China’s Urbanization Space

After explanation of what it means by city and by urbanization, and the conceptual framework of China’s urbanization research, from this chapter onward, empirical studies of China’s urbanization are presented. The theme of this chapter is to explore the urbanization space of China. First, it presents the spatial representation of China’s urbanization space such as city-region, metropolitan area, megalopolis, mega-city region and megaregion. It is crucial to clarify the exact meaning of these terms while discussing China urbanization space as many of these terms are imported from abroad and the exact meaning has changed or evolved subtly when they are used in China in different contexts or times. Then this chapter presents the comprehensive studies of China’s urbanization space by taking cities as points and as clusters, respectively. For example, by taking cities as points, China’s city-size distribution, urban vitality and city power are explored. And regarding clusters, China’s concentrated city areas are carefully identified and examined by using spatial statistical models. The urban linkages and urban field of China’s urban system are also explored. This chapter ends with spatial analysis of China’s city-region structure.