By Liu Yunzhong, Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy, DRC; Liu Jiajie, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University

Research Report, No. 110, 2020 (Total 5854) 2020-5-15

Abstract: Population agglomeration to urban areas and the expansion of city construction land are important manifestations of urbanization. The balance between the two is an important leverage to enhance the urbanization quality and promote the new type of urbanization. The research results based on the analysis of the spatial characteristics of urban population and the expansion of construction land in recent years are as follows. 1. The central and western regions have played a major part in the increase of China’s urban population, and the urban population continues to move to city clusters and large- and medium-sized cities. 2. There is still a mismatch between the urban land expansion and the urban population increase. The urban lands of 48.6% of China’s cities are expanding rapidly. 3. The urbanization drive of eastern and western provincial capital cities is featured by population increase and land expansion respectively. 4. 14.1% of the surveyed cities are facing the risk of population decrease or construction land contraction. In light of the foregoing facts, it is necessary to boost the construction of central and western cities and medium-sized cities, regulate the city construction land by category to increase the land intensity, and refine the supporting policies for cities with stagnant growth and those with contraction.

Keywords: population agglomeration, city land, expansion balance, development and contraction