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The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development...
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The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Contexts and Urban-Rural Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 4011

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tao Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: urbanization; migration; land development; spatial planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yingzhi Qiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: urbanization; land use transition; population change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jiajie Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Interests: urbanization; migration; urban and regional development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The process of urbanization is accompanied by dramatic land-use transformations in urban and rural areas. While urbanization drives regional economic growth and social development, it simultaneously generates multifaceted land-use challenges, including environmental degradation, urban sprawl, rural hollowing, farmland shortages, and social inequalities. Addressing these challenges requires innovative approaches to land development and regional planning that balance growth with sustainability. Urbanization pathways are deeply embedded in the distinct economic, social, and cultural contexts of nations and regions, resulting in significant variations in urbanization stages, land-use impacts, and planning responses across different settings.

Recent advancements in technology and the deepening of sustainable development principles are reshaping population migration patterns, economic landscape and social dynamics, and regional connectivity, which introduce new dimensions and novel characteristics to contemporary urbanization and land-use transitions. Understanding the diverse manifestations and emerging trends of urbanization, evaluating their land-use consequences, alongside synthesizing lessons from planning responses in varied contexts, will undoubtedly offer critical insights for advancing theoretical frameworks and tackling practical challenges.

This Special Issue focuses on the dynamic patterns and mechanisms of urbanization, urban-rural land-use transitions in the context of urbanization, and regional planning responses to associated challenges. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions to exchange and advance knowledge in this field. We encourage submissions on, but not limited to, the following themes:

  • Patterns and mechanisms of urbanization
  • Rural-urban migration dynamics
  • Urban and rural land-use transitions in the context of urbanization
  • Regional planning and governance for sustainable urbanization
  • Innovative data and methodological approaches in urbanization studies

Kind regards

Dr. Tao Liu
Dr. Yingzhi Qiu
Dr. Jiajie Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urbanization
  • migration
  • urban and rural land change
  • land-use challenges
  • regional planning and governance
  • mechanisms

