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| A Clear Strategic Shift from “Development of Small Cities and Towns” to “Urbanization” |
| FAN Gang, HU Cai-mei |
| China Comprehensive Development Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518029 |
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Abstract The essence of urbanization is the urbanization of people, which is the result of people's rational and independent choice. At a stage of rapid industrialization and urbanization, it is a basic law for people to flock to megacities. Megacities are the real engine of economic growth. Under the guidance of the idea of “developing small cities and towns”, China artificially restricts the population and land-use scale of megacities, which results in severe shortage of infrastructure and public service in megacities, and tremendous pressure to city operation. Giving priority to the development of small and medium-sized cities and small towns with favorable policies and subsidies does not stop population loss, but leads to low productivity and waste of resource. The recent polarization between the real estate market in first-tier and second-tier cities and that of third-tier and fourth-tier cities is actually the consequence of the idea of “developing small cities and towns”. It is now the top priority to give up the idea of “developing small cities and towns” but to establish “urbanization” as a guide policy to lift restrictions on the development of megacities, to scientifically predict the population size of cities in accordance with the objective laws of population flow, to optimize the distribution of infrastructures and public services, and to drive forward the development of metropolitan agglomerations and urban belts with megalopolises as leaders and inter-city transport as bonds. As for small cities and towns, currently they need to focus on ecological conservation and cultural preservation, the improvement of infrastructures and public services so as to pave a way for the population return in post-urbanization stage.
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Received: 05 April 2017
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2017, Vol. 34 
