Spatial–Temporal Patterns and Driving Factors of Rapid Urban Land Development in Provincial China: A Case Study of Jiangsu

Since its economic reform and opening-up, China has undergone unprecedented urbanization, where massive areas of rural land have been converted into urban use. Urban land development plays an important role in dynamic urban economic development. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of urban land development and its mechanisms in China. We conceptualized the mechanism of urban land development from multiple perspectives based on a case study in Jiangsu Province. We employed the methods of global and local spatial auto-correlation detection and spatial lag model to analyze the provincial land use conveyance and survey data from 2004 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012 to understand the dynamics of urban land development. The results show that urban land development varies significantly across different time periods, spatial scales, and regions in Jiangsu. Higher absolute urban land development mainly occurred in Sunan, expanding to Subei and Suzhong, while faster development occurred mainly in Subei, where the initial bases were lower but had strong economic growth potential. The regression analysis shows that market activities and administrative levels had played a more critical role in driving urban land development, which suggests that rapid urban land development has institutional and market foundations. Urban land development was not only a consequence of economic development but also a strategy of local governments to stimulate and govern the urban economy. This study enriches the literature on urban dynamics by providing an institutional understanding of rapid urban land development in a transitional economy