Abstract
With rapid economic and population growth, construction land expansion in Yangtze River economic belt in China becomes substantial, carrying significant social and economic implications. This research uses Expansion Speed Index and Expansion Intensity Index to examine spatiotemporal characteristics of construction land expansion in the Yangtze River economic belt from 2000 to 2017. Based on a STIRPAT model, driving forces of construction land expansion are measured by Principal Component Analysis and Ordinary Least Square regression. The results show that: (1) there is a clear expansion pattern regarding the time sequence in provinces/cities of the Yangtze River economic belt, with rapid expansion in the initial stage, moderate expansion in the middle stage and rapid expansion in the later stage. (2) Spatial analysis demonstrates first expansion in the lower reaches in the early stage, rapid expansion of the upper reaches in the middle and later stage, and steady expansion of the middle reaches throughout the research period. (3)There are statistical significant correlations between construction land expansion and GDP, social fixed asset investments, population at the end of the year, population urbanization rate, per capita road area, and number of scientific and technological professionals as well as secondary and tertiary industry values. Of these factors, GDP, social fixed asset investments, population urbanization rate and second industry value are important common driving forces of construction land expansion in this region. The research findings have significant policy implications particularly on coordinated development of urban agglomerations and sustainable industry upgrading when construction land expansion is concerned.
Highlights
With accelerated urbanization and rapid economic development in China, construction land expands at an increased speed and this trend will be sustained in the few years [1, 2]
Eight social and economic factors are included in analysis, which are: GDP, social fixed asset investments, population at the end of the year, population urbanization rate, per capita road area, number of scientific and technological professionals, secondary and tertiary industry values
Where Y is construction land area; β is a constant; G is GDP; E is social fixed asset investments; P is population at the end of the year; R is per capita road area; L is number of scientific and technological professionals; U is population urbanization rate; S is secondary industry value; T is tertiary industry value; and ε is the random term of the model. a1a2a3a4a5a6a7a8 are elasticity coefficients, representing the change of a1%a2%a3%a4%a5%a6%a7%a8% of Y respectively when G, E, P, R, L, U, S, T change by 1%
Summary
With accelerated urbanization and rapid economic development in China, construction land expands at an increased speed and this trend will be sustained in the few years [1, 2]. In terms of the research area, current research on construction land expansion and its driving force mainly focuses on single cities and provinces, less on regional city clusters, and the Yangtze River economic belt. This paper builds a STIRPAT model, and combines PCA with OLS regression to investigate the expansion and driving forces of construction land expansion in provinces/cities of the Yangtze River economic belt in China, as well as the differences and coordinated development among provinces/cities in this region. Spatiotemporal characteristics and driving forces of construction land expansion provinces/cities including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou (Fig 1). The Yangtze River economic belt is divided into upper (Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan), middle (Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan) and lower (Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai) reaches This figure is modified from CIA China map (public domain): https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.
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.
