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Territorial spatial planning involves fixability and flexibility in different driving factors related to control and development orientation, and they play an important role in regional sustainable development, especially in developing countries such as China. With rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, China has been impacted by conflicts between development and protection in territorial space. To integrate the contradictions among different territorial spatial planning measures, planners and scholars have started to focus on studies regarding fixability–flexibility relationships and integration. However, the relationship between and integration of fixability and flexibility in territorial spatial planning have yet to be clearly summarised. This paper explores an innovative research direction for the fixability–flexibility relations in territorial spatial planning from a new perspective, the Food–Energy–Water Nexus, which is a dynamic and comprehensive framework for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) studies. This paper covers the existing research on fixability and flexibility in territorial spatial planning. Moreover, after summarising the conflicts of fixability and flexibility, the dialectical relationship between and the integration of fixability and flexibility are researched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrinkage in China's cities has gradually received increasing attention. Specifically, county-level shrinking cities are numerous and widely distributed. City shrinkage even appears throughout Zhejiang Province, which is highly developed and has stable economic growth. County-level shrinking cities resulting from regional competition can still maintain long-term and stable economic growth, but their economic growth lags behind the whole competitive region. We identified five county-level shrinking cities in Zhejiang Province, and characterized the shrinkage phenomenon in Changshan County using census, nighttime lighting (NTL), and Tencent Location Big Data. City shrinkage resulted from the comprehensive effects of declining traditional industries, backward per capita income, highly skilled labor force shortages, and population age structure changes. Given the shrinkage status of Changshan, we proposed countermeasures and suggestions including aspects of industrial development, urban planning, social governance, and care for the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1998, the land finance model based on residential and commercial land transfer revenue has played an important role in Chinese social and economic growth, especially in urban infrastructure construction. With China's population peak and stable urbanization, the "incremental" land-transfer-heavy development paradigm is unsustainable. At the same time, as a developing country, local governments in China must have enough fiscal revenue to encourage high-quality growth. The transformation of land finance is a practical issue that needs to be explored urgently. This article, which was based on the local government financial balance theory, proposed supporting the optimization of the land finance incremental model with the reform of the property tax system. A local land finance transformation mechanism with increment and inventory synergy was then created. Specifically, to avoid a cliff-like fall in the local government's land-transfer fee, it was proposed that the land-transfer fee change from the original collection, from ordinary commercial housing to improved housing. The property tax should be levied on the second set of ordinary commercial housing to obtain fiscal revenue from the "inventory". Concurrently, the fiscal money from property taxes could be utilized to build cheap rental housing or to support housing vouchers for new urban residents and young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive growth is posing threat to the ecological security and sustainability of cities. Ecosystem service value (ESV) and ecological risk index (ERI) assessment can be conducted to enhance urban ecosystem management through the enhanced recognition of these values and risks in decision-making. This paper aimed to measure spatiotemporal ESV and ERI for Shizuishan City located in central China, and, based on this, how to zone urban ecological space using land cover data (for the years 2010, 2015, and 2020). The management options of different zones were suggested to mitigate and manage any potential negative impacts on urban ecological security. Results show that: (1) The spatial distribution characteristic of ESV is "high in the south and low in the north". The total ESV exhibited an upward tendency from 2010 to 2020. (2) The high-ERI areas were distributed in the peripheral region, while the low-ERI areas were concentrated in the central region. The ERI of water was in decline continuously, whereas the ERI of wetland maintained a high level. (3) The zoning approach integrating ESV and ERI assessment can truly reflect the status of the environment and better clarify the direction of ecological development for different areas. Among four different ecological zones, the high-ESV and low-ERI areas (I) have abundant ecological resources, and they are set as "Priority Development Areas". The low-ESV and low-ERI areas (II) are set as "Ecological Improvement Areas" because the area of ecological lands are confined. The low-ESV and high-ERI areas (III) have a fragile ecological environment, and they are set as "Exploitation-Prohibited Areas". The high-ESV and high-ERI areas (IV) are mainly distributed near water and wetland, and they are set as "Research-focused Areas". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is experiencing rapid progress in industrialization and urbanization. Characteristic towns (Tese Xiaozhen) are one of the important drivers for China's urbanization, industrialization and agricultural modernization in the 21st century. Each of the towns has its own characteristics. At present, however, it is unclear for them about (i) what characteristics should be promoted, (ii) how urban land should be planned and (iii) which industry should be focused on. The public infrastructure and services in towns are usually under-developed, compared to cities. This paper first explores the designation of a brand-new type of new towns in China, i.e. “characteristic towns”, to meet the need of the current urbanization in China. The paper focuses on the principles of “agglomeration” and “livability”, in socioeconomic and cultural contexts. This is exemplified by a case study of Zhejiang's version of characteristic towns. The findings suggest that the success of cultivation of towns is closely associated with agglomeration and livability. In the short term, identifying characteristics is the core element in the development. For the longer term, a comprehensive integration of industrial policy and land use policy is needed to ensure continuous capital investment and revenue generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese urbanization has generated great impacts on the world since the reform and opening up. However, urban problems, e.g., environmental pollution, resources shortage, and traffic jam, have been more and more serious for urban management and development. Smart city has been put forward as an effective approach to achieve better urban management recently. Smart city aims to realize the integration of municipal service, business, transportation, water, energy source and other urban sub-systems through close combination of human wisdom and information communication techniques (ICTs). As a result, the link and synergy of information could be ultimately established with ICTs, e.g., internet, internet of things, cloud computing. Yet, few studies have been conducted to systematically link smart city with big data in China. This paper aims to put forward a development framework of smart city with Chinese characteristics against the background of big data. Key actions, including rational planning of city infrastructures, the establishment and improvement of long-acting mechanism, the effective performance of city managerial function, are proposed to realize the development idea. Meanwhile, this paper also investigates the risks embedded in development of smart city with Chinese characteristics, e.g., information safety, weak emergency responding capacity and poor independent research and development capacity of core technology. This study can facilitate Chinese local governments to systematically plan smart city before clinging the hot concept in a rush. