Geo), although a sub-discipline of human geography, should have been well developed in China in light of its national population size and unique demographic issues, regional socio-economic development, and biophysical differences. Yet it typically lags behind the development of its parent disciplines, especially demography and geography. Specifically, Pop Geo in Chinese higher education is still at a low level in terms of the three major aspects of disciplinary development: academic majors for higher education, academic conferences, and journals. The research content of Pop Geo in China has focused on the growth, composition, change, distribution, and carrying capacity of population at the meso-and macro-spatial scales. As the most populated country in the world, questions about how and why the population changes, where the population settles and migrates to, its maximum carrying capacity, and how to guide sound development of population matter to society and the economy, are always important topics in the Pop Geo studies in China. In contrast, some new population phenomena such as human space–time behaviors(commuting, remittances, and friends' interaction), popular in the scientific community abroad, are not fully investigated at the micro-level. Presently, Pop Geo in China may face both challenges and opportunities because of the adjustment of fertility policies and implementation of national new urbanization plans at the national level. It is this occasion that calls for a state-of-the-art review of the development of Pop Geo since the 1980 s, the turning point of an increasing number of Pop Geo studies in China. We aim to reveal the current status of PopGeo in China to the world, and shed light on its further study.     

中国能源消费碳排放强度及其影响因素的空间计量(英文)

The sustainable development has been seriously challenged by global climate change due to carbon emissions. As a developing country, China promised to reduce 40%–45% below the level of the year 2005 on its carbon intensity by 2020. The realization of this target depends on not only the substantive transition of society and economy at the national scale, but also the action and share of energy saving and emissions reduction at the provincial scale. Based on the method provided by the IPCC, this paper examines the spatiotemporal dynamics and dominating factors of China's carbon intensity from energy consumption in 1997–2010. The aim is to provide scientific basis for policy making on energy conservation and carbon emission reduction in China. The results are shown as follows. Firstly, China's carbon emissions increased from 4.16 Gt to 11.29 Gt from 1997 to 2010, with an annual growth rate of 7.15%, which was much lower than that of GDP(11.72%). Secondly, the trend of Moran's I indicated that China's carbon intensity has a growing spatial agglomeration at the provincial scale. The provinces with either high or low values appeared to be path-dependent or space-locked to some extent. Third, according to spatial panel econometric model, energy intensity, energy structure, industrial structure and urbanization rate were the dominating factors shaping the spatiotemporal patterns of China's carbon intensity from energy consumption. Therefore, in order to realize the targets of energy conservation and emission reduction, China should improve the efficiency of energy utilization, optimize energy and industrial structure, choose the low-carbon urbanization approach and implement regional cooperation strategy of energy conservation and emissions reduction.     

东北地区城市可持续城市化潜力评估（英文）

Sustainable urbanization is not only an important research topic in the field of urbanization, but also the development direction of new-type urbanization. In this paper, we construct an index system to evaluate sustainable urbanization potential with the entropy method. Results show that potential values of sustainable urbanization in most cities are not high. Cities with higher sustainable urbanization potential values are mainly located in the central part of Northeast China. Environmental potential of sustainable urbanization is the main contributor to sustainable urbanization potential in Northeast China. There is no absolute relationship between city size and potential value, large city does not always mean greater potential. Correlation analysis shows that urbanization rate cannot reflect the sustainable urbanization potential of a region. Population urbanization is not the ultimate goal of sustainable urbanization. Unilateral pursue urbanization rate cannot improve the potential of sustainable urbanization. Towards sustainable urbanization, governments in Northeast China should revitalize local economy, pay more attention to the rural areas and develop low-carbon economy or ecological economy. Finally, this paper highlights the importance of choosing more integrated methodology or new models for measuring sustainable urbanization potential in view of the shortcomings of one method.     

中国流动人口地域类型——划分方法及空间分布(英文)

With the rapid increase of the number and influence of floating population in China,it is urgently needed to understand the regional types of China’s floating population and their spatial characteristics. After reviewing the current methods for identifying regional types of floating population,this paper puts forward a new composite-index identification method and its modification version which is consisted of two indexes of the net migration rate and gross migration rate. Then,the traditional single-index and the new composite-index identification methods are empirically tested to explore their spatial patterns and characteristics by using China’s 2000 census data at county level. The results show:(1) The composite-index identification method is much better than traditional single-index method because it can measure the migration direction and scale of floating simultaneously,and in particular it can identify the unique regional types of floating population with large scale of immigration and emigration. (2) The modified composite-index identification method,by using the share of a region’s certain type of floating population to the total in China as weights,can effectively correct the over-or under-estimated errors due to the rather large or small total population of a region. (3) The spatial patterns of different regional types of China’s floating population are closely related to the regional differentiation of their natural environment,population density and socio-economic development level. The three active regional types of floating population are mainly located in the eastern part of China with lower elevation,more than 800 mm precipitation,rather higher population densities and economic development levels.     

