The Comparative Analysis In Transformation Of Resource-based Cities Between China And USA

It is proven in the history that the development of cities is the most important carrier and the most concentrated expression of the modernization process. For the current stage, as well as a long period in the future, China’s urban agglomerations strategy is the most powerful engine for the development of all the regions and the entire nation.As a country rich in resources, China’s development depends heavily on the demand and mining of resources. Resource-based city is an important branch of urban agglomerations system. Parts of China’s resource-based cities are progressing well, and their resource mining are in the prosperous periods. Governments in these cities should pay more attentions in the environment protection to promote sustainable development. Another part of cities are encountering or being in the process of transformation. Some of them are forced by the exhausted resources, while others do this in order to adjust themselves to the national polices and severe competitions. These cities, as well as their transformation, will draw a critical impact on China economics’transformation and upgrade. Developed nations have accumulated precise experience during the transformations of their resourced-based cities. Only through careful comparison and analysis between the economics and cities of China and foreign countries, can we find out the commonalities and individualities. In this way, foreign cities can provide useful experience, and provide effective guidance for the transformation of resource-based cities in China. Therefore, the comparative research of resource-based cities among Chinese and foreign courtiers is of significantly theoretical and practical importance.This paper discusses and summarizes positive and negative experiences in the development of resource-based cities in foreign countries. Through qualitatively and quantitatively comparative analyses, this paper purposes detailed suggestion for domestic resource-based cities’transformation.This paper summarizes the positive experiences of resource-based cities and regions around the world; analyzes the reasons of transformations in details; points out their unique obstacles during the transformation process respectively; summarizes the similarities in their transformation paths; discusses the roles of governments, enterprises and other departments’roles in promoting the developments; then further analyzes the promotions for the developments and transformations of these cities. This paper utilizes Pittsburgh and Baotou for case study, elaborates the reasons, processes, current statuses, and roles of several departments of the transformation processes, and then studies the economic, society, resource and environment of both Pittsburgh and Baotou through comparative and empirical analyses. Consequently, this paper summarizes the positive experience in the transformation of Pittsburgh. In order to analyze and evaluate the transformation process of resource-based cities, this paper establishes an evaluation index system for resource-based cities by utilizing Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This paper applies AHP and the index system to the transforming city of Baotou for an empirical analysis. Economics, society, resources, environment and comprehensive factors of Baotou from year2001to2010are achieved. Combining with detailed statistical data, this paper points out the reasons of fluctuations in each index and provides the corresponding solutions. By utilizing the analyses in chapter3and4, this paper extensively studies the similarities and differences between Pittsburgh and Baotou, so as to extract the useful experience from Pittsburgh. Policy advises and detailed measures are given based on these analyses.This paper further summarizes the positive experience in the transformation of resource-based cities, and extracts policy advices that are suitable for the developments and transformations of Chinese resource-based citiesWith the continuous adjustments of China’s economics and society, there will be more and more new problems coming out in the transformation process of domestic resource-based cities. The relevant departments should pay more attentions to adopt foreign experience into present situation of China. Therefore, there are several research interests worth of in-depth study, including the empirical research by mining more data from successfully transformed resource-based cities in foreign countries, combination between the research of economics of happiness and the analysis of resource-based cities’ transformation processes, and the establishment of a more comprehensive evaluation index system for resource-based cities.