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural collective land system plays an important role in urbanization; however, it hinders the capitalization of rural homesteads. Despite the significance of this system, the existing literature mainly focused on debates on privatization and nationalization of rural homesteads. However, only a few studies have proposed feasible plans for capitalizing fixed assets. To fill this research gap, this study discusses the conflict between market demand and legal limitation of the marketization of rural homesteads. The weaknesses and strengths of radical nationalization and privatization are also comprehensively evaluated. The concept of market-driven nationalization is proposed to overcome the weakness of radical nationalization and privatization while maintaining their strengths as much as possible. Finally, an assessment of the proposed market-driven nationalization is conducted based on an institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework. The key contribution of this study is its investigation into whether radically changing the rural collective land system is appropriate in contemporary China. In addition, this study proposes a potentially feasible path for advancing the capitalization of rural homesteads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese central government launched two principal campaigns to maintain the quantity and quality of cultivated land across the country and to continuously sustain a growing population. Dynamic balance system and basic farmland zoning focus on protecting the quantity and quality of cultivated lands, respectively. Theoretically, two complementary campaigns can effectively protect the quantity and quality of cultivated land. However, these policies protect the quality of cultivated land minimally. Dynamic balance system replaces basic farmland protection system during implementation by transforming from control planning to development planning. The process increases the conversion of high quality cultivated land into industrial and residential uses, with the supplementary of cultivated land with low quality, thereby reducing the protection on the quality of this land. This study adopts Yiwu City as the study case and analyzes the administration efficiency of dynamic balance system and basic farmland zoning. Evidence suggests that the delimitation of permanent basic farmland is a feasible system arrangement. The central government should deal with the relationships among policies to protect the quantity, quality, and ecosystem of the cultivated land. The government can arrange permanent basic farmland zoning as the core system for cultivated land protection and practice grade protection system on basic farmlands to strictly limit their conversion into construction land, which inevitably weakens the dynamic balance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since early 2016, the expiration of a part of the land-use rights in China has elicited widespread public concern because of the ambiguous interpretation of relevant legal clauses. Land-finance-based urbanization is the primary fiscal source of Chinese local governments, but it has been considered unsustainable by many scholars. Numerous studies have been conducted on these two issues, but a comprehensive study that combines both issues is needed. This study attempts to analyze the relations between the two concepts from the perspective of demographic change in the following decades. It proposes a compensatory mechanism based on land-use term and property tax to deal with the renewal of land-use term and the unsustainability caused by land finance. Results provide an alternative approach for the local government to realize sustainable urbanization in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution represents a significant fraction of the total mortality estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) global burden of disease project (GBD). The present paper discusses the characteristics of trace gases (O, NO, NO, and CO) and particulate matter (PM and PM) in two Asian megacities, Delhi (India) and Beijing (China). A continuous measurement of trace gases and particulate matter are considered from 12 measuring sites in Beijing and 8 sites in Delhi. Over Beijing, the annual average of PM, PM, O, NO, and CO is, respectively, 85.3, 112.8, 58.7, and 53.4 μg/m and 1.4 mg/m, and, respectively, over Delhi 146.5, 264.3, 24.7,and 19.8 μg/m and 1.73 mg/m. From the spatial variations of pollutants, the concentrations of particulate matter and trace gases are observed to be much higher in the urban areas compared to the suburban areas. The higher average concentrations of PM and PM over Delhi and Beijing are observed during winter season compared with other seasons. The maximum diurnal variation of PM concentration is observed during winter season over Beijing and Delhi. The comparison of trace gases shows that the O concentrations during daytime are obviously higher compared with nighttime, and the highest diurnal variation of O is observed during summer. The concentrations of CO are highest during winter season, and higher concentrations are observed during nighttime compared to daytime. The O and CO show negative correlation over Beijing and Delhi. The negative correlation between O and NO is merely observed over Beijing, while CO and NO concentrations, in contrast, show positive correlation over Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marginalization of cultivated land, resulting from rapid urbanization, exists as an important form of land use change, and represents a new research direction in land-use and land-cover change (LUCC). This article proposes a classification of such marginalization on the basis of elasticity of input and income, categorizing marginalization of cultivated land as either policy-induced (PIM), nature-induced (NIM) or economy-induced (EIM) marginalization. These classifications are further explored as either positive or negative marginalization, depending on whether the land is transformed from or into cultivated land. This innovative framework is applied to analyses of marginalization in Lianjiang County, located in southeastern coastal China. This research analyzes characteristics of spatial-temporal evolution of categories of marginalization of cultivated land using 3D kernel density methods. Significant findings point to spatial-temporal processes and driving forces of marginalization, including: (1) Concentrations of positive (P-PIM) and negative (N-PIM) policy-induced marginalization both occur and agglomerate in separate spaces, with the former mainly in the southeastern portion of the county and the latter in the northwest. (2) By contrast, patterns of positive (P-NIM) and negative (N-NIM) nature-induced marginalization complement each other in space - N-NIM tends to be more discrete in areas with P-NIM aggregations, and vice versa. (3) Finally, areas with aggregations of positive (P-EIM) and negative (N-EIM) economy-induced marginalization overlap. The research suggests that relevant land use policies should be formulated in response to these characteristics of cultivated land marginalization so as to address marginalization of cultivated land, especially as associated with rapid urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The planned economy system’s previous form of industrial land market control in China has led to current market failure because of a large amount of industrial land being sold at a very low price, causing extensive overuse of land and negative effects on land management. As the “World Factory”, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) is well known for its rapid urbanization largely driven by Foreign Direct Investment in labor-intensive industries. A low-land price strategy has been commonly adopted by the local government in order to attract industrial investment. In the past decade, the PRD has increasingly faced the increasing competition from its neighboring competition from its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia that have established preference policies to attract FDI and foreign enterprises. Despite a growing body of literature on the internal forces of industrial land in China, little is known of the external forces involved except for the importance of FDI and the intensity of interregional competition