Fiscal decentralization,political centralization,and land urbanization in China

This study investigates the driving forces of land urbanization in China. Drawing upon insights from the institutional perspective, this study argues that fiscal decentralization tightens local budget constraints, stimulating local governments to urbanize land to relieve fiscal distress. Political centralization triggers interregional competition among government officials for better economic performance, inspiring local governments to employ land development to mobilize more capital investment for growth. Based on official land-use change data from 2002 to 2008 for prefectural cities, and the application of spatial econometric models, this study presents empirical evidence to support these theoretical arguments. Results imply that fiscal and political incentives derived from land development drive China’s land urbanization process. This study enriches the urbanization literature by providing an institutional understanding of rapid land urbanization in a transitional economy.     

A surface network based method for studying urban hierarchies by night time light remote sensing data

Urban hierarchies are closely related to economic growth, urban planning and sustainable urban development. Due to the limited availability of reliable statistical data at fine scales, most existing studies on urban hierarchy characterization failed to capture the detailed urban spatial structure information. Previous studies have demonstrated that night time light data are correlated with many urban socio-economic indicators and hence can be used to characterize urban hierarchies. This paper presents a novel method for studying urban hierarchies from night time light data. Night time light data were first conceptualized as continuous mathematical surfaces, termed night time light surfaces. From the morphology of these surfaces the corresponding surface networks were derived. Hereafter, a night time light intensity (NTLI) graph was defined to describe the morphology of the surface network. Then, structural similarity between the night time light surfaces of any two different cities was calculated via a threshold-based maximum common induced graph searching algorithm. Finally, urban hierarchies were defined on the basis of the structural similarities between different cities. Using the 2015 annual NPP-VIIRS night time light data, the urban hierarchies of 32 major cities in China were successfully examined. The results are highly consistent with the reference urban hierarchies.     

Slums,Ghettos, and Urban Marginality

This paper gathers potent visual images of one city, Los Angeles (L.A.), by examining three contemporary films— L.A. Story (1991), Boyz N the Hood (1991), and Grand Canyon (1991). It argues that popular culture, and in particular popular film, is an integral part of the portrayal of the cultural landscape. This paper primarily uses the assorted visual images of the urban landscape in considering how this one city has been recently depicted. The three films reveal a city shaped by rapid changes in urban America, depicting Los Angeles as an urban area composed of a fragmented landscape divided into many geographies: L.A. as a realm of simulations and void of consequences; L.A. as a city under siege, a place of epidemic violence and fear; L.A. as a place obsessed with security and control; L.A. as an increasingly ambiguous and chaotic place. Far from concluding that cities have become so fragmented that they are ageographic, these films reveal various geographies that are rooted in economic, political, and cultural contexts. Attention to the “restlessness” of cities and the postmodern focus on the instability and chaotic nature of urban experience actually challenge geographers to uncover the multitude of geographies of place. Interpreting the many geographies of Los Angeles shows that film can reveal a uniquely visual catalog of human experience of place, supplementing the ways in which we decipher place image and representation. This paper suggests that film is one way by which previously marginalized groups, such as blacks, can disseminate ideas from the margins and provide alternative experiencesof place. Geographers should add film to the cache of qualitative data that constructs an urban experience through images and representation, widening the discussion of what is place     

基于文化产业企业网络视角的中国城市网络空间结构研究

论文通过对230家“新三板”文化产业挂牌企业总部—分支机构关联数据的收集、整理和分析,对文化产业视角下中国城市网络的空间结构特征进行研究,比较文化产业城市网络与其他类型城市网络的差异性,并探索影响文化产业城市网络空间格局的经济社会因素。结果表明：① 中国文化产业挂牌企业地理分布呈现出地域分散但数量集中的特点,城市网络空间分布高度不均衡,并未表现出常见的“菱形结构”;② 网络核心节点以东中部发达城市以及少数具有特殊资源的城市为主,多数城市的对外输出能力有限;③ 城市网络扩散以核心节点城市间的等级扩散为主,邻近城市间的扩散效应不明显,同时本地网络(即城市内部网络)对文化企业组织结构的贡献度低于跨地域网络;④ 不同类型文化产业在网络结构上表现出较为明显的差异,反映其市场需求和发展条件的不同;⑤ 地方政府作用和城市产业结构是影响中国文化产业企业布局和网络格局形成的重要因素,其他社会经济因素的作用则较为不明显,反映出中国文化产业的独特性。     

