Urbanization Agricultural Development And Land Allocation

As urbanization progresses at a remarkable pace, policy makers and analysts come to understand and agree on key features that will make this process more efficient and inclusive, leading to gains in the welfare of citizens. Drawing on insights from economic geography and two centuries of experience in developed countries, the World Bank’s World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography emphasizes key aspects that are fundamental to ensuring an efficient rural-urban transformation. Critical among these are land, as the most important resource, and well-functioning land markets. Regardless of the stage of urbanization, flexible and forward-looking institu- ons that help the efficient functioning of land markets are the bedrock of succe- ful urbanization strategies. In particular, institutional arrangements for allocating land rights and for managing and regulating land use have significant implica- ons for how cities deliver agglomeration economies and improve the welfare of their residents. Property rights, well-functioning land markets, and the management and servicing of land required to accommodate urban expansion and provide trunk infrastructure are all topics that arise as regions progress from incipient urbani- tion to medium and high density.

Land Policy and Urban Growth explores the relationships between urban growth patterns, land prices, and land policies in countries with market economies. The effects of the peculiar character of the private land market on land prices are discussed, along with the link between market mechanisms and government intervention in the urban-growth process. Comprised of 18 chapters, this book begins with a brief survey of patterns of urban growth, with emphasis on the high rate of urban expansion and what future land needs might be in urban areas. The next section is concerned with urban land prices in industrialized and developing countries and highlights the dramatic increases in urban land prices arising from urban development. Various theories of urban land-price formation are examined, together with public policies on urban land and their impact not only on the land market but also on land supply and allocation. Finally, some alternative urban land policies are outlined. This monograph will be of interest to policymakers involved in land use and urban planning.

The urban-rural relationship in China is key to a sustainable global future. This book is particularly interested in peri-urbanization in China, the process by which fringe areas of cities develop. Recent institutional change has helped clarify property rights over collective land, facilitating peri-urban area development. Chapters in this book explore how rural industrialization has changed the landscape and rules about land use in peri-urban areas. It looks at the role of rural industrialization and provides a detailed exploration of peri-urbanization theory, policy, and its evolution in China. Leading discussions find out how fragmented bottom-up industrialization, urbanization, and lax governance have led to a series of social and environmental problems. The progress in redevelopment of peri-urban areas was initially slow due to the spatial lock-in effect. This book offers practical solutions to environmental issues and explains how policymakers have the potential to redevelop a future collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable approach to peri-urban areas. This in-depth approach to urbanization will be useful to academics in urban planning and governmental organizations. It will also be advantageous to NGOs and professionals involved in urban planning, public administration, as well as land-use work in China and other developing countries.

In the last 30 years, China’s record economic growth lifted half a billion people out of poverty, with rapid urbanization providing abundant labor, cheap land, and good infrastructure. While China has avoided some of the common ills of urbanization, strains are showing as inefficient land development leads to urban sprawl and ghost towns, pollution threatens people’s health, and farmland and water resources are becoming scarce. With China’s urban population projected to rise to about one billion – or close to 70 percent of the country’s population – by 2030, China’s leaders are seeking a more coordinated urbanization process. Urban China is a joint research report by a team from the World Bank and the Development Research Center of China’s State Council which was established to address the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in China and to help China forge a new model of urbanization. The report takes as its point of departure the conviction that China's urbanization can become more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable. However, it stresses that achieving this vision will require strong support from both government and the markets for policy reforms in a number of area. The report proposes six main areas for reform: first, amending land management institutions to foster more efficient land use, denser cities, modernized agriculture, and more equitable wealth distribution; second, adjusting the hukou household registration system to increase labor mobility and provide urban migrant workers equal access to a common standard of public services; third, placing urban finances on a more sustainable footing while fostering financial discipline among local governments; fourth, improving urban planning to enhance connectivity and encourage scale and agglomeration economies; fifth, reducing environmental pressures through more efficient resource management; and sixth, improving governance at the local level.

Urbanization presents both opportunities and challenges to agriculture. This paper analyzes the effect of urbanization on the structure and profitability of agriculture at the rural-urban fringe. We develop a theoretical model accounting for changes in the amount of urban development, the level of fragmentation, and population density associated with urbanization. We show that urbanization not only affects the land allocation between traditional and high value crops, but also changes relative input and output prices for the two types of crops. We conduct an empirical analysis to estimate the effect of increasing population density and urban fragmentation on farm returns for a set of European metropolises using a Bayesian averaged model that deals with model uncertainty. Our results show that increasing population density increases farm returns while increasing land fragmentation may have a detrimental effect in the beginning but a positive effect for high levels of fragmentation.