between China and other countries in attempting to attract foreign investment. This research fills the knowledge gap by modeling the situation in the form of an international cooperative game model aimed at revealing the industrial land price formation mechanism between the PRD region and Southeast Asian regions. The conditions of industrial land in the area and several Southeast Asian countries are first analyzed for their industrial land price movements in recent years. A game theoretic model is then built that exhibits similar characteristics. The result indicates that the governments’ low land price strategy and the competition between the PRD and its neighboring countries have created unnecessarily high social and environmental costs. Policy suggestions are made to encourage a more appropriate use of industrial land in China, and the most important being the need for a mindset shift from competition towards coopetition between the PRD and Southeast Asian regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land consolidation is considered an effective solution to revitalize rural areas internationally, and a variant, Rural Comprehensive Land Consolidation (RCLC), is widely practiced in China. RCLC is essentially a rural collective action which needs collaborative governance efforts from multiple stakeholders, who mainly are the local government, rural residents and social enterprises. Commonly, RCLC projects are led by the local government and rely on top-down approaches. In such a process, rural interests are often sacrificed due to the relatively weak status of the rural residents. Also, market forces are not motivated enough for low-cost performance of participation. These result in rural stakeholders' resistance and low future development vitality of the areas which implement RCLC. A more effective collaborative mechanism of RCLC is consequently called for. Under the guidance of collaborative governance theory, it is argued that the Rural Collective Organization (RCO) shows potential to provide 'facilitative leadership' to guide the collaboration in RCLC, by playing its multiple roles as a rural interest representative, a grass-roots manager and an independent legal entity in Chinese society. This research proposes a theoretical framework of the potentially optimized RCLC collaborative mechanism which facilitates the collaboration of stakeholders by setting the RCO as the collaborative leader and based on the flexibility of its multiple roles to strengthen bottom-up approaches and invoke multiple forces. A case study is constructed to demonstrate and support this potentially optimized approach. It is shown that the RCO, if flexibly playing its roles in different RCLC affairs, can provide balance between stakeholders and can catalyze stakeholders who may have a low incentive to participate, thus generating innovative outcomes. Based on above observations, we also refine a practice-oriented collaborative model, with prerequisites for its wider application being discussed. • Rural comprehensive land consolidation has been adopted as a main instrument to revitalize rural areas in China. • The rural collective organization plays multiple roles in Chinese rural political, economic and social areas. • The multiple roles of the rural collective organization show potential to facilitate rural comprehensive land consolidation. • Longgang city in China is chosen as a typical empirical case and a collaborative model is refined and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization results in a considerable economic disparity between urban and rural areas in developing countries, which has had a consequent significant impact on CO 2 emissions. To accommodate this directly, this paper presents a modified version of the Kaya Identity formula, U-Kaya, that includes a direct urbanization factor to determine the relationship between energy consumption intensity, population growth, urbanization rates, urban and rural GDP per capita and the volume of carbon emissions, for application in the dynamic forecasting of carbon emissions by Monte Carlo simulation. The method is demonstrated in forecasting China's likely carbon emissions in 2020 by three different modes of urbanization policy: the government-dominant mode, market-dominant mode and a hybrid government market-dominant mode. The results indicate that a higher urbanization rate, energy carbon emission coefficient and energy intensity will lead to increased carbon emissions. Finally, three policy implications are identified, comprising the narrowing of the economic gap between urban and rural areas, adjustments to the energy structure and technical innovation, which will provide a valuable reference for developing countries in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urbanization and industrialization process is replacing large amounts of farmland, which is strongly driven by the country's land finance regime, with the intensified regional/local competition for manufacturing investment opportunities pushing local governments to expropriate farmland at low prices while leasing land at high market value to property developers. The additional revenue obtained in this way, termed financial increment in land value , can drive local economic growth and provide associated infrastructure and other public services. At the same time, however, a floating population of large numbers of inadequately compensated land-lost farmers, although unable to become citizens, have to migrate into urban areas for work, causing overheated employment and housing markets, with rocketing unaffordable housing prices. This, together with various micro factors relating to the party/state's promotion/evaluation system, plays an essential role leading to serious economic, environment and social consequences, e.g., for migrant welfare, the displacement of peasants and loss of land resources, in need of immediate attention. Our question, therefore, is whether such type of urbanization is sustainable. What are the mechanisms behind China's phenomenal urbanization process? From the perspective of institutionalism, this paper investigates the institutional background of the urban growth dilemma and solutions in urban China by introducing an inter-regional game theoretical framework to indicate why the present urbanization pattern is unsustainable. Looking forward to 2030, major policy changes are made from the triple consideration of the floating population, social security and urban environmental pressures. This involves (1) changing the land increment based finance regime into a land stock finance system, (2) the citizenization of migrant workers with affordable housing and (3) creating a more enlightened local government officer appraisal system to better take into account societal issues such as welfare and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current practice, urban-rural development has been regarded as one of the key pillars in driving regenerative development that includes economic, social, and environmental balance. In association with rapid urbanization, an important contemporary issue in China is that its rural areas are increasingly lagging behind urban areas in their development and a coordinated provision of public facilities in rural areas is necessary to achieve a better balance. A model is therefore introduced for quantifying the effect of individual infrastructure projects on urban-rural balance (e-UR) by focusing on two attributes, namely, efficiency and equity. The model is demonstrated through a multi-criteria model, developed with data collected from infrastructure projects in Chongqing, with the criteria values for each project being scored by comparing data collected from the project involved with e-UR neutral “benchmark” values derived from a survey of experts in the field. The model helps evaluate the contribution of the projects to improving rural-urban balance and hence enable government decision-makers for the first time to prioritize future projects rigorously in terms of their likely contribution too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China has undergone an extremely rapid phase of urbanization, which has caused many acute problems between urban and rural areas. This paper identifies three categories of social, economic and environmental conflict, and investigates their significance according to the views of two different populations using a questionnaire survey and interviews. Using fuzzy set theory, the key causes of urban-rural