中国休闲城市质量评价及实证研究

休闲城市质量是体现城市居民生活获得感和幸福感的重要指标。通过构建休闲城市质量评价体系,实证分析了2017年我国35个休闲城市质量现状及特点。结果显示：（1）我国休闲城市质量整体偏低,大多数城市处于中下游水平;（2）我国休闲城市质量呈现出“东西高,中部低”的洼地现象;（3）休闲城市质量各维度指标表现出显著的不均衡特点,休闲空间与环境、休闲生活与消费等维度成为休闲城市质量提升的短板;（4）休闲城市质量在空间上呈现出一定的集聚特点。在此基础上,探讨了未来休闲城市建设过程中应注意发展水平和质量提升的均衡、城市规模与人口密度适度发展以及区域发展差异等问题。     

Are creative workers happier in Chinese cities? The influence of work,lifestyle, and amenities on urban well-being

This paper examines two propositions in the creative-class debate in the context of China’s large cities. The first evaluates Richard Florida’s contention that creative workers enjoy higher level of well-being and are happier than blue-collar workers. The second investigates the influence of urban amenities, lifestyle, and work on creative workers’ happiness. Both propositions are analyzed in relation to China’s post-Socialist, industrial, and mining cities. Based on data from a household survey, the results indicate that Chinese creative workers are indeed happier in post-Socialist, or service-sector oriented, cities. However, creative work does not explain their happiness. Stable social sites that reinforce authentic experience of urban cultural amenities (e.g. the teahouse rather than modern coffeehouses, bars, and theaters) are a significant factor for creative-class happiness in post-Socialist Chinese cities. However, creative work is more likely to explain creative-class happiness in mining cities. Further, our study found that blue-collar workers report a higher level of happiness in those settings with less pronounced inter- and intra-class distinctions at the workplace—in those places where power and status are more evenly distributed.     

中国收缩城市及其发展的负外部性

以中国地级市为研究对象,选取2003年和2014年2个时点,通过分析各地级市市辖区、非市辖区的人口变化及二者相对变化情况判断收缩及潜在收缩城市;基于城市发展的负外部性内涵,构建涵盖房地产、环境、交通、教育、医疗及就业等方面指标的评价体系,运用主成分分析法测度收缩及潜在收缩城市发展的负外部性,并分析其变化方向。研究结果表明：① 中国的城市发展仍然以增长为主,收缩城市及潜在收缩城市比例并不高,收缩城市主要分布于东北三省及西北地区,潜在收缩城市则集中分布于河南、湖南等中部人口大省及广西、贵州等省、自治区;② 收缩城市发展过程中其负外部性显著改善,尤其是处于稳定收缩阶段的绝对收缩城市最为明显,辐射式收缩城市次之,而处于收缩初始阶段的郊区化收缩城市则表现出两极分化特征;③ 大部分潜在收缩城市其负外部性有不同程度的加剧,且负外部性加剧的城市主要以湖南、河南的潜在收缩城市为主。     

中国城市动画产业时空格局及其成因研究

以动画产品为研究对象,利用国家广电总局官方统计数据与新媒体网络数据,对中国城市动画产业发展的时空格局及其成因进行了分析与探讨。首先,从产业规模、产品质量、产品集中度3方面构建动画产业发展评价指标体系,运用熵值法、三角模型法与GIS技术分析中国城市动画产业时空格局,发现：中国动画城市不断增多、发展范围梯度扩散,动画城市多数处于萌芽阶段、整体发展水平较低,动画城市之间差距较大、“二元三核”格局逐渐形成,四大板块差距明显、东中西梯度发展;其次,运用主成分分析和相关分析方法,探讨中国动画产业空间格局成因,结果表明生活质量、包容度、创新精神等内生条件是中国城市动画产业发展的主要影响因素,文化资源、政策支持等外在条件也影响较大。     

