Study On The Natural Mechanism Of Town-Community's Evolution

In recent years, the development of town-clusters in China is facing unprecedented opportunities: the concept of town-cluster first appeared in the 11^th Five-Year Plan in March 2006, which pointed out that "town-cluster should be adopted as the main form of urbanization"; the development of town-cluster was further suggested in the report of the 17^th National Congress in October 2007; furthermore, town-cluster is also regarded as the carrier of national spatial developmental in the National Urban System Planning; etc. In this case, an upsurge of the town-cluster planning is rising in China. But, there are many serious problems during the development of town-clusters in China at the same time: critical land resource, tensional water supply and water pollution, deteriorative atmosphere environment, austere traffic problems etc. Because the studies on town-cluster in China and at abroad lack the angle views of Ecology, sociology, culture etc. This paper choices the theme of investigating town-clusters' development from the angle view of Ecology, plans to bring the theory of Biotic-Community(BC) into town-cluster's studies, and explore the natural mechanism of Town-Community(TC)'s evolution.This paper belongs to the cross study of city planning, region science and ecology, and bases to the method of analogy. Town is the congregation of various human activities, and human belongs to the biology, so the analogy from Biotic Community to TC is dependable.This paper includes four parts. The first part is chapter 1, analyzing the problems of town-cluster Planning, summing up the studies on town-cluster in China and at abroad, and then making up this paper's frame. The second part is chapter 2～4, analyzing the logistic groundwork, bringing forward the concept of TC, and then discussing how to distinguish the spatial boundary of TC. The third part is chapter 5～9, analyzing the natural mechanism of TC's evolution: the choice of spatial environment, the structure of spatial factors, the types of spatial shape, the organization of spatial relations, and the succession of spatial development of TC. The last part is chapter 10 and chapter 11, discussing the work of TC Planning, then sum up the whole study.From the angle view of Ecology, the phenomenon of town-cluster is also a biologic phenomenon. Today, along with the continual evolution of town's momentums, the development of a series of towns in a huge region gradually presents a pattern of "community". The concept of TC in this paper is a comprehension of the phenomenon of town-cluster from the angle view of Ecology, and it is made up of many human residential cells and other biotic communities in some especial environment, and it puts up certain spatial shape and regional function. TC is a integrated section cell and a functional unit of Ecology.The results show that: (1) The spatial environment of TC has two important requirements: the landform of plain or basin, geography situation near sea or great rivers. (2) The spatial structure of TC includes two factors: town's spaces and natural spaces. Town's spaces have some different levels, and each level of town's space have some different character. (3) The spatial shape of TC is the projection of many human activities, its influence factors contain landform, traffic network, the character of nuclear town, etc. (4) Mutualism is the principle of the organization of TC's spatial relations. Competition is an important reason of TC's spatial shape. (5) TC's development is a dynamic process, and its tendency is to develop into a climax of human residential cell. During the spatial planning of TC, we must build up dialectic understand of TC's development, and analyze these negative problems as well as positive effects; turn the ideology of TC's Planning, and make it clear of the idea of TC's Sustainable Development; investigate the limit of land, water and environment of TC's development, and keep the structure of regional security; and enhance the construction of regional integrative traffic system, thus induct rational cities' distributing in regional area.This paper try to achieve innovations: (1) It brings the theory of Biotic Community into town-clusters' studies, and bringing forward the concept of TC. (2) It explores the natural mechanism of TC's evolution from the choice of spatial environment, the structure of spatial factors, the types of spatial shape, the organization of spatial relations, and the succession of spatial development of TC.