The Urban Transition Performance of Resource-Based Cities in Northeast China

Juntao Tan,Jing Li,Pingyu Zhang,Shiwei Liu,Kevin Lo

doi:10.3390/su8101022

Abstract

Resource-based cities face unique challenges when undergoing urban transitions because their non-renewable resources will eventually be exhausted. In this article, we introduce a new method of evaluating the urban transition performance of resource-based cities from economic, social and eco-environmental perspectives. A total of 19 resource-based cities in Northeast China are studied from 2003 to 2012. The results show that resource-based cities in Jilin and Liaoning provinces performed better than those in Heilongjiang province. Liaoyuan, Songyuan and Baishan were ranked as the top three resource-based cities; and Jixi, Yichun and Heihe were ranked last. Multi-resource and petroleum resource-based cities performed better than coal and forestry resource-based cities. We also analyzed the factors influencing urban transition performance using the method of the geographic detector. We found that capital input, road density and location advantage had the greatest effects on urban transition performance, followed by urban scale, remaining resources and the level of sustainable development; supporting policies and labor input had the smallest effects. Based on these insights, we have formulated several recommendations to facilitate urban transitions in China’s resource-based cities.

Highlights

IntroductionResource-based cities are cities in which development depends primarily on the exploitation and primary processing of natural resources (e.g., minerals, energy and virgin forests)
Resource-based cities are cities in which development depends primarily on the exploitation and primary processing of natural resources. Because these natural resources are typically non-renewable, a resource-based city’s economy inevitably proceeds through a process of exploration, exploitation, high yield and exhaustion [1], and this process has a huge effect on the overall transitions of resource-based cities
We focused on Northeast China because, as a region with a high concentration of resource-based cities, the urban transition and sustainable development of resource-based cities are the key factors revitalizing the flagging economy of this region [31]

Summary

Introduction

Resource-based cities are cities in which development depends primarily on the exploitation and primary processing of natural resources (e.g., minerals, energy and virgin forests). Once a city exhausts its resources and the economy contracts, various serious problems would be exacerbated, such as stagnation of economic development, living standards dropping sharply and ecological environment deterioration (such as Fuxin before 2000). Several resource-based cities and regions, such as Pittsburgh, Houston and the Ruhr area, have already transitioned to post-industrial models of development, and learning from these overseas experiences is invaluable for China’s resource-based cities. There are a number of resource-based cities in Northeast China that produced a wealth of mineral and timber resources in the past Their resources are severely depleted, and an urban transition for a better economic structure, living standards and ecological environment is urgently needed. By 2012, the urban transition of resource-based cities in Northeast China had been fully implemented over a decade

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Conclusion