The spatial organization pattern of urban-rural integration in urban agglomerations in China: An agglomeration-diffusion analysis of the population and firms

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in China has induced profound changes in the relationship between urban and rural areas, especially in urban agglomerations. This paper contributes a better understanding of the mechanisms of urban-rural interactions in urban agglomerations by considering the perspective of the spatial organization of urban-rural integration (SOURI). Using the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration in Central China as an example, this study used a spatial autocorrelation analysis to quantify the agglomeration and diffusion patterns of the population and firms as proxies to reveal the spatial organization pattern of urban-rural integration (SOPURI). The results showed that 1) the spatial proximity and centralization trends of SOURI were obvious in 2005–2015 in this region; 2) the urban districts of prefecture-level cities, especially Changsha, played an important role as the main centres; 3) due to diffusion effects from the central urban districts, a few county-level cities and county towns began to appear as sub-centres; and 4) the function of towns needed enhancement. Furthermore, a model of an urban-rural multi-level polycentric network was proposed to guide the optimization of SOURI in urban agglomerations with an emphasis on the three-level centres of city-town-village and networking linkages. Following the model, optimization policies for the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration are discussed.