Efficiency Loss and Intensification Potential of Urban Industrial Land Use in Three Major Urban Agglomerations in China

Xiangdong Wang,Tao Pei,Xiaoqiang Shen

doi:10.3390/su12041645

Abstract

In recent decades, efficiency and intensification have emerged as hot topics within urban industrial land use (UILU) studies in China. However, the measurement and analysis of UILU efficiency and intensification are not accurate and in-depth enough. The study of UILU efficiency loss and intensification potential and their relationship is still lacking, and the application of parametric methods with clearer causal mechanisms is insufficient. This paper argued that the intensification potential of UILU could be defined as the amount of saved land or output growth resulting from reduced efficiency loss of UILU. Accordingly, we constructed quantitative models for measuring and evaluating the intensification potential of UILU, using the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) method to calculate efficiency loss in three major urban agglomerations (38 cities) in China. Our results revealed a large scale and an expanding trend in the efficiency loss and intensification potential of UILU in three major urban agglomerations in China. From 2003 to 2016, the annual efficiency loss of UILU was 31.56%, the annual land-saving potential was 979.98 km2, and the annual output growth potential was 8775.23 billion Yuan (referring to the constant price for 2003). It is, therefore, imperative to formulate and implement better policies and measures to promote further intensification and to reduce inefficiency, especially in the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas and prioritizing a few key cities, such as Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

Highlights

Rapid industrialization has been underway in China over the last four decades since the initiation of the reform and opening process in 1978
Driven by a globalization agenda after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the end of 2001, China quickly emerged as a global manufacturing power and “world factory.”
The inefficient and extensive way of industrial development in the past in China created the "success" story of the Chinese industry while consuming a large amount of resources and energy, emitting a lot of pollution, and had a great negative impact on the environment. This is why we emphasized on urban industrial land use (UILU) efficiency and intensification, which is a better way of industrial development

Summary

Introduction

Rapid industrialization has been underway in China over the last four decades since the initiation of the reform and opening process in 1978. Serious and longstanding issues in China relating to industrial land include low land prices, excess land supply, the high area proportion, extensive use of land, inefficient land use, lax environmental controls, and the race to the bottom between cities [2,3,4,5,6]. To this end, many policies and measures have been taken, such as the lowest transfer price standard, the market-oriented transfer system (the system of bidding, auction, and listing), the investment intensity control indicator, the intensive utilization evaluation in development zones, disposal of idle land, and redevelopment of inefficient land

Methods

Results

Conclusion