conflict related to urbanization in China are identified. The differences in urban and rural people's perceptions of these key factors are discussed and the factors underlying these perceptions are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Land Administration Domain Model (LADM), an international standard (ISO 19152:2012), provides a conceptual data model for land administration. This study applies the LADM model to a previously unexplored case: the administration of homestead lands (residential lands) in rural China. In China, rural homestead tenures have been altered through several iterations since 1949, variously serving economic development, political governance and social security objectives. An intended contemporary reform of the homestead tenure system is based upon: (1) collective ownership by local communities; (2) qualification rights, a kind of personal servitude to safeguard the social security of individual community members; and (3) use rights, usufructuary interests offering management options to promote economic development. This work shows it is possible to translate this tripartite entitlement reform of rural homesteads into an LADM profile, with rights, persons, and land forming the base components. Four (sub) packages are formed, namely, Party, Administrative, Spatial Unit and Surveying and Representation. The work finds the LADM-based model, applied to the administration of China's rural homesteads, could facilitate the land tenure reform of rural homesteads, enable interoperability with other aspects of land administration, and could support national responses to those Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to poverty eradication, rural revitalization and intensive land use. • The evolution of rural homestead property system since the foundation of People's Republic of China is summarized. • The existing rural homestead rights structure after the tripartite entitlement reform is discussed. • An LADM-based rural homestead administration system for facilitating land tenure reform is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between metropolitan scale expansion and land use intensity has been a hot research topic in Mainland China in the recent years. Even though many scholars have already discussed this topic from a theoretical standpoint, unfortunately, empirical research in this regard has been woefully lacking. In light of this, this study proffers an empirical investigation of 120 major Chinese cities in 2009, by first establishing an urban land use intensity index by means of a principal component analysis, followed by the application of the structural equation model (SEM) to verify said relationship. The findings show that urban land use intensity has both positive and negative effects on urban scale. In particular, while the agglomerate effect of land and capital is positive, the substitution effect between them is negative. The findings of this study particularly address the coupling relationship of urban scale and land use intensity in Mainland China. The results imply that when the levels of non-land factors rise, urban land use intensity will improve. In other words, following the implementation of the new urbanization policy in China, and the ever-growing significance of the dynamic agglomeration effect, there is a positive coupling relationship between urban scale and land use intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban and rural areas are two different yet coexisting systems. Developing countries such as China have been undergoing a rapid urbanization process. However, urbanization often causes competition for land resources between urban and rural areas, and such competition can result in conflicts between the two systems. To identify the risk factors of urban-rural conflict, this paper utilizes a research framework including content analysis, brainstorming and semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the main risk factors between urban and rural areas comprise conflicts in property, resources and development. Suggestions are proposed to reduce the conflicts occurring between urban and rural areas during the urbanization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Environmental impacts from construction waste have been increasingly becoming a major issue in urban management, particularly in the densely populated regions, such as Hong Kong. This paper presents the current practices of using low waste technologies (LWT) for design and construction in terms of their implementation level and barriers in application on site. Through two practical cases and the semi-structured interviews, the research presents discussions on of the major low waste technologies that have been adopted and the implementation extent of these LWTs in both design and construction stages. The study provides recommendations for improving the use of LWT, including the corresponding technology instruments and the government may develop and implement. The research result can help understand the current situation in applying LWT in design and construction and the findings are expected to assist the decision makers to formulate a set of design and technology toolkit for improving construction waste management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China has experienced an extraordinary level of economic development since the 1990s, following excessive competition between different regions. This has resulted in many resource and environmental problems. Land resources, for example, are either abused or wasted in many regions. The strategy of development priority zoning (DPZ), proposed by the Chinese National 11th Five-Year Plan, provides an opportunity to solve these problems by coordinating regional development and protection. In line with the rational utilization of land, it is proposed that the DPZ strategy should be integrated with regional land use policy. As there has been little research to date on this issue, this paper introduces a system dynamic (SD) model for assessing land use change in China led by the DPZ strategy. Land use is characterized by the prioritisation of land development, land utilization, land harness and land protection (D-U-H-P). By using the Delphi method, a corresponding suitable prioritisation of D-U-H-P for the four types of development priority zones, including optimized development zones (ODZ), key development zones (KDZ), restricted development zones (RDZ), and forbidden development zones (FDZ) are identified. Suichang County is used as a case study in which to conduct the simulation of land use change under the RDZ strategy. The findings enable a conceptualization of DPZ-led land use change and the identification of further implications for land use planning generally. The SD model also provides a potential tool for local government to combine DPZ strategy at the national level with land use planning at the local level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Infrastructure projects have major effects on implementing the principles of sustainable development. Infrastructure projects will continue to be developed in the coming years, particularly in developing countries such as China and India; therefore, it is important to find methods and solutions for improving the sustainability of them. Although existing studies have suggested various methods for practicing sustainable development principles in the process of implementing infrastructure projects, effective assessment indicators are unavailable, which presents a barrier to the effective assessment of infrastructure project sustainability. This study introduces key assessment indicators (KAIs) for assessing the sustainability performance of an infrastructure project. The research data used for analysis were collected from a questionnaire survey given to three groups of experts, including government officials, professionals, and clients in the Chinese construction industry. The fuzzy set theory was used to establish KAIs. A procedure for using the KAIs is demonstrated by a case study. These research findings provide an alternative solution to appraise the sustainability of infrastructure projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The urban land use involves more severe sustainability challenges than agricultural land use. An effective approach for evaluating urban land use is essential for meeting this challenge to improve efficient land use management. This approach must fit into a coherent conceptual and analytical framework covering different aspects, including social, economic, environmental and rational land use structure. A major problem with this is the lack of the evaluation approach for objectively evaluating the sustainability of urban land use in practice. In this paper, an evaluation system for the sustainability of urban land use (ESULU) is presented aimed at rectifying this situation. This is based on 13 indicators drawn from previous literatures in consultation with a group of experts in this field. