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Journal of Geographical Sciences >

2022 , Vol. 32 >Issue 7: 1203 - 1224

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-022-1993-6

Special Issue: Urban and Rural Governance Toward Sustainable Development Goals

The functional evolution and system equilibrium of urban and rural territories

  • FAN Jie , 1, 2, 3 ,
  • LI Sisi 1, 2 ,
  • SUN Zhongrui 3 ,
  • GUO Rui 3 ,
  • ZHOU Kan 1, 2 ,
  • CHEN Dong 1, 2 ,
  • WU Jianxiong 1, 2
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  • 1. Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
  • 2. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • 3. Institute of Science and Development, CAS, Beijing 100190, China

Fan Jie (1961-), PhD and Professor, specialized in regional development and planning. E-mail:

Received date: 2022-02-21

  Accepted date: 2022-04-09

  Online published: 2022-09-25

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China(41630644)

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Abstract

The coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems has long been a scientific issue of concern in geography and socioeconomic development in China. Based on Territorial Function Theory, this paper establishes a theoretical framework to support the coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems, analyzes the trend of functional evolution, discusses the impact of efficient allocation and orderly element flow on system equivalence development, and puts forward approaches and policy suggestions for equilibrium development in the future. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The evolution of urban and rural territorial functions has experienced four stages: rural to rural, rural to urban transition, rural to urban, and urban to urban. In this process, territorial functions have been developed to be hierarchical and advanced. (2) Functional evolution enables urban and rural comparative advantages to be transformed from value difference to value equivalence. Increasing the flow intensity and reconstructing the flow space have become the necessary conditions for the coordination of development. (3) Land is the most important resource in China, and land system reform is the key to achieving equivalence development of urban and rural territorial systems, thereby determining the future equilibrium development of the two systems.

Key words： urban territorial function; rural territorial function; urban territorial system; rural territorial system; system equilibrium; urban and rural equivalence development; land system reform

Cite this article

FAN Jie , LI Sisi , SUN Zhongrui , GUO Rui , ZHOU Kan , CHEN Dong , WU Jianxiong . The functional evolution and system equilibrium of urban and rural territories[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2022 , 32(7) : 1203 -1224 . DOI: 10.1007/s11442-022-1993-6

