Analysis of Urban Expansion and Human–Land Coordination of Oasis Town Groups in the Core Area of Silk Road Economic Belt, China

Fei Zhang (), Yishan Wang, Chi Yung Jim, Ngai Weng Chan, Mou Leong Tan, Hsiang-Te Kung, Jingchao Shi, Xingyou Li and Xin He
Additional contact information
Fei Zhang: College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
Yishan Wang: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Chi Yung Jim: Department of Social Sciences, Education University of Hong Kong, Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong 999077, China
Ngai Weng Chan: Geography Section, School of Humanities, University Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
Mou Leong Tan: Geography Section, School of Humanities, University Sains Malaysia, Penang 11800, Malaysia
Hsiang-Te Kung: Departments of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
Jingchao Shi: Departments of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA
Xingyou Li: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Xin He: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Under economic globalization, synergy among cities has been actively promoted. Establishing inter–city networks and joint regional development could catalyze economic growth. The mode and pace of urban growth could be gauged by construction land expansion and human–land coordination. This study adopted the dynamic change, the center of gravity, and coordination analyses to comprehensively portray spatial patterns and changes amongst 13 oasis town groups in Xinjiang, China, from 2000 to 2018. The results identified that 2010 was the turning point of acceleration in construction land expansion, demonstrating notable spatial differentiations among town groups. Northern Xinjiang experienced faster urban growth than southern Xinjiang. The Urumqi–Changji–Shihezi (UCS) town group on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains constituted the crucial urban core with the fastest construction land expansion. Although the towns in southern Xinjiang were small and beset by inherent limitations in the early period, some town groups acquired new impetus and vitality and became the fastest–developing areas in Xinjiang in recent years. The growth was driven by China’s western development program, economic assistance, and Silk Road Economic Belt. Eastern Xinjiang had convenient transportation, but its small urban entities needed population supplementation to invigorate urban expansion. In the far north, the Altay and Tacheng–Emin (TE) town groups were situated too far from development cores. They lacked the collateral benefits of nearby strong–growth loci, resulting in sluggish growth. A north–south dual–hub strategy was proposed to spearhead the dissemination of urban growth by fostering core–periphery linkages pump–primed by improved road connections.

Keywords: Xinjiang oasis town group; construction land expansion; center of gravity analysis; human–land coordination; dual–hub strategy; core–periphery linkage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/224/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/1/224/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:1:p:224-:d:1031693

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().