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is applied to assist in identifying the major factors for evaluating the sustainability of urban land use. Examination of the results provides a grouping analysis of the capital cities and municipalities, indicating a general disproportion between coastal and interior urban cities in China. The findings lead to further suggestions and recommendations for central and local government to design relevant policy in achieving the sustainable development of urban land use and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expenditure on R&D in China's construction industry has been relatively low in comparison with many developed countries for a number of years-a situation considered to be a major barrier to the industry's competitiveness in general and unsatisfactory as regards industry development of the 31 regions involved. A major problem with this is the lack of a sufficiently sophisticated method of objectively evaluating R&D activity in what are quite complex circumstances considering the size and regional differences that exist in this part of the world. A regional construction R&D evaluation system (RCRES) is presented, aimed at rectifying the situation. This is based on 12 indicators drawn from the Chinese Government's R&D Inventory of Resources in consultation with a small group of experts in the field, and further factor analysed into three groups. From this, the required evaluation is obtained by a simple formula. Examination of the results provides a ranking list of the R&D performance of each of the 31 regions, indicating a general disproportion between coastal and inland regions and highlighting regions receiving special emphasis or currently lacking in development. The understanding on this is vital for the future of China's construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use planning has become an important topic for research in China and a critical public management means to restrain and regulate land use behavior. China's current land use planning can be divided into different levels of planning, that is, national planning and local planning. The central government designs land use planning that emphasizes control and longer-term goals; whilst local governments tend to have shorter planning time scales and more market-oriented goals. This government-led type of planning system often caused mismatches between supply and demand and planning failures. This is a challenge facing researchers and policy makers in China at all levels. In this paper we propose the use of nudges as a new approach of government interventions to tackle this problem. We develop a theoretical framework to embed nudges in land use planning, and use Zhejiang Province as a case study to demonstrate the empirical implementation of the framework. We argue that nudge-based government interventions are efficient and effective alternatives for conventional, direct administrative orders. It facilitates decisions that can both improve private welfare and protect public interests; it strikes a balance between government interventions and market forces while still preserves the freedom of choices. It is a promising direction for the research and practice of land use policy in China and beyond. • Land use planning that emphasizes rigid control is difficult to adapt to the market demand for land. • Nudge has become a new method of public management reform. • The paper proposes a theoretical framework embedded with nudges. • The framework combines government interventions and market forces effectively. • The aim is to promote the balance between long-term planning and short-term planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governance has recently been recognized as a crucial factor in sustainable urbanization. China, as a developing nation experiencing rapid urbanization, is facing governance challenges in urbanization due to changing socio-economic environment. However, the existing hierarchical governance mechanisms of urbanization, characterized by centralized decision-making, soft cost constraints and distorted incentives, makes it difficult to adapt to transition to sustainable urbanization. Thus, the development of governance mechanisms and capacities that are aligned with the urbanization transformation is a significant theoretical and practical issue in China. Nevertheless, the micro transformation mechanism of urbanization governance in China has not been analyzed systematically. In Chengdu, a town recently explored a contract-based governance mechanisms in urbanization that uses contracts as a means to encourage collaboration among various stakeholders in the urban construction and operation. This practice provides a new viewpoint on urbanization transformation. To explain its effectiveness and feasibility, the article develops a framework of "property rights-governance-performance". The results indicate that contract-based governance mechanisms, characterized by negotiated decision-making, cost constraints, value creation and benefit sharing, performs better than hierarchical governance mechanisms in governing urbanization. The transformation from hierarchical to contract-based governance mechanisms enhances the understanding of stakeholder interactions and contractual issues in urban governance, while also providing insights into the urbanization transition. • Urbanization governance mechanisms aligned with the urbanization stage is crucial to achieve sustainable urbanization. • A comparative analytical framework and case study approach are used to explain the effectiveness of contract-based governance mechanisms. • Contracts facilitate property rights transactions, integrate resources and interests, and promote collaboration. • The effectiveness of contract-based governance mechanisms lies in negotiated decision-making, cost constraints, added-value creation and benefit sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the negative image of public housing projects, housing policies globally tend to shift from government-led to market-led, from project-based subsidies to household-based subsidies. What theories does the Chinese government rely on to launch a large number of public housing construction projects since the beginning of 21th Century? In the past decades, what kind of impact has the supply of public housing produced on urban development? From the perspective of urban inclusive growth, a discussion on the impact of public housing supply policy is not sufficient to fully analyze this diversity. Therefore, this paper includes theoretical and empirical research to explore the association between the supply of public housing and urban inclusive growth in China. A data-driven method is adopted that provides analysis of China's socio-economic situation. Based on nationwide observations, the structural equation model is applied in testing the impact of public housing supply on urban inclusive growth. The results run counter to the stereotype and indicate that, at this stage, increasing the supply of public housing not only contributes to urban social integration, but also does not hinder urban economic growth. This study shares the Chinese experience of the impact of public housing supply on urban inclusive growth, and provides support for the urban development model based on inclusive growth theory. • An empirical study is conducted from both the economic growth and social integration perspectives. • Increasing the supply of public housing does not hinder urban economic growth. • The quantity of public housing supply has the greatest impact on urban inclusive growth. • Provides support for the urban development model based on inclusive growth theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is one of the largest carbon emitting countries in the world. Numerous strategies have been considered by the Chinese government to mitigate carbon emissions in recent years. Accurate and timely estimation of spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions is of vital