Yangtze River Delta Urbanization Of The Population And Evolutionary Mechanisms Of Urban System Analysis

With economic development and the deepening of globalization, China's largest metropolitan area is growing into maturity, with the Yangtze River Delta Area (YRDA) as one of the most important major metropolitan area. In order to maintain the momentum of sustainable development and survive in the face of fierce international and domestic competition, metropolitan area should have a perfect urban structure. Mega-cities, large cities, medium and small cities have to adapt to each other in scale and in proportion, and they should coordinate in the division of labor, while strengthening cooperation in social and cultural undertakings, transport infrastructure, public health, environmental protection, etc., in order to maintain a healthy development.The urban structure of metropolitan area is not static. With the economic development and globalization, as well as changes in policy factors, the structure of the urban system in the metropolitan area is continuously changing. Having a profound understanding of urban system in YRDA since China's reform and opening up, and mastering the changing pattern of urban system, we then can make good decisions for the future development of YRDA. However, scholars do not pay due attention to the importance of Yangtze River Delta Metropolitan Area in their studies, as far as the evolutionary dynamic of the urban system in this area is referred. In this paper, we try to identify the evolution of urban system and its internal mechanisms with the case study on YRDA.In this paper, we use of the primary cities theory and the city hierarchy to describe the urban system in YRDA, and use the order-size model to explore changes in the structure of metropolitan in YRDA. Based on the urban population in 53 cities, as well as the population of 21 towns where the municipality is located in these 21 county-level cities, we try to discuss the evolution of the urban system in the YRDA. Based on a general understanding of the urban system in YRDA, we then identify the characteristics of every phase in its change path, coming to its evolution process and its direction. With a good knowledge of the status of primary city and the backbone cities in YRDA, we can come to some general conclusions for the changing of urban system in the Yangtze River Delta. With a profound understanding of the evolutionary process and mechanisms of urban system in YRDA, we are quite confidant to identify the "YRDA Model", and then point out challenges "YRDA Model" brings.