基于土地集约利用的长株潭城市群建设用地供需仿真模拟（英文）

Urban land intensive use is an important indicator in harmonizing the relationship between land supply and demand. The system dynamics(SD) can be used to construct the feedback loop between urban construction land supply and demand and index variable function. Based on this, this study built a supply and demand system dynamic model of urban construction land for Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration. This model can simulate the change trends of supply and demand of construction land, industrial land, and residential land in 2016–2030 by three scenarios of low, medium, and high intensity modes. The results showed that the scale of construction land of urban agglomeration is expanding, with a rapid increase rate for the urban construction land. The scale and speed of land use based on the three intensity modes existed differences. The large scale and supply of construction land in the low intensity mode caused easily the waste of land resources. In high intensity mode, the scale and supply of construction land were reduced against the healthy development of new-type urbanization. In the medium intensity mode, the scale and supply of land use adapted to the socio-economic development and at the same time reflected the concept of modern urban development. In addition, the results of this study found that the proportion of industrial land in construction land ranged from 15% to 21%, which increased year by year in the low intensity mode, and decreased slowly and stabilized in medium and high intensity modes. The proportion of residential land in construction land ranged from 27% to 35%, which decreased in the low and the medium intensity modes, and maintained a high level in the higher intensity mode. This study contributes to provide scientific reference for decision-making optimization of land supply and demand, urban planning, and land supply-side reform.     

1998-2008年中国农作物化肥消费的时空分异(英文)

The agricultural and land policies in China are always focused on protecting its food supply and security because of the country’s large population and improved diets.The crop production guide ’Take Grain as the Key Link’ prompted peasants to plant grain on most of the agricultural land,leading to the majority of fertilizer being used in grain crops for many years in China.This situation has changed dramatically in recent years.Based on data pertaining to provincial crops sown area and fertilizer use per unit area in 1998 and 2008,the temporal and spatial variations of China’s fertilizer consumption by crops were analyzed at the provincial level,and the results are presented here.(1) Fertilizer consumption in China grew strongly in the last decade,while the growth was mainly attributable to the increase of fertilizer con-sumption by horticultural crops.The fertilizer consumption of grain crops dropped from 71.0% in 1998 to 57.8% in 2008.Thus,it is concluded that the emphasis of fertilizer consumption is shifting toward horticultural crops.(2) There were marked differences in the growth rates of fertilizer consumption from the regional point of view.The national average growth rate of fertilizer consumption was 31.9% during 1998-2008.The western and northeastern parts of the country came close to the national average,while the eastern part was lower,with an average of 13.0%,and central China was much higher(50.8%).The increase of fertilizer consumption in central and west China was higher than the other zones,which already ac-counted for 77.9% of the national total.Thus,it is concluded that the consumption emphasis of chemical fertilizer shifts toward the central and western regions.(3) The decline of fertilizer consumption by grain crops was largely due to the decrease in sown area compared with the increase by vegetable crops attributable to the enlarging sown area;the increase by orchard crops was affected by both expanding the sown area and fertilizer use per unit area.     

中国能源资源开发的时空格局与潜力评价(英文)

The issue of China's energy supply security is not only the key problem which affects China's rapid and sustainable development in the 21st century,but also the one which international attention focuses on.Based on the notable characteristic of spatial imbalance between energy production and consumption in China,this paper takes the evolution of China's primary energy resources development(excluding hydropower) from 1949 to 2007 as the study object,with the aim to sum up the evolutive characteristics and laws of China's energy resources development in the past nearly 60 years.Then,based on comprehensive considerations of coal's,oil's and natural gas's basic reserves,qualities,geological conditions,production status,and ecological service function of every province,this paper adopts development potential index(DP)to evaluate the development potential of every province's energy resources,and divide them into different ranks.Conclusions are drawn as follows:(1) Generally speaking,China's gross energy production was increasing in waves from 1949 to 2007.From the viewpoint of spatial patterns,China's energy resources development has shown a characteristic of "concentrating to the north and central areas,and evolving from linear-shaped to "T-shaped" pattern gradually since 1949.(2) The structure evolution of China's energy resources development in general has shown a trend of "coal proportion is dominant but decreasing,while oil and gas proportions are increasing" since 1949.(3) At the provincial scale,China's energy resources development potential could be divided into large,sub-large,general and small ranks,four in all.In the future,the spatial pattern of China's energy production will evolve from "T-shaped" to "∏-shaped pattern".These conclusions will help to clarify the temporal and spatial characteristics and laws of China's energy resources development,and will be beneficial for China to design scientific and rational energy development strategies and plans,coordinate spatial imbalance of energy production and consumption,ensure national energy supply,avoid energy resources waste and disorderly development,and promote regional sustainable development under the globalization background with changeful international energy market.     