importance for planning of low-carbon strategies. For an assessment of the spatiotemporal variations of city-level carbon emissions in China during the periods 2000–2017, we used nighttime light data as a proxy from two sources: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) data and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS). The results show that cities with low carbon emissions are located in the western and central parts of China. In contrast, cities with high carbon emissions are mainly located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (BTH) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD). Half of the cities of China have been making efforts to reduce carbon emissions since 2012, and regional disparities among cities are steadily decreasing. Two clusters of high-emission cities located in the BTH and YRD followed two different paths of carbon emissions owing to the diverse political status and pillar industries. We conclude that carbon emissions in China have undergone a transformation to decline, but a very slow balancing between the spatial pattern of high-emission versus low-emission regions in China can be presumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper reviews the history of indemnificatory housing development and explores its effectiveness. • An optimization-based framework for housing subsidy system that focusing on housing voucher is designed. • We provide an effective alternative housing subsidy policy which can facilitate the settling down of migrants in cities. • Capitation grant, occasion for implementation and cost estimation are important elements in housing subsidy system. Rapid urbanization has transformed cities by improving the quality and quantity of production factors, such as population, land, and capital gain optimization. However, housing problems of the floating population (liudong renkou) have seriously increased during the urbanization process. This study reviews the history of indemnificatory housing development in China and explore its effectiveness in the context of sustainable urbanization. Difficulties in the housing subsidy policy are identified, and an optimization-based framework for housing subsidy system that focusing on housing voucher is designed with the consideration of capitation grant, occasion for implementation, cost estimation, implementation procedure, and supplementary policy. The appropriateness of the housing voucher policy was tested on Zhejiang Province, and expert interview was conducted to evaluate the proposed housing subsidy system. This study provides an effective alternative housing subsidy policy which can facilitate the settling down of floating population in cities and also contribute to sustainable urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The evolution process of farmland right system since the foundation of new China is summarized. • The existing farmland right system after the tripartite entitlement reform is proposed. • An LADM-based farmland administration system is developed. • Some instance level diagrams for farmland administration activities is developed. Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has undergone a promotion of industrialisation, urbanisation and agricultural modernisation. This promotion has triggered the mass migration of rural labour forces into cities, leading to the virtual situation of the separation of farmland contract and operation rights. To respond to this issue, the central government proposed a strategy of farmland reform in China. Such reform aims to transform the former 'Bipartite Entitlement System' into a 'Tripartite Entitlement System (TES)'. 1 1 'Bipartite Entitlement System' refers to the separation of farmland contractual operation right and farmland ownership. 'Tripartite Entitlement System' is the second separation of farmland contractual operation rights, which is transformed into the contract and operation rights. Thus, the 'Tripartite Entitlement System' is composed of three individual farmland rights: ownership, contract right and operation right. Land registration provides the means for recognising formalised property rights and regulating the characteristics and transfer of land-related rights. As for farmland registration in China, it serves as a basis to explore effective forms of collective farmland ownership by implementing collective farmland ownership, stabilising farmers' contract rights and liberalising farmland operation rights. Thus, in this study, on the basis of the farmland tripartite entitlement (hereinafter referred to as 'FTE') reform in China, we develop a Land Administration Domain Model (LADM)-based TES model that will serve as the basis of subsequent system development. Specifically, first, we summarise the evolution process of China's farmland rights system since the foundation of new China. Second, we propose a farmland rights system after the FTE reform. Then, the corresponding TES model is developed based on the LADM standard and some instance-level diagrams for farmland administration activities. The new functionality of the model includes improved structuring of farmland rights and restrictions (and related source documents) and improved expansion of the land information infrastructure to rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rapid urbanization and urban-rural dual structure, urban villages in China have gradually become populated areas dominated by a large number of migrants. Similar to slums, the problems of urban villages need to be solved urgently and the governance of urban villages is a serious issue in urban management. Therefore, combining the past international experience of governance of slums with a case study of urban villages in Hangzhou, this paper develops a governance model framework for an urban village. This framework is designed to integrate inclusiveness with urban service boundaries (USB) and to take the social service system as the key to achieve people-oriented governance through active participation of government, the market, the community and social organizations. This paper proposes that wealth distribution, housing security, social integration, cultural identity should be combined with infrastructure to form three differentiated models: a high-quality service model, a gradual and comprehensive model, and a social security model, which are suitable for different urban villages and the needs of different groups. The policy implication of this paper is to put forward a way to alleviate the problems of urban villages and make the inhabitants of urban villages, especially low-income migrants, fit into the city. • The social service system can link inclusiveness and the USB. • The paper builds a new governance framework for Chinese urban villages. • 3 governance models are combined systematically to serve urban villages. • Transfer payments, affordable housing and subway are essential for the poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rapid urbanization and industrialization have continually placed massive pressure on the country's natural resources. The fragmented departmental administration of natural resources also intensifies the problem of sustainable use. Accordingly, China's central government has launched natural resource administration reform from decentralization to unification. This study systematically analyzes the reform requirements from legal, organizational, and technical aspects. The right structure of China's natural resource assets for fulfilling such requirements is examined in this work through a review of relevant legal text, and such a right structure is converted into a draft national technical standard of China's natural resource administration on the basis of the land administration domain model (LADM). Results show that China's natural resource administration covers lands, buildings, structures, forests, grasslands, waters, beaches, sea areas, minerals, and other fields. The types of private rights over natural resources include ownerships, land-contracted management rights (cultivated land, forest land, grassland, and water area), rights to use construction land (state-owned and collective-owned), rights to use agricultural land, rights to use homestead land, breeding rights on water areas and beaches, rights to use sea areas, rights to use uninhabited islands, and mining rights. The types of public rights over natural resources include comprehensive land use, urban and rural, sea use, and territory space planning. Furthermore, various