1 Introduction

From the perspective of geography, urban territorial system and rural territorial system are two humanistic territorial systems coexisting on the earth’s surface. Due to the different roles played by urban territories and rural territories in the comprehensive surface process, including the evolution of the physical geography process and the human geography process, there are significant territorial functional differences (Fan, 2007; 2018). The transformation from a rural territorial function and system to an urban territorial function and system is called urbanization (Fan and Guo, 2019). Urbanization is the most important human geography process on the land surface, and it is also the basic trend of the evolution of regional development patterns (Chen et al., 2009). Urbanization not only leads to changes in territorial functional patterns but also to a gap in regional economic development (Wei, 1999). The study of changes in urban and rural distribution patterns and regional development patterns is an important proposition in geographic research, and the stable state and driving force of its distribution pattern evolution are the core scientific propositions of human geography (Fan et al., 2021). The basic principles of economic geography and the statistical laws of the development process of all countries worldwide show that the evolution process of regional development patterns can be expressed by the relationship between the regional development level and the regional economic gap. With the evolution of regional economic development levels, the development gap between regions shows an inverted U-shaped evolution law (Long, 1999). The maximum value of the gap, that is, the peak of the curve, generally appears when the per capita GDP reaches about 10,000 US dollars (Fan et al., 2019a). The regional gap changes from a low-level zero point to a high-level zero point through expanding and narrowing. In the process of evolution, whether it is the initial zero point or the final zero point, the narrowing and disappearance of the regional development gap is a manifestation of regional equilibrium. Regional development is a process that moves from a low-level equilibrium through disequilibrium to another high-level equilibrium. The key driving force is the potential energy formed by the development gap. The evolution law of the regional development gap is also applicable to the evolution of the urban and rural development gap. According to the classification of territorial function types, although urban territory and rural territory are two types of territorial units with different functions (Fan et al., 2006; Fan, 2007), the basic path to achieve coordination is consistent with regional equilibrium; that is, with economic development, the gap between urban and rural development continues to expand (Lu et al., 2019), and it begins to narrow after reaching its peak until coordinated development is achieved. Regional equilibrium processes and urban and rural equilibrium processes constitute an important theoretical basis for geographers to study regional pattern change (Fan and Zhao, 2021). In this study, the region is regarded as a complex with multiple function zones such as urbanization zones, food security zones, and ecological security zones. The regional gap is the gap between units with multiple functions, such as the gap between the east and west, the south and north. The direction of the urban and rural gap is relatively clear, referring to the differences between two different territorial types with clear functional directions. Functional difference and development gap constitute the two core aspects of regional disparity, the core proposition of geographical research. Therefore, studying the gap in regional development levels caused by functional differences between urban and rural territories is an important proposition in the study of regional differences in geography.
The coordinated development of urban and rural territories is a major strategy whereby China can build a new development pattern in the new era (Fan and Guo, 2021). In 2021, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the long-term goals for 2035. This plan identified that the gap between urban and rural territorial development and the gap between residents’ living standards have been significantly reduced. It set a relatively clear goal for the coordinated development of urban and rural territories. In the future, while focusing on narrowing the gap between the economic development of urban and rural territories, we should pay attention to coordinating resources and environmental conditions, matching the respective comparative advantages of urban and rural territories, narrowing the gap in people’s level of well-being, and realizing high-quality coordinated development (Fan, 2007). The coordinated development of urban and rural territories should be based on cultivating and improving the respective functions. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the evolution law of urban and rural territories, and then correctly understand the functions of urban and rural territories and the respective functional positioning in future modernization construction. Territorial function refers to the function and role of the human-environment interaction system in a particular region in regional sustainable development (Fan, 2007; Fan et al., 2019b). Different regions have different functions. The functional differentiation among regions is the inevitable law of the integrity of the Earth System. As two territorial systems with different functions, urban territorial system and rural territorial system have long-term objectivity of existence in the social and economic development. The essence of coordination is the flow of production elements and consumption elements based on differences, maximizing their respective functional values and overall interests based on a territorial division of labor (McGee, 2008). Functional differentiation brings about a gap in economic benefits, resulting in a dominant direction of policy reconstruction in the future. Giving full play to respective comparative advantages will become the policy basis for shaping territorial functions. Therefore, identifying the evolution process of urban and rural functions, examining the basic characteristics of urban and rural territorial systems, clarifying their respective functional comparative advantages, the pattern of labor division and element flow between urban and rural territories, and exploring the equilibrium development path of urban and rural territorial systems have become the urgent needs of narrowing the urban and rural development gap and promoting the coordinated development of urban and rural territorial systems in the new era.

2 Evolution process of urban and rural territorial functions

Territorial function is the product of society-environment interaction, and it is the role played by a region in the sustainable development system of a larger-scale region (Fan et al., 2019b). This section presents the evolution process of urban and rural territorial functions by identifying the four stages, the special territorial types, and the territorial function characteristics in the process of the evolution from rural to urban territories.