城市新区开发的理论与实践

近年来,随着我国城市郊区化的日益明显,城市新区作为郊区化的主要载体日益受到关注。文章分析了城市新区的概念,认为城市新区是城市郊区化过程中各种新城市地区的高级形式。从经济、社会、环境三种驱动力量的角度分析总结了城市新区开发的理论体系。并比较了中西方城市新区开发的异同,认为西方国家城市新区开发更注重社会因素,而我国城市新区开发更注重经济因素。最后指出我国城市新区开发中的问题及对策。     

Study on Mountain City Landscape Gradient Characteristics and Urban Construction Coupling: Taking the Yangtze River to the Eastern Ridge Line of Nan Mountain in Chongqing as an Example

China has a vast area of mountains that are of great research interest. Chongqing is a typical mountain city in China. In urban construction, a mountain is not only an important limiting condition for urban development, but also an important condition for shaping the urban form. The area from the Yangtze River to the eastern ridge line of Nan Mountain in Nanan District is strongly representative of mountain cities with a complex landform, fragile ecological environment and a long history and culture. In recent years, the construction and optimization of this area are increasingly closely related to the landscape environment. However, due to the special environments of mountain cities, altitude and landform conditions become the key influencing conditions for further development of the cities. Therefore, this paper takes this region as an example, focuses on remote sensing and field measurement data, combines government data with that from scholarly research, and conducts relevant exploration through GIS, ENVI and some chart processing software. At first, from the perspective of the landscape gradient and urban construction, the characteristics of the urban landscape gradient are sorted out, and the developmental status of each urban area is analyzed. Then, the coupling relationships between the landscape features of each gradient and each urban area are analyzed. Finally, based on the analysis results, three major optimization measures are proposed to maintain ecological harmony in the mountainous area, reconstruct the mountain characteristic culture, and create unique mountain aesthetics, all with the hope of providing some guidance for the future development of the study area and similar mountain cities.     

中国城市空间扩展的非协调性研究

针对中国人多地少, 且处于城镇化快速发展阶段的客观现实, 以及城市空间扩展研究中存在的一系列问题, 比如相对缺乏合理性评价, 存在重实证轻理论, 重个案缺规律, 重特大、发达城市轻一般城市的不足, 本文从城市空间扩展非协调性的基础理论问题着手, 构建非协调性评价体系, 并以2009 年中国246 个地级市为研究单元, 对其扩展规律进行总结;然后从微观层面的行为主体博弈、要素流集聚扩散及制度安排反馈视角讨论了其内在机理;最后从可持续发展视角提出对策建议。结果表明:中国城市空间扩展效率低下, 表现在区际功能匹配性差, 城市化质量整体水平不高:内在“人口-经济-空间”城市化耦合协调度低, 用地增长弹性系数全国平均值为1.192, 其中大于1 的城市占26.42%, 土地资源浪费严重;空间分布呈现出由东往西依次递减的地理格局;城市的功能地位与铁路干线对其影响大, 呈现出地级市以上城市>地级市, 铁路干线城市>非铁路干线城市;通过机理分析揭示出, “产权区域”视角下的地方政府, 出于实现自身行为目标函数(政府绩效和地方财政可支配收入)最大化的考虑, 而在制度安排的框架下, 通过对要素流的做功而传导出来的制度反馈效应:现有制度安排强化了地方政府的“扩散冲动”;在政策建议部分, 基于地方政府的行为目标函数提出修改完善现有制度的建议。     

Evaluation of the eco-efficiency of four major urban agglomerations in coastal eastern China

