Research On Urban Space Resources Allocation Based On Theory Of Property Rights

The Chinese economic system transformation leads to a tremendous shift in the urban space resources allocation from the single government-dominated model to the multiple-stakeholder participation model, with great change in the way of space use. It also results in the fact that an adaptable allocation framework can no longer be formed merely depending on a single technical framework in the space resources allocation. Instead, closer attention must be paid to the market and market behaviors. The space resources are similar with the general economic goods for the scarcity characteristic, but differ from them in their more complex allocation in the market economic system, for it is under double influence from both governmental regulations and market demands. Currently, fundamental reform takes place in the space resource allocation environment, allocation main bodies and their behavior modes, the allocation process as well as the interest demands. Planners, as the coordinator of space interests, have to rethink about their own ways of working in such environment and bring more analysis on the interest mechanism into problem solving, which can be completed in the technical framework, so as to make the planning more accurate and feasible.In the paper, the Theory of Property Rights in New Institutional Economics is introduced in the reconfiguration of the space resources and their allocation. The study on the resource allocation under the Theory of Property Rights is started with researches on the transaction costs, public realm, externality and other aspects. It holds that the urban space resources are rare resources in the urban area, the allocation of which is actually the interest distribution of various stakeholders, with concealed resource property rights delimitation among stakeholders. Therefore, the nature of space resources allocation is the delimitation of space resources property rights. Generally, a clear and highly efficient space resources allocation structure is believed to be a balanced “cost-earning” property rights structure, which is, however, different from a clear property right delimitation. It considers that an incomplete space resource allocation is caused by the transaction costs due to information incompleteness and the allocation of space resources is a process of gradual convergence to the ultimate goal, at any given stage, the allocation equilibrium is the cost – benefit equilibrium state, but not the ideal state of the space form. This way of thinking is quite different from the space study framework in the past urban planning, but is closer to the real allocation environment and the behavior pattern of different characters.On the whole, the space resource allocation can be divided into 2 categories, social and ecological interest demands and economic interest demands. Correspondingly, the space resources are classified into the nonprofit type and the profit type. And the allocation main bodies fall into the governmental main body and the market main body, who have absolute voice in space resource allocation. Except for the mentioned 2 kinds of main bodies, other relevant interest main bodies are involved in the space resource allocation game as organizations or individuals that are the so-called “Public Participation”.The property right structural form of space resource allocation lies in its integrity, completeness and public realm. An integrated property right structure is a frame of reference that stands for the integrity of the space resource right structure, which is usually unachievable. A complete property right structure refers to the degree of completeness of the existing property right framework, representing the efficiency of right use over the space resources. The undefined space resource rights are placed in the public realm. The space resources allocation is divided into 2 phases, including the initial allocation and allocation adjustment, in accordance with the initial state of the property right structure. It is believed that, the initial allocation forms an initial structure of the space resources property right, which plays an significant role in the development of the interest structure and is the basis of allocation adjustment; while allocation adjustment refers to the optimizing of the existing space resources allocation structure and the improvement of the defects, usually with the feature of “Path-Dependence”. Though initial allocation attempts to realize the “Pareto Optimality” of resource allocation, it fails to fulfill this ultimate goal at a time due to the objective environment, stakeholders and other factors. Thus, space resources allocation adjustment more or less takes place after the initial allocation. According to the two phases, the paper carries out discussions on the interest demands of the profit and nonprofit space resources allocation main bodies, allocation environment and techniques, and puts forward the allocation and optimizing techniques in terms of the property right structure integrity, completeness and public realm.Finally, the paper conducts an analysis on the development tendency of applying the Theory of Property Rights in the space resources allocation. It believes that the Theory of Property Rights discloses the interest mechanism of space resources allocation and holds a more practical perspective than the past relevant studies on allocation failure. Based on the study, the paper thinks that an in-depth discussion should be launched in the design of property right system and its stability, transaction costs, as well as the externality of the allocation, so as to realize a better integration between the Theory of Property Right and the planning theories.