广东沿海赤潮发生与城市发展的关系

Red tides are one of the main coastal catastrophic events in Guangdong Province of southern China. The comparison between the number of red tide events and the development indexes of cities along the coasts of the province shows that the regional differences in red tide outbreaks has close relations with the coastal urban developments. The cause for an initiation of red tide blooms may be natural factors, while wastewater caused by the fast development of population, industry and aquiculture of the coastal cities enhanced the blooms. It may explain why the two periods of frequent outbreaks of the red tides over the last two decades matched the urban developments in the coastal areas of Guangdong not only spatially but also temporally. The red tides in the first period were restricted only to the coasts of middle Guangdong, where urbanization process was at a higher speed than the other coastal areas of the province. In the second period, fast development of the coastal cities in eastern Guangdong led to an increase in the occurrence of red tides in local sea areas of the same coasts.     

Process and mechanism of arable land change in Hebei Province during the past 50 years

1 Introduction Arable land is the core of land resources and its dynamic change seriously affects regional sustainable development. Hebei Province, with a large population, is an agricultural province. With the highspeed economic development, population growth and urbanization, a great amount of arable land has been lost and the land shortage has become more serious. Therefore, arable land change and its driving forces should be studied in order to realize the sustainable agricultural develo…     

中国水资源利用效率与空间溢出效应测度(英文)

Based on provincial panel data of water footprint and grey water footprint, and with the help of data envelopment analysis model considering and without considering the undesirable output, this paper estimates the water resources utilization efficiency in China from 1997 to 2011. The spatial weighting matrix based on economy-spatial distance function is established to discuss spatial autocorrelation of water resources utilization efficiency. With the help of absolute β-convergence model, this paper concludes that there exists β-convergence in the water resources utilization efficiency. Under the conditions of considering and without considering the undesirable output, it takes about 52.6 and 5.6 years respectively to achieve the extent of half of convergence. By mean of the spatial Durbin econometric model, this paper studies spatial spillover effects of the provincial water resources utilization efficiency in China. The results are as follows. 1) With considering and without considering the undesirable output, there is significant spatial correlation in provincial water resource efficiency in China. 2) Under the two cases, the spatial autoregressive coefficients(ρ) are 0.278 and 0.507 respectively, at 1% significance level. There exist the spatial spillover effects of provincial water resources utilization efficiency. 3) With considering the undesirable output, these factors of the education funds, the transportation infrastructure, and the industrial and agricultural water consumption proportion have positive impacts. These factors of foreign direct investment, the industry value-added water consumption per ten thousand yuan, per capita water consumption, and the total precipitation have negative impacts. 4) Without considering the undesirable output, the factor of GDP per laborer has a greater positive significant influence on the water resources utilization efficiency. However the facts of industry value-added water consumption in ten thousand yuan and the transportation infrastructure have no significant influence. 5) Regardless of undesirable output of water resources utilization efficiency, the assessment of the present real water resources utilization in China will be distorted and policy-making will be misled. The water efficiency measure considering environmental factors(such as gray water footprint) is more reasonable.     

2005-2014年长江经济带城镇化效率时空格局特征（英文）

The question of how to generate maximum socio-economic benefits while at the same time minimizing input from urban land resources lies at the core of regional ecological civilization construction.We apply stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)in this study to municipal input-output data for the period between 2005 and 2014 to evaluate the urbanization efficiency of 110 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt(YREB)and then further assess the spatial association characteristics of these values.The results of this study initially reveal that the urbanization efficiency of the YREB increased from 0.34 to 0.53 between 2005 and2014,a significant growth at a cumulative rate of 54.07%.Data show that the efficiency growth rate of cities within the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has been faster than that of their counterparts in the middle and lower reaches,and that there is also a great deal of additional potential for growth in urbanization efficiency across the whole area.Secondly,results show that urbanization efficiency conforms to a"bar-like"distribution across the whole area,gradually decreasing from the east to the west.This trend highlights great intra-provincial differences,but also striking inter-provincial variation within the upper,middle,and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.The total urbanization efficiency of cities within the lower reaches of the river has been the highest,followed successively by those within the middle and upper reaches.Finally,values for Moran’s I within this area remained higher than zero over the study period and have increased annually;this result indicates a positive spatial correlation between the urbanization efficiency of cities and annual increments in agglomeration level.Our use of the local indicators of spatial association(LISA)statistic has enabled us to quantify characteristics of"small agglomeration and large dispersion".Thus,"high-high" (H-H)agglomeration areas can be seen to have spread outwards from around Zhejiang Province and the city of Shanghai,while areas characterized by"low-low"(L-L)patterns are mainly concentrated in the north of Anhui Province and in Sichuan Province.The framework and results of this research are of considerable significance to our understanding of both land use sustainability and balanced development.