Case Studies
Oct 18, 2024

Spatial Pattern, Classification, and Influencing Factors of High-Quality County Development in China

Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 151, Issue 1

Abstract

The county is the basic territory unit of the national governance system and sustainable development. This study aimed to assess and categorize the high-quality county development in China based on the nation’s imbalanced and inadequate development conditions. By constructing a comprehensive evaluation system for high-quality county development, employing spatial analysis and the natural breakpoint approach, the multiscale spatial pattern of high-quality county development was identified and classified. In addition, the grey relational analysis method was used to measure the influencing factors. According to the evaluation scores for the high-quality county development in this study, the counties could be classified into three categories: (1) rising developed counties; (2) steady developing counties; and (3) underdeveloped counties. Significant spatial differences and agglomeration characteristics exist in high-quality county development in China. Social livelihood has a greater impact on the rising developed countries, and the inappropriate industrial structure and a lack of human capital are the key barriers to steady developing countries. This study could contribute to the improvement in county planning and development and help to understand high-quality county development in China.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

No data, models, or codes were generated or used during the study.

Acknowledgments

The research is sponsored by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42271185, 52108028) and the Guizhou Provincial Major Scientific and Technological Program (No. [2023]113).

References

Biggeri, M., and L. Bortolotti. 2020. “Towards a ‘harmonious society’? multidimensional development and the convergence of Chinese provinces.” Reg. Stud. 54 (12): 1655–1667. https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1746759.
Biswas, M. H. A., P. R. Dey, M. S. Islam, and S. Mandal. 2021. “Mathematical model applied to green building concept for sustainable cities under climate change.” J. Contemp. Urban Aff. 6 (1): 36–50. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2022.v6n1-4.
Bu, N., H. Kong, and S. Ye. 2021. “County tourism development in China: A case study.” J. China Tourism Res. 17 (2): 249–272. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2020.1761501.
Chen, L., W. Ye, C. Huo, and K. James. 2020. “Environmental regulations, the industrial structure, and high-quality regional economic development: Evidence from China.” Land 9 (12): 517. https://doi.org/10.3390/land9120517.
Cheng, Z., A. Tang, J. Cai, and T. Song. 2022a. “Exploring the high-quality county-level development and governance response for farming–pastoral ecotone in China: A case study of kulun.” Agriculture 12 (12): 2042. https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRICULTURE12122042.
Cheng, Z., T. Zhao, Y. Zhu, and H. Li. 2022b. “Evaluating the coupling coordinated development between regional ecological protection and high-quality development: A case study of Guizhou, China.” Land 11 (10): 1775. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101775.
Dipeolu, A. A., O. M. Akpa, and A. J. Fadamiro. 2020. “Mitigating environmental sustainability challenges and enhancing health in urban communities: The multi-functionality of green infrastructure.” J. Contemp. Urban Aff. 4 (1): 33–46. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2020.v4n1-4.
Huang, X., B. Cai, and Y. Li. 2020. “Evaluation index system and measurement of high-quality development in China.” Rev. de Cercetare Si Interventie Sociala 68: 163. https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.68.11.
Huang, Y., L. Shen, and H. Liu. 2019. “Grey relational analysis, principal component analysis and forecasting of carbon emissions based on long short-term memory in China.” J. Cleaner Prod. 209: 415–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.10.128.
Jiang, L., Q. Zuo, J. Ma, and Z. Zhang. 2021. “Evaluation and prediction of the level of high-quality development: A case study of the Yellow River basin, China.” Ecol. Indic. 129: 107994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107994.
Li, B., and H. Wang. 2022. “Comprehensive evaluation of urban high-quality development: A case study of Liaoning province.” Environ. Dev. Sustainability 25 (2): 1809–1831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02129-5.
Liu, X. 2023. “The impact of China’s high-quality development of energy on carbon neutrality.” Energy Rep. 9: 2665–2675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2023.01.089.
Liu, X., W. Liu, X. Zheng, and C. Wang. 2023. “Spatial pattern analysis of coordinated relationship between county development and resources in China.” Habitat Int. 136: 102830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102830.
Liu, Y., C. Huang, Q. Wang, J. Luan, and M. Ding. 2018. “Assessment of sustainable livelihood and geographic detection of settlement sites in ethnically contiguous poverty-stricken areas in the Aba prefecture, China.” ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 7 (1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7010016.
