A young subject
Urban economics is a young discipline, which is still under exploration from research object to content, from research method to system.
The research on urban economic problems began with the research on urban land economy and land location economy by some economists in the 1920s. These researches focused on urban location, value distribution of urban land market, etc. At the beginning of the 20th century, German economist A. Weber published the Industrial Location Theory, which elaborated the industrial location problem of cities, established a complete theoretical system for the industrial location theory, and proposed rigorous research methods. But he included the research of urban economic problems in his regional economy or land rent theory, and urban economics did not really form. After the Second World War, a large number of rural population in various countries transferred to cities, and the scale of cities expanded rapidly, and the urban economic structure also changed significantly. These changes have brought a series of urban economic problems, such as housing, transportation, and environment. In order to explore the root causes of these problems and find solutions, some economists and sociologists began to study the city as a whole. At the end of the 1940s, the research on urban economic issues has entered a systematic stage, involving urban real estate market, differential land rent, land price, rational use of land, industrial layout, space distance, transportation costs and many other issues.
The formal birth of urban economics can be counted from the 1956 New York Metropolitan Area Research Project. Hoover and Vernon's Urban Analysis is considered as the starting point of urban economics. Others believe that the beginning of urban economics was marked by the publication of the book Location and Land Use by William Alonso, an American regional science expert, in 1964. Therefore, urban economics was formally formed in the 1950s and 1960s. At present, urban research, urban belt research and urban coordinated development research have become a worldwide academic hotspot of urban economics.
The climax of China's research on urban economic issues occurred after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee. With the opening of the reform and opening up process, the focus of the Party's work has shifted to economic construction. It has become an important construction policy of the Party and the country to play the economic central role of big cities and establish economic zones based on cities. The Third Plenary Session of the Twelfth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China further proposed the historical task of carrying out the reform of the entire economic system focusing on cities, which has greatly promoted the academic research on urban economic issues both in practice and theory. In the late 1980s, a number of textbooks and monographs on urban economics were published in China, marking the final formation of urban economics in China. Renmin University of China is the first university in China to start the research and teaching of urban economics, and has published one of the earliest series of textbooks on urban economics in China. Now, whether in comprehensive universities, liberal arts colleges, or science colleges in China, more and more teachers who originally engaged in other economic disciplines, social disciplines, and science and engineering disciplines (such as regional economics, sociology, geography, environmental science, and planning) are turning to urban economics research teams, Urban economics has entered a new stage of development in China.
Issues deserving attention in the near future
At present, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and urban development will play an increasingly important role in China's economic and social development. At the same time, new problems and challenges are constantly emerging in urban development itself. Researchers of urban economics need to constantly explore, analyze important phenomena in urban economic development, summarize important laws of urban economics Enrich the important theories of urban economics, put forward important suggestions for urban economic development, and contribute to the development of urban economics in China.
As far as the study of urban economics in China is concerned, the author believes that the following issues are of high research value and need to be studied and explored by urban economics researchers:
First, research on urbanization. In 2018, China's urban population reached 830 million, and the urbanization rate has reached 59.58%. Compared with developed economies, China's urbanization path has its own distinctive characteristics, and has gone out of a path of urbanization with Chinese characteristics. Therefore, the study of China's urbanization should begin with the guidelines and policies that guide and plan the various stages of urban development. By understanding the background, formation process and effects of these guidelines and policies, we can study the development dynamics of China's cities at various stages of development, as well as the development differences between different cities at the same time. Secondly, the research on the development of urban economy in the process of urbanization, as well as some important measures and specific plans taken in the process of urbanization, focuses on the problem of urban disease in large cities, the reasonable development of small and medium-sized cities, and how to stimulate the development power of cities with slower economic development. In the research, we can give full play to the advantages of interdisciplinary research, deeply analyze the cost and benefit of urban development, compare and analyze the benefits of urban development in different regions, and summarize the rules. Finally, strengthen the comparative study of urbanization, and make more scientific and reasonable planning for the future development of the city. The main purpose of the comparative study is to learn from the successful experience of urbanization in developed countries and apply it to the development of urbanization in China; It is also necessary to have a clear understanding of the lessons learned from the failure of urbanization in developed countries, so as to avoid unnecessary costs and truly gain the advantage of backwardness in promoting China's urban development. At the same time, urban economics needs to focus on the key role of innovation in urban development, emphasize the awareness of innovative development in the process of urban development, and focus on promoting the process of urbanization through continuous innovation.
