Study Of Urban And Rural Integration In The Process Of Land System Changes

The dissertation mainly dwells on the correlation between land system reform and the process of urban and rural integration. By means of describing how the land system has influenced the urban and rural integration of F District of Shanghai City, the dissertation presents the function of land system aimed at urban and rural integration, as well as how the function has propelled the process of urban and rural integration. During the prior researches, the dissertation depicts the development of rural industry and the pilot construction of small-sized towns of F District back in the 1980s to 1990s. And by analysis, it is concluded that the implementation of industry marketization reform and rural land contract responsibility system has significantly improved the economic benefits and mobilized the initiative of farmers, so as to play a leading role in China's robust growth in the recent three decades. However, due to the diversification of economic system, decentralized management style of rural land, as well as the deficiency in terms of socialization integration of China's welfare and security system, rural land has become a major source of farmers' basic living, so as to create a divide between dual economic structure of urban and rural areas. After the year of 2003, F District of Shanghai launched the practice of land replacement. By studying it, the dissertation presents the notion that the previous village-level collective land ownership cannot deconstruct the dual structure of urban and rural areas. The process of land ownership from the village-level collective one to the town government collective one has realized the transition of farmers' social security from contracting plots of land to the one secured by society, as well as has urbanized famers' way of surviving and living through land ownership urbanization. The reform of separation between land ownership and land use right, combined with the open and fair market-based operation of collective land use right, can guarantee to maximize the benefits of collective land. The benefits from market-based operation of collective land are employed in town-level public services, which is an important guarantee of strengthening town-level public administration capacity. The dynamic integration between these two will help to realize the new pattern of both industry and agriculture reaping the benefits of development in the town-level. The whole process links the once-separated urban and rural management system, and realizes the fair and balanced development of urban and rural areas. The dissertation entails six chapters, and depicts in an all-round way the social transformation of pilot villages where the urban and rural integration has launched. On one hand, it tries to comprehend how the urban and rural integration strategy has influenced the rural communities. On the other hand, the dissertation observes the shortcomings and problems within the system, in an effort to better improve the system to realize urban and rural integration. Specifically, Chapter One is Introduction. It mainly focuses on the knowledge of urban and rural integration, and presents the problems in the current study. The chapter also shows the definition of concepts and research contents of the dissertation. In the last part of the chapter, it introduces the main guideline, ways, writing frameworks and logic diagrams of the study. Chapter Two is Features of Dual Structure of Urban and Rural Areas in Fengxian District. The Chapter presents the basic condition of the specific field selected by the study, including dualistic structural characteristics of pilot villages such as their administrative subordinateness, geographic condition, location, landform, climate, as well as economy, transportation, spatial layout, and population.The adopted narrative pattern is presenting the process of urban and rural integration in the historical context. Chapter Three is Review of Actual Practice of Urban and Rural Integration in Fengxian District. This chapter focuses on the historical transformation in terms of rural reform pilots and land function in rural communities since the adoption of reform and opening-up policies, and illustrates the reason why the once abandoned dual structure of urban and rural areas has once again brought about tension. The chapter also further explains why the innovation of the land system will become a bridge to defuse such tension. Industralization and urbanization are a double-edged sword, which on one hand, have a destruction role on the social function of suburban and rural farmland, and make farmers'land more of chicken ribs—things which are tasteless when eaten but a pity to discard; on the other hand, it also serves as the sole capital of farmers and their life-saver. And that is precisely the social foundation of rural and urban integration strategy. It is also the precondition for land system innovation. Chapter Four is Land Replacement:New Exploration of Urban and Rural Integration in Fengxian District. This chapter, in the view of land replacement which is one of the core measures in the process of urban and rural integration, presents the social foundation of land replacement in rural communities in urban and rural integration on one hand, and presents the basic thoughts, principles, aims and the actual operation of land replacement on the other hand.The chapter comprehensively examines the working strategies of the government in propelling urban and rural integration. Chapter Five is Effects of Land Replacement: the Reconstruction of Rural Communities. This chapter presents how the rural and urban integration strategy on rural communities, focusing on land replacement, has influenced the rural communities. It elaborates on the study in terms of rural social organizations, agricultural land management, agricultural land ownership, social space, the change of the way of living, as well as the construction of social welfare system in rural communities. It further interprets the function of systematic factors in land replacement on the reconstruction of rural communities. Chapter Six, on the basis of all the previous chapters, draws a conclusion of this study, that is, the logic of urban and rural integration is the process of land system from collective land—contracting plots of land—urbanization of land ownership. The land ownership ascension has promoted the urbanization of farmers' social security and farmers' living environment. The chapter, based on the analysis and study of the separation between land ownership and land use right, suggests that the market-based operation of land use right can maximize the land benefits, provide the guarantee of the construction of town-level public administration capacity, as well as realize the new pattern of urban and rural integration of both urban and rural areas reaping the benefits. Last but not least, this chapter constructs the development trend of urban and rural integration.