Construction land transition and urban-rural integrated development in China

Abstract

Since the reform and opening up, China’s construction land has undergone a huge transition in parallel with the broader urban-rural development transition. As the spatial carrier of economic development, construction land has drawn scholarly attention. Meanwhile, with rapid economic development, urban-rural integrated development has gradually become a focus of concern for both the government and the public. As a well-established theoretical framework, land use transition has been widely applied across multiple domains. However, limited research has examined construction land as a distinct focus or investigated the relationship between construction land transition and the broader urban–rural development transition. Addressing this gap, this study aims to construct an analytical framework tailored to construction land. Using the construction land transition (CLT) in China over the past four decades as a core case, and systematically evaluates the features and dynamics of CLT since the reform and opening up period. Furthermore, it explores potential pathways and a pilot case for optimizing and regulating this transition to support the advancement of urban–rural integrated development.

The evaluation of urban–rural transition reveals widening regional disparities in development, while URII has shown an overall trend of initial decline followed by gradual improvement. The spatial pattern of coordination exhibits a “T-shaped” concentration in eastern coastal areas, reflecting the uneven effects of urban-prioritized policies.

The analysis of the dominant transition of construction land shows that urban construction land expanded rapidly, especially after 2000, while rural construction land remained relatively stable. Although spatial integration between urban and rural land has improved, functional coordination remains limited, and north–south disparities have increased. Further findings suggest that Urban-Rural Spatial Integrated (URSI) has positively influenced URII, particularly in coastal and northeastern regions. However, over reliance on land expansion has weakened this effect over time, indicating diminishing returns from dominant transition of construction land.

The study also explores the recessive transition of construction land. It reveals that rising urban land prices, concentrated in the southeast, have widened regional and urban–rural inequalities. Limited rural access to land markets and declining marketization in western regions have further exacerbated imbalances. Regression results confirm that rising land prices and the dependence on land finance negatively affect URII. This effect has become more pronounced in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Case studies of Nanning and Nanjing highlight differing local CLT trajectories but common challenges tied to land finance-related issues. Nanning retains numerous urban villages due to historical institutions, while Nanjing's RUF has the morphology of quasi-urban villages. A model of mixed land use in peri-urban zones is proposed to support functional integration and reduce spatial disparity and inequality.

Overall, this study clarifies the characteristics of CLT and reveals how CLT influences urban-rural integration. It fills the research gap in CLT and provides perspectives on urban–rural integrated development. It calls for policy refinement and institutional reforms to balance urban and rural interests, narrow urban–rural disparities, and foster spatial integration.

Date of Award	15 Jun 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Nottingham
Supervisor	Andrea Palmioli (Supervisor), Hualou Long (Supervisor), Ali Cheshmehzangi (Supervisor) & Ayotunde Dawodu (Supervisor)