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 1581 KB  
Article
The Agglomeration Scale Within Urban Agglomerations and Energy Intensity: Empirical Evidence from China
by Min Wu, Qirui Chen, Zihan Hu and Huimin Wang
Land 2026, 15(5), 727; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15050727 - 25 Apr 2026
Viewed by 210
Abstract
Urban agglomerations have become the dominant spatial platform of urbanization, regional coordination, and economic transformation in China. Yet whether the expansion of agglomeration scale at the urban-agglomeration level alleviates or intensifies energy use remains insufficiently understood. Extending the scale of analysis from individual [...] Read more.
Urban agglomerations have become the dominant spatial platform of urbanization, regional coordination, and economic transformation in China. Yet whether the expansion of agglomeration scale at the urban-agglomeration level alleviates or intensifies energy use remains insufficiently understood. Extending the scale of analysis from individual cities to integrated urban agglomerations, this study investigates 64 cities in four major Chinese urban agglomerations, including Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and Chengdu–Chongqing, over the period 2006–2023. Using panel data models, this study examines the impact of the scale agglomeration within urban agglomeration on urban energy intensity. The results show that the overall agglomeration scale generated by urban agglomeration formation significantly suppresses energy intensity while indicating a robust energy-saving effect: every 10% increase in agglomeration scale is associated with a decline of approximately 0.0893 million tons of standard coal per CNY 100 million of GDP. This finding remains stable after addressing endogeneity concerns and performing a series of robustness checks. Mechanism analyses further suggest that this effect operates primarily through talent agglomeration, technological progress, and public transportation expansion. In addition, the energy-saving effect is more pronounced in smaller cities, cities with lower administrative rank, cities with weaker factor mobility, and cities characterized by poorer air quality but stronger public environmental attention. These findings contribute to the literature on urban agglomeration and green development by showing that the agglomeration scale within urban agglomerations can generate inclusive energy-efficiency gains, especially for relatively disadvantaged cities, thereby offering important implications for spatial governance and low-carbon transition in rapidly urbanizing economies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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26 pages, 3479 KB  
Article
Spatial Reconfiguration of the Metropolitan Fringe Areas Under Policy Evolution—Taking Guangming District of Shenzhen as an Example
by Hongzhang Lin, Desheng Xue, Benshuo Wang and Bo Wang
Land 2026, 15(5), 717; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15050717 - 24 Apr 2026
Viewed by 193
Abstract
With the accelerating processes of globalization and urbanization, metropolitan fringe areas—situated at the intersection of urban expansion and rural transformation—have become critical focal points in urban geography, regional economics, and urban–rural planning. Within the context of China’s new urbanization strategy and the national [...] Read more.
With the accelerating processes of globalization and urbanization, metropolitan fringe areas—situated at the intersection of urban expansion and rural transformation—have become critical focal points in urban geography, regional economics, and urban–rural planning. Within the context of China’s new urbanization strategy and the national “dual circulation” framework, the role of policy evolution in shaping spatial development has become increasingly significant. Specifically, in metropolitan fringe zones such as Shenzhen’s Guangming District, the complex interplay between overlapping policies and local path dependencies has generated a distinctive logic of spatial restructuring. Taking this area as a case study, this research investigates the influence of national policies on regional evolution and spatial reconstruction. The findings demonstrate that, under sustained policy guidance, Guangming District has experienced a three-stage process of spatial restructuring, characterized by a dynamic and tightly coupled relationship between policy instruments and spatial forms across different developmental phases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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20 pages, 1692 KB  
Article
Knowledge Concerning Land Management for Metropolitan Governance in the U.S.A.
by Carlos J. L. Balsas
Land 2026, 15(2), 290; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15020290 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 532
Abstract
Metropolitan governance in the U.S. has taken shape over generations and is still evolving. The U.S. territory is literally covered by a myriad of institutions responsible for influencing the country’s physical destiny, cultural identity, and digital representations. Due to their growing complexity, metropolitan [...] Read more.
Metropolitan governance in the U.S. has taken shape over generations and is still evolving. The U.S. territory is literally covered by a myriad of institutions responsible for influencing the country’s physical destiny, cultural identity, and digital representations. Due to their growing complexity, metropolitan areas require adequate institutional mechanisms capable of steering the physical, socio-economic, ecological, and digital transformations within their jurisdictional boundaries. The research question at the core of this article is the following: Where does knowledge concerning land management for metropolitan governance in the U.S.A. come from? This paper aims to review metropolitan governance’s evolution, state of the art, and current challenges in the U.S. at the beginning of the 21st century. The methods consisted mostly of reviews of specialized literature as well as an analysis of two metropolitan archetypal case studies on opposite ends of the country: the sprawling Southwest (Phoenix, Arizona) and the shrinking Northeast Rust Belt (the Albany Capital Region of upstate New York). It is argued that although the Councils of Government (COGs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are invaluable in producing land cover and land use change atlases and toolkits of their territories, fragmented units of government within metropolises intensify economic and fiscal disparities and can potentially undermine regional competitiveness and efficiency. The article’s key findings revolve around the current and most pressing challenges and strategies with the potential to move metropolitan governance institutions toward greater regional cooperation and planning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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22 pages, 13336 KB  
Article
Spatial Heterogeneity and Gradient Governance of Idle Rural Homesteads in Megacities: Evidence from Shanghai