Urban agglomerations in China have become the strategic core of national economic development and the main component of the new type of urbanization. However, they are threatened by a series of eco-environmental problems and challenges, including the severe overexploitation of natural resources. Eco-efficiency, which is defined as accomplishing the greatest possible economic benefit with the least possible resource input and damage to the environment, is used as an indicator to quantify the sustainability of urban agglomerations. In this work, a traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with a slack-based measurement (SBM) model of undesirable outputs, was used to assess and compare the economic efficiency and eco-efficiency of four major urban agglomerations in eastern China (UAECs) in 2005, 2011, and 2014. The spatio-temporal characteristics of the evolution of urban agglomerations were analyzed. Based on the results of a slack analysis, suggestions for improving the eco-efficiency of the four UAECs are provided. The overall economic efficiency of urban agglomerations located in the Shandong Peninsula, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta displayed a V-shaped pattern (decreased and then increased). In contrast, the overall economic efficiency of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration declined during the study period. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration had a considerable loss of economic efficiency due to pollution, whereas the Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration was less impacted. Overall, the eco-environmental efficiency of the four UAECs declined from 2005 to 2011 and then increased from 2011 to 2014. In addition, the urban eco-efficiency in the four coastal UAECs was characterized by different evolution patterns. The eco-efficiency was higher in the peri-urban areas of the core cities, riverside areas, and seaside areas and lower in the inland cities. The core cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations were characterized by high resource consumption, economic benefit output, and eco-efficiency. In most of cities in the urban agglomerations, the emission of pollutants declined, leading to a reduction of pollutants and mitigation of environmental problems. In addition, a differential analysis, from the perspective of urban agglomeration, was performed, and concrete suggestions for improvement are proposed.

     

Television drama and the urban diegesis: portraying Albuquerque in Breaking Bad

Albuquerque, New Mexico is the filming location and setting of the popular television drama Breaking Bad (2008–2013). Albuquerque is not merely a passive backdrop to the action in the show but a focal point of the series. So much so that in the geographical imaginations of many, Albuquerque and Breaking Bad have become synonymous with each other. This paper critically examines the representation of urban life within the show. To do this it draws upon and expands the existing multi-disciplinary literature on cities and films/television. As well as focusing on the influence of setting and filming the show in Albuquerque on the urban diegesis (i.e. the on-screen city), it also examines three visions of Albuquerque that are projected through the show: (1) Albuquerque as a crime-ridden city; (2) Albuquerque as a spatially divided city; and (3) Albuquerque as a city to escape from.     

以建成区面积表征的中国城市规模分布

选择1990~2000年中国城市用地面积位于前200位的地级及地级以上的城市用地资料,把运用在城市人口规模上的位序-规模法则移植到城市用地上,分析了城市土地利用规模的变化规律。然后运用分形理论,阐释了城市用地的位序-规模曲线。结果显示：(1)以建成区面积作为衡量城市规模的指标,中国城市规模分布符合位序-规模法则,拟合曲线的判定系数都在0.95以上;(2)根据位序-规模曲线的形态,中国城市按建成区面积可分为3类：用地面积>200 km²的大城市,50~200 km²的中等城市和<50 km²的小城市;(3)城市建成区用地的位序-规模曲线有平行向前推进的特点,这为预测我国未来城市建成区用地规模提供很好的基础;(4)中国位于前200位的城市用地规模分布的均衡度不断增强,城市建成区用地规模总量持续增加。     

100多年来中国城市空间分布格局的时空演变研究

文章剖析100多年来中国城市空间分布格局的演变特点、成因,并展望演变趋势。对城市人口密度、非农人口规模、CD值和城市规模结构的综合分析表明,中国城市空间格局具有东密西疏、呈三级阶梯状分布、省际差异大、交通指向明显的特点。这种地带性差异由来已久,是自然环境、政治、经济、社会和外部环境等因素长期综合作用的结果。这些要素在空间上存在很大差异,且要素协同作用时,具有惯性和马太效应,中国未来城市空间格局的差异仍将持续存在,并有可能扩大,东部沿海新城市空间将成为未来城市格局的主体。     

中国资源型城市识别与综合类型划分

资源型城市是一类具有特殊性质的城市,资源型城市转型与可持续发展是区域产业开发、区域经济和城市发展研究的重要内容,自2001年国家从阜新市开始资源型城市转型试点工作以来,对全国资源型城市的准确识别与类型划分一直是地理学界探讨的重点问题之一。本文在借鉴前人研究的基础上,运用城市职能分类的理论与方法,对资源型城市识别与分类的指标与阈值进行了系统分析,识别出全国262座资源型城市。同时,本文从资源型城市发展程度和资源型城市自身的问题出发,根据资源型城市发展的总体导向,结合资源型城市实际特点,尝试建立提出了以资源保障能力和可持续发展能力两个指标评价为基础的资源型城市综合分类框架,构建了资源型城市评价分类模型,将识别出的262座资源型城市分为成长型城市、成熟型城市、衰退型城市、再生型城市4类,并分析了不同类别城市的概念内涵与差异性特征。该研究成果很好的支撑了由国务院发布的《全国资源型城市可持续发展规划》对资源型城市的范围与类别的划定,并成为规划分类引导政策制定的基础。     

