Abstract
The relationships between spatial production, urbanization and sustainable development are becoming a focus of the international academic cycle. Urbanization dominated by spatial production driven by capital and power often produces and enlarges uneven development, which leads to multiple eco-environmental problems. Thus, the key to development lies in whether the pattern of urbanization is in harmony with the ecological environment. However, previous researches mainly concentrate on spatial production in developed countries or regions. The urbanization and sustainable development of less-developed regions, with complex and fragile ecological environments, are often overlooked. It is a new idea to explain the relationships and interactions between spatial production, urbanization and sustainable development based on less-developed regions by the theory of spatial production. The paper chooses the Hexi Corridor as a typical case, puts forward a conceptual framework and explores the process of spatial production from 2000 to 2017. The results reveal that urbanization in the Hexi Corridor is a multidimensional socio-spatial process: power and capital gave birth to a higher urbanization and accelerated the process of urbanization, however, the urban-rural gap between regions has not narrowed accordingly. Driven by comprehensive interests, local governments often take some extreme measures to forcefully promote the urbanization process, thereby violating the goals and requirements of sustainable development. At present, there is an urgent need to coordinate the relationship between urban and rural regions on different scales and transform the urbanization model from traditional spatial production to a new-type of urbanization with people-oriented and sustainable development.
Highlights
Urbanization is an important issue that geography has long been concerned about [1]
The results show that the transformation of urbanization or spatial production mode should deal with the relationship among capital, power and class and urbanization, and actively respond to the economic, social and environmental challenges that sustainable development may face
The global climate change leads to water shortage, desertification, and oasis area sharp reduction, which seriously affect the ecological environment of the Hexi Corridor
Summary
Urbanization is an important issue that geography has long been concerned about [1]. In recent years, the process of the urbanization has produced huge and rapid changes worldwide. The rapid urbanization process has caused the disorder of spatial production, which has brought a series of spatial contradictions and social problems, and has made sustainable development face serious challenges [9]. Urbanization and the resulting allocation of spatial resources have promoted economic growth, changed land use patterns, reshaped regional development patterns, and affected and changed the natural and social environment in many ways [10], for example, environmental degradation [11], urban housing problems [12], urban-rural inequality [13], the widening rural-urban gap [14,15,16], excessive land development, arable land loss [17, 18], and increased energy consumption [19]. The fourth part emphasizes the consequences of spatial production driven by power and capital, and puts forward the important practical significance of changing the urbanization pattern to the lessdeveloped regions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
