Theory and Practice of Sustainable Urban Development in China (eBook)

Following a research design of "e;phenomenal description a' theoretical analysis a' model construction a' empirical test a' policy suggestion"e;, this book aims at proposing "e;National Resources and Environment"e; (NRE) -constrained urbanization theory and establishing a measurement system for appropriate level of urbanization, which will serve as theoretical and empirical bases for measurement of appropriate level of urbanization under NRE constraints. Based on systematic review of previous researches on NRE-constrained urbanization at home and abroad, this book first summarizes the mechanism and rules of NRE-constrained urbanization with reference to theories of Wooden Barrel, Climbing Hill, Migration, Economic Growth and Ecology. By using the theory of endogenous economic growth and the theory of constraints, it further deduces the model of "e;resource drag"e; in urbanization caused by shortage of resources and environment and that of "e;resource curse"e; in urbanization caused by resource endowment respectively. The appropriate NRE-constrained urbanization is deconstructed into four sub-objectives including the level, speed, structure and scale, and thus a measurement model is proposed. Based on the analysis structure of NRE-constrained urbanization, major NRE effects and key constraint factors of NRE on the urbanization of Jiangxi province are studied. Econometric analysis of panel data is also conducted to examine various effects on the process of urbanization. By using theories and models of NRE-constrained urbanization, this book examines the "e;resource drag"e; and "e;resource curse"e; in Jiangxi's urbanization; deduces the equilibrium level of NRE-constrained urbanization in Jiangxi by using the econometric model and compares the actual compatibility of the level and speed of urbanization in Jiangxi during 1978-2008 by using environmental capacity constrained Logistic model. It further examines the compatibility of scale and space distribution in Jiangxi's urbanization and calculates optimal city scale for Jiangxi by using the measurement model of the structure of NRE-constrained urbanization. At last, based on the aforementioned analysis, this book summarizes main findings and future prospects of the research, and provides policy suggestions on promoting the appropriate process of urbanization. The research aims at the mechanism and rules of urbanization progress under constraint of the NRE based on systematic summary of the effect and constraint of NRE on urbanization. A measurement model for the appropriate progress of urbanization is proposed based on the analysis of NRE-constrained urbanization theories. Meanwhile, the general conclusion will be applied to typical areas and tested by an empirical study, so as to test and develop relevant theories, and give a comprehensive evaluation on the coordination of urbanization with NRE. In this way, lessons can be learned and summarized for similar regions to advance urbanization and utilize NRE. More specifically, the objectives of this book involve: (1) to reveal the mechanism and rules of NRE-constrained urbanization theoretically; (2) to propose a measurement model and methods for monitoring the appropriate progress of urbanization under constraint of NRE; (3) to conduct an empirical study on Jiangxi Province, evaluate its proper NRE-constrained urbanization process from the aspects of level, speed, structure and scale during "e;11th Five Year Plan"e; by quantitative evaluation on Jiangxi's urbanization, NRE, and thus giving suggestions for policy making.