Borderland urbanism: seeing between enclaves

Recent scholarship on the characteristics of Chinese urbanism engages with the practices and possible consequences of so-called enclave urbanism, said to generate cities as agglomerations of patchworked enclaves. Acknowledging that inequality becomes explicit in supposedly self-contained enclaves, in this paper, I seek to advance the initial debate by shifting the focus onto the spaces and processes in-between the enclaves. I draw on fieldwork in Shanghai to argue that perceptions of inequality, individual and group identities, everyday cultures and, ultimately, new ways of being in and making the city are shaped amidst the in-between spaces that essentiate emerging cities in China and elsewhere: urban borderlands. I outline a research agenda around the current and future urban condition and propose the exploration of borderland urbanism as a timely new direction in urban geography.     

东北三省收缩城市城乡一体化收缩效应及其作用机理研究

城乡一体化对中国乡村振兴和城市—区域可持续发展的有效落实有重要意义,但当前快速城镇化发展进程中涌现了一批收缩型城市,其城乡一体化发展有什么特征、城市收缩是否对城乡一体化产生影响、产生什么样的影响等,成为新时期推进全民共同富裕目标研究中的核心科学问题。论文据此基于“城镇发展带动—产业发展与投入城乡协调—推进基本公共服务均衡和城乡收入差距缩小”的“动力—路径—目标”对城乡一体化内涵进行界定、构建评价指标体系,并以东北三省为例,从收缩城市与非收缩城市、收缩城市不同发展阶段、不同发展类型视角,对2010—2019年期间的城乡关系展开实证分析。结果表明：(1)东北三省城乡一体化发展情况整体呈上升趋势,但整体发展水平较低且内部空间分异明显。(2)城市收缩对城乡一体化发展表征出较为明显的影响,收缩城市的城乡一体化水平整体较非收缩城市要低、城乡二元结构特征更为明显。(3)收缩城市的城乡一体化发展水平存在收缩类型、收缩发展阶段的差异性：其城乡一体化水平由收缩初期阶段向收缩后期阶段逐渐降低,收缩类型上表征出资源依赖型收缩城市<综合型收缩城市<虹吸型收缩城市<区位制约型收缩城市的发展特征。...     

中国城市舒适物评价指标体系构建与实证

随着城市经济向新知识经济转型,舒适物被认为是影响高端人才移入和城市经济增长的最重要因素。在西方研究基础上,基于中国国情,探索性地构建了中国舒适物系统的综合指标体系,其中包括自然、文化、商业、交通、卫生和社会等6个一级指标以及34个二级指标。结合中国26个主要人口聚居城市的舒适物指标数据,对不同城市的舒适物综合指数水平进行测评;同时对测评结果的差异进行了解释分析。研究发现：① 城市舒适物综合水平呈现出比较大的差距,北上广深等大城市明显高于中西部城市;进一步聚类分析表明,中国大城市的舒适物水平既存在差异,也存在舒适物发展上的共同特征;② 与西方城市人口普遍重视自然舒适物相反,商业舒适物和交通便利程度是影响中国城市舒适物总体水平的最重要因素,卫生服务设施、文化舒适物、商业舒适物与城市吸引力和宜居程度总体评价的相关性最高,这说明中国目前的经济增长模式仍以物质消费为主,而人才流动主要看重舒适物中的文化和消费设施发达程度、卫生医疗水平和交通便利程度,对自然舒适物和社会舒适物等“软”环境的重视不如西方国家;③ 中国城市舒适物结构呈现出比较复杂的状态,表现为发展不均衡的结构类型。城市舒适物评价指标体系构建紧扣舒适物概念和内涵,具有操作性和延伸性,一方面根据评价结果可以判断中国大城市舒适物水平的优劣与结构特征,另一方面评价结果可用于进一步分析其与城市经济、人才、企业等变量的关系,从而完善中国转型期城市发展和增长理论。