Dynamics between Population Growth and Construction Land Expansion: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China

Abstract

Population growth and construction land expansion’s link to sustainable development has gained attention. This study investigated the urban–rural divergence in the population–construction land relationship in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2000 to 2020 using census and land-use data. This study utilized an integrated urban–rural framework to discuss reasons for the disparity. The findings suggested the following: (1) A spatial mismatch formed between population distribution and construction land allocation in the YREB from 2000 to 2020. The mismatch gap in rural areas was larger than in urban areas. (2) The urban areas maintained double growth rates in the population and construction land, while rural areas experienced constant population loss accompanied by construction land expansion. (3) An expansive negative decoupling relationship dominated the urban population–land system, while a strong negative decoupling relationship dominated the rural population–land system. (4) Institutional factors, such as land financialization and urban–rural dualism, were major triggers for the mismatch between population and construction land. Policy responses such as a new type of urbanization and rural revitalization strategies can shape the population–land relationship’s evolution. Our comparative analysis of urban and rural areas highlights the population–land relationship’s complexity, promoting sustainable land-use planning in urban–rural spaces.

The Effects and Mechanisms of the Rural Homestead System on the Imbalance of Rural Human–Land Relationships: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China

“…However, in most of China's rural areas, the per capita residential land area has shown an increasing trend year by year. Based on officially published urban statistical yearbooks and national land use survey data, we measured the state of rural human-land relationships according to the following indicators: (1) the change of per capita residential land area and (2) the elasticity of land expansion to population growth by the Elasticity Value of Tapio Model, which is measured by Equation ( 1) [43]:…”