Transforming the Peri-Urban Fringe in China: The Example of Xi’an-Xianyang

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in the past four decades has transformed the hinterlands of China’s major cities. While urban growth has consumed large quantities of farmland, many of the remaining farms in the country’s peri-urban fringes have responded to the nearby presence of a fast-expanding and wealthier urban market by changing the farm enterprise to cater directly for this market. The various responses are exemplified herewith, for the metropolis of Xi’an-Xianyang (13 million population), in north-west China’s Shaanxi Province. Based on participant observation and structured interviews with a sample of farmers from three peri-urban fringe villages, the study charted changes in ecosystem services as a quantitative measure of change between 1986 and 2017. An additional Delphi approach focused on the chief technological innovations during this period. The survey revealed the growing multi-functionality of those villages that had switched from traditional grain production to horticulture, supported by various government-funded programs. A significant development has been the introduction of farm-based tourism catering for urban-based tourists. The physical appearance of the fringe now resembles the so-called desakota landscape associated with south-east Asian cities, as massive new urban-industrial complexes sit alongside villages amidst islands of intensive farmland. The conclusion addresses key issues regarding the overall sustainability of agriculture within this fast-changing process of rapid urbanization.

Evaluating the Public’s Preferences toward Sustainable Planning under Climate and Land Use Change in Forest Parks

“…Third, evaluating the welfare effects under social welfare, natural conservation, and integrated land use scenario would benefits for policy making for future's sustainable land use management and budget allocation in relative protected areas. Finally, rapid urbanization is a major factor in loss of green space and agricultural land in the peri-urban area [53], especially on developing country similar to Taiwan (i.e., Thailand and China), and then apply to the management of a metropolis and the centrality effect [54,55]. The researcher also can evaluate the welfare effects for recreational green spaces for SLM [56] under our framework.…”

The Method of Planning Green Infrastructure System with the Use of Landscape-Functional Units (Method LaFU) and its Implementation in the Wrocław Functional Area (Poland)

“…The need for changes in the management of agricultural areas in city-regions is observed not only in Europe [73,74] but also in dynamically changing peri-urban areas in China [75].…”

Ecosystem Services Provisioning, Urban Growth and the Rural–Urban Interface: A Case Study from China

“…China is undergoing rapid urbanization [1][2][3][4][5][6] and according to the data from the national bureau of statistics, the rate increased from 10.64% in 1949 to 58.52% in 2017 and reached 60% in 2019. China's urbanization progress will continue, with the urbanization ratio reaching 70 percent by 2035, according to a report published by the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.…”

“…Following introduction of the HRS, rural urbanization and industrialization also commenced. Peri-urbanization has been occurring on a large scale, especially near larger cities and is seen as an industrially driven process [4][5][6]. Some peri-urban districts have become completely urbanized, absorbed by growing cities and sometimes even incorporated as urban administrative districts [5,[7][8][9][10].…”

“…The greatly accelerated economic and social development that accompanies rapid urbanization has also engendered numerous environmental problems, such as local climate alteration, changes in carbon storage, increased air and water pollution, increased energy demands [5,[7][8][9][10], a major reduction in natural vegetation and decreased ecosystem service provision [10,11]. The increasing population density and demands of urban environments have exacerbated the pollution of air and water and affected water availability, leading to solid, liquid and gaseous waste disposal problems, and a high level of energy consumption (see below).…”