Liu, Y., R. Yang, M. Sun, L. Zhang, X. Li, L. Meng, Y. Wang, and Q. Liu. 2022. “Regional sustainable development strategy based on the coordination between ecology and economy: A case study of Sichuan province, China.” Ecol. Indic. 134: 108445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108445.
Liu, Z., and Y. Ling. 2022. “Structural transformation, TFP and high-quality development.” China Econ. 17 (1): 70–82. https://doi.org/10.19602/j.chinaeconomist.2022.01.06.
Narok, C. 2018. “Narok county integrated development plan 2018-2022.” Natl. Civic Rev. 71 (7): 1–378.
National Bureau of Statistics. 2021. China county statistical yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
National Bureau of Statistics. 2022. “Statistical Bulletin on National Economic and Social Development.” Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202302/t20230203_1901393.html.
Pan, W., J. Wang, Z. Lu, Y. Liu, and Y. Li. 2021. “High-quality development in China: Measurement system, spatial pattern, and improvement paths.” Habitat Int. 118: 102458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102458.
Pink-Harper, S. A. 2018. “Does county form of government impact economic growth and development trends? The case of four states.” Am. Rev. Public Adm. 48 (3): 245–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074016682314.
Qie, H., Y. Chao, H. Chen, and F. Zhang. 2023. “Do geographical indications of agricultural products promote county-level economic growth?” China Agric. Econ. Rev. 15 (3): 666–681. https://doi.org/10.1108/CAER-08-2022-0187.
Sari, M., I. S. Fatimah, P. I. Pratiwi, and B. Sulistyantara. 2023. “Psychological effects of walking and relaxed sitting in urban greenspaces during post-pandemic: A case study in Bogor city, Indonesia.” J. Contemp. Urban Aff. 7 (1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2023.v7n1-1.
Su, F., and R. Tao. 2017. “The China model withering? institutional roots of China’s local developmentalism.” Urban Stud. 54 (1): 230–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098015593461.
Tok, E., M. G. Agdas, M. K. Ozkok, and A. Kuru. 2020. “Socio-Psychological effects of urban green areas: Case of kirklareli city center.” J. Contemp. Urban Aff. 4 (1): 47–60. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2020.v4n1-5.
Wu, L., X. Guo, and Y. Chen. 2021. “Grey relational entropy calculation and fractional prediction of water and economy in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.” J. Math. 2021: 4418260. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4418260.
Wu, Y., Y. Peng, X. Zhang, M. Skitmore, and Y. Song. 2012. “Development priority zoning (DPZ)-led scenario simulation for regional land use change: The case of Suichang county, China.” Habitat Int. 36 (2): 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2011.10.011.
Xue, Y., C. Jiang, Y. Guo, J. Liu, H. Wu, and Y. Hao. 2022. “Corporate social responsibility and high-quality development: Do green innovation, environmental investment and corporate governance matter?” Emerging Mark. Finance Trade 58 (11): 3191–3214. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2022.2034616.
Yang, Y., Y. Li, L. Siu, I. Kinchin, M. Heyeres, and K. Tsey. 2018. “County development and sustainability in China: A systematic scoping of the literature.” Int. J. Sustainable Dev. 11: 19–36.
Yu, D., Y. Zhang, X. Wu, D. Li, and G. Li. 2021. “The varying effects of accessing high-speed rail system on China’s county development: A geographically weighted panel regression analysis.” Land Use Policy 100: 104935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104935.
Yu, Q., Y. Wu, X. Chen, L. Zhang, and Y. Liang. 2023. “Do China’s national agricultural science and technology parks promote county economic development? An empirical examination based on multi-period DID methods.” Agriculture (Switzerland) 13 (1): 213. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010213.
Yuan, Y., Z. Han, and W. Yang. 2021. “A co-innovation network in northeast China oriented to high-quality development.” Technol. Anal. Strategic Manage. 35 (9): 1081–1098. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1991573.
Zhang, W., S. Zhao, X. Wan, and Y. Yao. 2021. “Study on the effect of digital economy on high-quality economic development in China.” PLoS One 16 (9): e0257365. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257365.
Zhang, X., W. Guo, and M. B. Bashir. 2022. “Inclusive green growth and development of the high-quality tourism industry in China: The dependence on imports.” Sustainable Prod. Consumption 29: 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.09.023.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 151Issue 1March 2025

History

Received: Dec 3, 2023
Accepted: Jul 9, 2024
Published online: Oct 18, 2024
Published in print: Mar 1, 2025
Discussion open until: Mar 18, 2025

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

School of Public Administration, Xi’an Univ. of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3777-3934.
Min Wang
School of Public Administration, Xi’an Univ. of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China.
School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong Univ., Xi’an 710049, China. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5982-9265.
Qiong Wang
Collge of Art, Xi’an Univ. of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China.
School of Public Administration, Xi’an Univ. of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an 710055, China (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share