by Kaiming Li, Liwei Wang, Liying Yue and Kaishun Li
Land 2026, 15(2), 246; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15020246 - 31 Jan 2026
Viewed by 466
Abstract
In the rapidly urbanizing Global South, megacities face a perplexing “paradox of idleness”: acute land scarcity in the urban core coexisting with inefficient rural homesteads in the hinterland. Using Shanghai as a representative case, this study integrates spatial autocorrelation analysis with Geographical Detector [...] Read more.
In the rapidly urbanizing Global South, megacities face a perplexing “paradox of idleness”: acute land scarcity in the urban core coexisting with inefficient rural homesteads in the hinterland. Using Shanghai as a representative case, this study integrates spatial autocorrelation analysis with Geographical Detector modeling to quantify the spatial differentiation patterns and driving mechanisms of this phenomenon. The results reveal a distinct core-periphery gradient, with vacancy density increasing from the inner suburbs to the remote hinterland. Four regional typologies were identified: dispersed-inefficient, high-density accumulation, sparse-stable, and intensive-efficient. Quantitative analysis identifies demographic aging and low agricultural efficiency as dominant drivers. Counter-intuitively, the study finds that top-down institutional pilots alone exert a negligible direct impact. Instead, interaction analysis confirms a significant policy-bundling effect, in which institutional tools promote revitalization only when coupled with economic and locational incentives. These findings expose a mechanism of “involuntary vacancy” trapped by institutional rigidity, distinct from the market-driven abandonment seen in shrinking or remote Western contexts. Consequently, a gradient-based governance framework is proposed to transition from “one-size-fits-all” regulation to targeted spatial restructuring pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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19 pages, 3169 KB  
Article
Impact of Urbanization on Ecosystem Services in the Yangtze River Delta: An Analysis from Explicit and Implicit Perspectives
by Qi Fu, Jimin Zhang, Bo Wang and Jinhua Chen
Land 2026, 15(1), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/land15010055 - 27 Dec 2025
Viewed by 556
Abstract
Rapid urbanization has profoundly impacted regional ecosystem services. However, most current studies have not paid enough attention to the implicit quality-of-life dimensions of urbanization, and few studies have been published on the dynamic interactions between urbanization and the evolution of ecosystem services. This [...] Read more.
Rapid urbanization has profoundly impacted regional ecosystem services. However, most current studies have not paid enough attention to the implicit quality-of-life dimensions of urbanization, and few studies have been published on the dynamic interactions between urbanization and the evolution of ecosystem services. This study investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of urbanization and ecosystem services value (ESV) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region from 2010 to 2020 and their correlation. We conceptualized and measured the level of urbanization in two dimensions: Urbanization I (population, economy, and landscape) and Urbanization II (public services, education and spiritual life, and habitation environment construction). ESV was quantitatively evaluated by the equivalent factor method. The global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to reveal the influence of urbanization dynamic evolution on ESV change. The results show the following: (1) the level of Urbanization I rose steadily, while the level of Urbanization II, though starting from a lower base, grew at a significantly faster rate, especially after 2017; (2) total ESV declined, with the largest decline in regulating services; (3) a significant negative spatial correlation was found between urbanization and ESV, with Urbanization I exerting a greater negative impact than Urbanization II; (4) spatially, “high-low” clusters (high urbanization, low neighboring ESV) dominate in the eastern coastal areas, while “low-high” clusters dominate in the western inland areas. The findings are of great significance for regional sustainable development and can provide a reference for other rapidly urbanizing regions in the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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29 pages, 5221 KB  
Article
Urbanization, Digital–Intelligent Integration, and Carbon Productivity: Spatiotemporal Dynamics in the Middle Reaches Urban Agglomeration of the Yellow River
by Jiayu Ru, Jiahui Li, Lu Gan, Jingbing Sun and Sai Wang
Land 2025, 14(10), 2087; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14102087 - 19 Oct 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
This study investigates the interaction between digital–intelligent integration and carbon productivity in 23 prefecture-level cities across the middle reaches of the Yellow River from 2013 to 2022, focusing on a resource-dependent region transitioning towards low-carbon development. The aim is to examine how digital [...] Read more.
This study investigates the interaction between digital–intelligent integration and carbon productivity in 23 prefecture-level cities across the middle reaches of the Yellow River from 2013 to 2022, focusing on a resource-dependent region transitioning towards low-carbon development. The aim is to examine how digital technologies contribute to improving carbon productivity and reducing environmental pollution. An entropy-weighted index system was used to assess digital–intelligent transformation and carbon productivity. A coupling coordination model was applied to measure their joint performance, with spatial autocorrelation and spillover analyses used to detect regional patterns and intercity linkages. Data were sourced from official yearbooks, environmental bulletins, and urban big-data platforms. The results show a steady improvement in coordination between digital–intelligent integration and carbon productivity, with significant progress in 2018 and 2020 following national policy initiatives. Core cities showed higher coordination and generated positive spillovers, while peripheral cities lagged, resulting in noticeable spatial agglomeration. These findings highlight the growing coupling between digital–intelligent development and carbon productivity, reinforced by policy initiatives but accompanied by regional disparities. This study suggests that policies should focus on enhancing data infrastructure in core cities, improving regional cooperation, and bridging gaps in peripheral areas. It offers insights into the role of digital technologies in achieving low-carbon development in resource-dependent urban regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Dynamics of Urbanization: Challenges and Solutions in Land Development and Regional Planning)
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