Second, research on urban economic growth and development. Taking the city as a whole, studying the dynamic evolution process of its scale expansion and quality improvement is the main content of urban economic growth and development research. The current research on urban economics should pay more attention to urban economic growth and development in combination with China's development stage and national characteristics. In the research of urban economic growth, we can focus on the factors that affect urban economic growth and how to build a more general model of urban economic growth on this basis. We can also focus on the relationship between urban economic growth and development policies and other topics. In urban development research, urban sustainable development is an important research direction. Urban sustainable development involves a wide range of contents. The in-depth study of this issue involves urban economic development, ecological environment balance, effective allocation of resources and other aspects. Interdisciplinary research methods play an important role in this research field. The study of urban economic growth and development in China should mainly start from the basic principle of people first, pay attention to the discussion of the construction and allocation of urban public resources, pay attention to the embodiment of human values in urban construction, and pay attention to the construction of urban ecological environment.
Third, research on urban system and urban agglomeration. The urban system is an urban group organization formed by the interaction of various cities of different natures, sizes and types within a certain region, with the central city as the core. It is the general spatial layout of different levels of cities and towns within a certain region, which are interrelated and play various functions. The urban system is the basic skeleton system of the economic zone, the product of the regional social and economic development to a certain stage, and the most effective form of organization in which the city drives the region. The structure and layout of urban system is the main manifestation of urbanization in space. When urbanization develops to a higher degree, the interaction between cities is strengthened, and their connection and coordinated development become an important research content. For example, research on how to effectively organize production and administrative management according to the regional system to obtain the maximum economic benefits and the best social effects. The study of the current urban system in China can deeply explore the relationship between cities and regions, study the formation process of urban system, the hierarchical scale structure, functional structure and spatial structure of urban system and other important issues. Among them, the study of urban agglomeration and metropolitan area is the top priority of the study of urban system. Urban agglomerations refer to urban agglomerations with compact spatial organization, close economic ties, and high degree of integration, which are formed within a specific geographical scope, with large cities as the core and relying on developed transportation and communication infrastructure networks. They are also important spatial carriers to promote high-quality development of urbanization in China. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the division of labor and cooperation, economic links and governance of urban agglomeration.
The fourth is the study of urban internal economic development and spatial structure. With the gradual improvement of the availability of micro data, urban internal economic development and spatial structure have become more and more popular. Urban internal spatial structure refers to the distribution and combination of different functional areas in a city. Using micro data such as urban land use, population commuting and real estate, researchers can conduct rich empirical research on the operation space of various economic activities in the city and the development mode of urban internal economic activities, and can also test the basic theories of previous urban economic research. For example, by analyzing urban land, the spatial carrier of economic activities, we can further explore many issues such as urban land supply and demand, land rent theory, urban space evolution and urban planning efficiency, thus deepening the research content of urban economics.
Fifth, research on urban planning and construction and urban governance. Urban governance plays an important fundamental role in urban economic and social development. Due to market failure, urban governments must play an important role as regulators. Therefore, optimizing the role of government departments in urban planning, construction and management is the first problem to be solved in the study of urban planning, construction and management. Although there have been many researches in this field, there are still many problems to be clarified, many concepts to be improved, and such research work cannot be relaxed. Issues related to urban governance include not only the traditional issues of urban economics such as local government finance, local development and urban planning, but also the establishment of a protection system for urban traditional culture from the perspective of urban economics, balancing the contradiction between urban development and traditional cultural protection New problems in urban economics, such as the positive role of the construction of urban civilization in promoting urban development.
(Author: Sun Jiuwen, Professor, Institute of Regional and Urban Economics, School of Applied Economics, Renmin University of China)
