Qingdao Urban Suburbanization Research

Urban suburbanization,as a particular stage in the process of urbanization,has a great influence on the urban development.Knowledge of the present situation and the laws of suburbanization is of much significance for spatial structure optimization in urban development,industrial structure upgrading and the improvement of urbanization.In the 1980 s,suburbanization emerged in those big cities in China like Beijing,Shanghai and Guangzhou,which were followed by many other first-line and second-tier cities.Among them,Qingdao is in the list.Qingdao is a leading city in economic development in Shandong Province,and its level of urbanization is also high.Till the end of 2016,the urbanization rate of permanent population in Qingdao reached 71.53%.Meanwhile,its suburbanization became increasingly obvious.This paper takes the six areas and two cities in Qingdao as the research subject that falls into four categories,namely main core area,second core area,peri-urban area and exurban area on the basis of historical process of urban development,making regional town and street agency as basic research unit.It also analyzes the data of population in Qingdao between 1991 and 2012 to study the city’s suburbanization.With reference to Peter Hall’s Urban Evolution Model,this paper divides the process of suburbanization into three stages,analyzes their specific characteristics respectively,and studies the motive mechanism of suburbanization in Qingdao.The article can be divided into five parts.The first part is Introduction which mainly illustrates the research background,its significance,theoretical basis,content and methods,as well as the research progress at home and abroad,and defines some relative concepts.The second part includes the definition of the study area.It chooses the six areas and two cities as the scope of study,and separates them into main core area,second core area,peri-urban area and exurban area on the basis of historical process of Qingdao’s urban development,with regional town and street agency as basic research unit.The third part studies the process of suburbanization of Qingdao.It explores the overall characteristics of the suburbanization through analyzing the data of population in Qingdao from 1991 to 2012,and then separates the process of the suburbanization into different stages according to Peter Hall’s urban evolution model,which is followed by analysis of their specific features.The fourth part focuses on the motive mechanism of suburbanization in Qingdao from the aspects of economic development,policy system reform,administrative division adjustment,urban planning and traffic conditions.The fifth part is conclusion and prospect.The study found that the suburbanization of Qingdao developed rapidly between 1991 and2012.And the population moved from main core area to second core area and peri-urban area.The period from 1991 to 1995 saw the initial stage of Qingdao’s suburbanization.On this stage,though the population of main core area still showed a positive increase,the growth rate slumped,lower than the average growth level in the study area.While population of the second core area grew fastest,followed by that of the peri-urban area,and the growth mainly emerged in the second core area.From 1995 to 2005,Qingdao experienced a rapid development in suburbanization.The population in main core area showed a negative growth,while the second core area’s population remain grew fast and the peri-urban area’s growth rate surged.Therefore,more people gathered in second core area and peri-urban area.Population in exurban area population grew slowly.The stage from 2005 to 2012 witnessed the transition stage to mature development of Qingdao’s suburbanization.The population of the main core area kept reducing,and the growth rate population in the second core area and peri-urban area decreased rapidly.The rate of the peri-urban area was higher than that of the second core area,and it became the main population gathering place.Exurban area’s growth rate accelerated and there was a trend of population agglomeration in this area.The suburbanization of Qingdao was mainly influenced by economic development,policy system reform,administrative division adjustment,urban planning,traffic conditions and the like.The rapid development of economy provided the economic foundation for the suburbanization,and the policy system reform served as a driving force in the process.The adjustment of administrative divisions and urban planning were a guidance and the fast improvement of traffic conditions was an important guarantee for the suburbanization.