types of these property rights can be converted into corresponding classes in LADM on the basis of the analysis of the property subject, object, and rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization results in a considerable economic disparity between urban and rural areas in developing countries, which has had a consequent significant impact on CO 2 emissions. To accommodate this directly, this paper presents a modified version of the Kaya Identity formula, U-Kaya, that includes a direct urbanization factor to determine the relationship between energy consumption intensity, population growth, urbanization rates, urban and rural GDP per capita and the volume of carbon emissions, for application in the dynamic forecasting of carbon emissions by Monte Carlo simulation. The method is demonstrated in forecasting China’s likely carbon emissions in 2020 by three different modes of urbanization policy: the government-dominant mode, market-dominant mode and a hybrid government market-dominant mode. The results indicate that a higher urbanization rate, energy carbon emission coefficient and energy intensity will lead to increased carbon emissions. Finally, three policy implications are identified, comprising the narrowing of the economic gap between urban and rural areas, adjustments to the energy structure and technical innovation, which will provide a valuable reference for developing countries in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revealing the temporal and spatial changes on built-up land expansion and population growth is extremely important for city's sustainable development. Although the differences in land and population growth have been examined, the range and the influential factors of such a gap have not been fully studied. In this research the ratio of the land expansion rate to the population growth rate is used as coordination degree to identify the trend of the “land-population” coordination with the case study of the Yangtze River Delta Region, China by means of spatial analysis and regression. Results indicate notable built-up land expansion and demographic change in the research area. The coordination degree increased from a value of 2.28 in Period I (1990–2000) to 3.12 in Period II (2001–2014), further away from the ideal value (i.e. 0.8–1.4). Overall, the coordination level in central region of the study area is better than those of the North and the South. Regression analysis shows that neighborhood and per capita GDP are two significant influential factors of built-up land expansion and population growth in both periods, and that the impact of “neighborhood” has intensified over time. These findings demonstrate that socioeconomic situation of geographically neighboring cities contribute a lot to the coordinated development of the local population and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a large amount of population moved from countryside to cities in China during its urbanization in the past two decades. The majority of these people have no formal qualifications for city residency, and they are so-called ‘floating population’. The increase of this group of people has induced the pressure of land use in cities, and the contradiction between the demand and the supply of urban land has been intensifying particularly in those developed regions in China. This paper examines the impacts of floating population on urban land by presenting the interrelations between floating population and urban land expansion from the perspective of production land and living land. Structural equation model (SEM) is employed in conducting the analysis. The result shows that the floating population alone does not have direct effect on urban land expansion, but have indirect impacts through engaging in the production or living process. It is particularly interesting that floating people's living conditions have no direct positive effect on the increase of construction land. Based on the research results, suggestions are offered for improvements in government policy towards a more sustainable and integrated urbanization, including the provision of housing support, the formation of more urbanized society and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban growth management is a popular topic for study area all over the world. Despite the increasingly rich literature, however, little has been considered of the complex relationship between the various urban development factors and their feedback structure. This paper contributes in understanding the mechanism of, and establishing a link between, urban growth management oriented by zoning in China (namely development priority zoning or DPZ). A system dynamics urban growth model is presented that is integrated with China's socio-economic development situation. With Yiwu city and Qingtian County as case studies, the model is applied in simulating urban growth under different driving modes. The results indicate that the DPZ in these two areas has an influence on urban growth management strategy, with the driving mode of urban growth affecting economic development levels, migration and types of land conversion. It is concluded that different driving modes are needed for different types of regions according to the functional positioning of their DPZ and that the model contributes to their identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban and rural environments show clear differences in morphology, production mode and culture. With rapid urbanisation, these differences have become a major cause of urban–rural conflict. One of the most significant challenges arises from land acquisition, particularly in China, where cities have experienced substantial growth in the 21st century. Different types of risk are associated with land acquisition conflict in different Chinese cities. In this study, two types of cities are discussed: those with a historically low level of development but recent rapid economic growth, such as Yueqing; and cities that have maintained a relatively high level of development and experienced stable growth, such as Jiaxing. Land acquisition conflict in these two representative cities is then analysed in terms of property rights, access to resources and development. Analysis is performed at the institutional level to provide more accurate insights into the dynamics of conflict. The findings of the study suggest that different risk-management strategies are used in the two kinds of city, and that conflict is more likely to occur in cities with historically weaker development, such as Yueqing. To avoid such conflict, systematic risk-management strategies should be established in these cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the level of urbanization in China now exceeding 50%, its collective rural land system is under increasing pressure, creating conditions in which there is increasing conflict between the efficient use of land for agricultural purposes and its retention as security for the rural population. This paper first examines the fundamental nature of China's collective land system by analyzing the collectivization history of China, then provides a comprehensive appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the collective land system's role in history and the challenges it faces in modern times. The main changes needed for the current collective system are identified as (1) the establishment of a new transfer mechanism for potential collective construction land, (2) the completion of land rights verification and consolidation work, and (3) the endowment of villagers with more rights to enjoy the distribution of land incremental value. The paper's main contribution is to question the relevance of collective rural land system in contemporary China, where a shift is now taking place from one of pure economic development to one involving more social concerns, and propose potential viable amendments to integrate the need for both perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The promotion of green strategy in housing development has significant contribution to the implementation of sustainable development principles. Why do the housing developers go for green? This paper examines the benefits and barriers in applying green strategies in the process of housing development and facilities management. The examination is conducted from the whole process of developing a housing project, including project plan and design, construction, and operation and management stages. It is considered by the housing developers that the application of certain types of green strategies can help contribute to building up developers’ competitive advantages, such as solar system and optimizing building envelope thermal performance technology. The four case studies suggest that housing developers believe that the application of these green technologies can contribute to reputation gaining, reduction in construction and operation cost, receiving favorable land prices, and more channels available for financing. On the other hand, the major barriers affecting the application of the green strategies in housing development process have also been identified, such as higher cost for green appliance and higher cost in relation to customers’ demand. Data used for analysis are collected from a comprehensive questionnaire survey and four constructive case studies within the Chinese housing development market. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Delivering low-carbon communities requires an understanding of community practices and technologies, strategies and constraints associated with and accessed by communities. However, little research to date has investigated the application of green technologies as well as green strategies in achieving low-carbon communities. This paper first reviewed low-carbon technologies and strategies in the previous literatures and then examines how these technologies and strategies are addressed in two ongoing low-carbon communities. By comparing the differences of adopting various low-carbon technologies and strategies in the two cases, it is found that green strategies are not as valued as green technologies in the current stage of low-carbon communities in China. The ten One Planet Living principles are not fully considered and comprehensively implemented, and there is also lack of a clear and harmonious inter-sector working mechanism within and between energy, transport, waste management and water management sectors. Recommendations are proposed to provide a vehicle for a more effective and efficient use of green technologies as well as green strategies to reduce carbon emissions in low-carbon communities. Research findings in the study may therefore provide valuable references to guide low-carbon community development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Land factors are natural resources with fundamental and strategic significance in the achievement of China's 2035 modernization goals. Dilemmas caused by market-oriented or planning-oriented allocation of land factors urgently call for new theoretical guidance and mode. After conducting a systematic review of the literature, this paper built a new framework from the perspective of production-living-ecological spaces to facilitate a better understanding of China's land factors allocation looking forward to 2035. Inductive and deductive methods were both used to interpret the applications of planning and market in land factors allocation. Our results show that: (1) The allocation of land factors for production space is truth-oriented and needs the guidance of market efficiency. The essential feature of "production" as the driving force in production space requires that the allocation of land factors in production space must "respect rules, give play to the agglomeration effect, and rationally carry out regional economic layout". (2) For the allocation of land factors for living space, it is necessary to pursue a kindness-oriented approach and establish a reasonable housing supply system based on people. Among them, the ordinary commercial housing and improving housing should rely on market forces to achieve multi-subject supply, while affordable housing should be ensured through government intervention in a multi-channel way. (3) For the allocation of land factors in ecological space, aesthetic-oriented planning should follow the rule of territorial differentiation and realize the transformation of ecological function into ecological value through market mechanisms. Top-down planning and bottom-up market represents the logic of overall and individual rationality, respectively. The effective allocation of land factors requires the utilization of both planning and market forces. However, the intersection needs be guided by boundary selection theory. This research indicates that "middle-around" theory could be a possible theoretical solution for future study.

Using data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this paper provides new evidence on the impact of rural land transfer on urban settlement intentions of rural migrants. There was a rural land system reform in rural China that provided increased compensation for rural land expropriation and allowed the transaction of collective construction land for business purposes. We determine an increase in urban settlement intentions of rural migrants following the reform as an exogenous change in rural land transfer of rural migrants. We examine two mechanisms that may explain how the reform increased the settlement intentions of rural migrants, and our empirical evidence suggests that the reform increased social integration and reduced rural place attachment of rural migrants. Furthermore, we determine variations in the effect of the reform across migrants of various ages, social security benefits, and migration distances. Overall, this study extends the implications of the market-oriented rural land reform to sustainable and inclusive urbanization and highlights the role of social integration and rural place attachment in migration decisions.

Background: Recently, studies on COVID-19 have focused on the epidemiology of the disease and clinical characteristics of patients, as well as on the risk factors associated with mortality during hospitalization in critical COVID-19 cases. However, few research has been performed on the prediction of disease progression in particular group of patients in the early stages of COVID-19., Methods: The study included 338 patients with COVID-19 treated at two hospitals in Wuhan, China, from December 2019 to March 2020. Predictors of the progression of COVID-19 from mild to severe stages were selected by the logistic regression analysis., Results: COVID-19 progression to severe and critical stages was confirmed in 78 (23.1%) patients. The average value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was higher in patients in the disease progression group than in the improvement group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated NLR, LDH and IL-10 were independent predictors of disease progression. The optimal cut-off value of NLR was 3.75. The values of the area under the curve, reflecting the accuracy of predicting COVID-19 progression by NLR was 0.739 (95%CI: 0.605-0.804). The risk model based on NLR, LDH and IL-10 had the highest area under the ROC curve., Conclusions: The performed analysis demonstrates that high concentrations of NLR, LDH and IL-10 were independent risk factors for predicting disease progression in patients at the early stage of COVID-19. The risk model combined with NLR, LDH and IL-10 improved the accuracy of the prediction of disease progression in patients in the early stages of COVID-19.

Background: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) is an extremely rare borderline tumor of vascular endothelial origin. Laparoscopic resection of HEHE has never been reported., Methods: The clinical data of eleven patients with HEHE (4 women and 7 men) who were diagnosed and treated at the Union Hospital (Wuhan, China), and Wuhan Asia General Hospital (Wuhan, China), between March 2012 and July 2020 were analyzed retrospectively., Results: The mean age of HEHE patients was 42.4 ± 13.9 years (range 22-67 years). All patients underwent laparoscopic surgery alone or in combination with radiofrequency ablation. Most tumors showed aggressive growth or metastasis. By immunohistochemistry, tumor cells were positive for CD31, CD34, ERG, PCK, FLi-1, TFE-3, and Ki-67 (labeling index range, 5-15%). In one of the patients, the tumor was accompanied by partial necrosis with a local appearance of epithelioid angiosarcoma. Postoperative adjuvant treatment included chemotherapy, sorafenib, and Huaier granule. As of July 2020, the median follow-up duration was 36 months (range, 9-60 months), with 2 (18.2%) patients experiencing tumor recurrence., Conclusions: This is the first report of laparoscopic hepatectomy of HEHE. Curative laparoscopic hepatectomy might be an acceptable treatment for appropriate HEHE patients.