2.1 Four stages of urban and rural territorial function evolution

Urban territory evolves from the organizational structure of rural territory. The evolution process of urban and rural territorial functions is divided into four stages (Figure 1): (1) During the period of agricultural civilization, the evolution of territorial functions is characterized by the continuous development of rural territorial functions. The original rural territories are the spatial carrier for farmers to engage in production and living activities. In addition to basic ecological and living functions, rural territories also include low-level agricultural product processing, basic tool manufacturing, and other production functions. The differentiation of production functions in rural territories is mainly subject to the differences in the means of production. It can be subdivided into functions such as agriculture, animal husbandry, fishery, forestry, and fruit production. (2) With the emergence of a regional division of labor, the handicraft industry was separated from agriculture and animal husbandry. Simultaneously, rural territories were in a transitional state in its evolution to urban territories. The rural territorial functions had yet to fully evolve into urban territorial functions. In practice, some of the time and energy of some people was mainly used in agricultural production activities, while part of the time and energy of others was mainly used in market exchange activities and concentrated manual work (Jin, 1988). Meanwhile, the function of commodity exchange appeared in the rural territories in the form of “market” spaces. (3) With the dual surplus of agricultural products and the agricultural labor force and the deepening of the social division of labor, some rural territories have completed their evolution to urban territories. The socioeconomic form and spatial structure have changed (Fan, 2007). In addition to the basic living functions, urban territories include public service and administrative functions. The production function has gradually changed from simple raw material production processing to energy and mineral production, industrial processing, wholesale and retail trading, lodging, and catering. (4) In the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, due to the differences in location conditions and development foundations, urban and rural territorial functions appear hierarchically differentiated. Some of them are developed to advanced levels. The advanced-level functions of urban territories include financial servicing, scientific and technological researching, educating, and entertaining. General-level functions include transporting, warehousing, public servicing, commodity trading. Simultaneously the functions of rural territories gradually become more advanced. Based on traditional agricultural production and living functions, the functions of touring, ecological protecting and cultural disseminating are added.
Figure 1 Evolution of urban and rural territorial functions

2.2 Special territorial types in the process of evolution from rural to urban territorial functions

During the evolution of urban and rural territorial functions, de-agriculturalization and the transfer of urban territorial functions cause special territorial types to appear. In particular, the emergence of urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, suburban rural territories, and urban-agglomeration transition territories have become high-value territories for economic and social activities. The Spatial Polarization and Diffusion Theory and the Concentric Zone Theory show that the urban core area has a radiating driving effect on the peripheral areas, an effect restricted by the “distance decay” law (Cui et al., 1999). In the process of the evolution from rural to urban, affected by distance from the core area, some special territorial types have formed, including “urban villages,” “urban new districts,” and “characteristic villages” (Tu et al., 2019). (1) In urban built-up areas, an urban village is a special type arising from the dual institutional environment (Zhang and Zhao, 2007). As a typical urban sub-district, an urban village has superior location and infrastructure conditions, attracting many migrant workers. Unlike traditional rural territorial functions, new functions such as house leasing, product processing, creative innovating, transporting, and warehousing have emerged in urban villages. The cultivation of new functions in urban villages has prompted changes in residents’ lifestyles and production patterns (Zhang et al., 2019). While creating rental income for the original inhabitants, it also provides low-cost production and living space for migrant workers, ensuring labor and commodity supplies for the urban territories. (2) In suburban areas, the urban new district is where the government controls and guides construction for the comprehensive consideration of urban development strategy, urban and rural integration, and land economic benefits (Li, 2019). Differences in positioning mean that new urban districts have different dominant functions, mainly including producing, residing, exhibiting, foreign trading, financial servicing, and administrative managing. The construction of urban new district not only provides the built-up area with different functions but also directly promotes the transformation from rural to urban. (3) In the outer suburbs, a characteristic village is a special type developed with external urban and endogenous rural forces. Characteristic villages mainly serve cities and towns. They have a relatively clear functional orientation, such as specialized agricultural production, tourism and leisure, warehousing and logistics, e-commerce, artistic creating, and financial servicing (Li, 2019). Driven by the demand of city and town, the characteristic village has enhanced the comprehensive benefits of rural territories by cultivating different functions in combination with superior local resources.

2.3 Characteristics of urban and rural territorial functions

In the evolution process of urban and rural territorial functions, the comprehensive effects of natural resource endowment, socioeconomic foundation, regional cultural environment, and other factors promote the continuous evolution of territorial functions. Urban and rural territorial functions show a trend of diversification and significant differentiation (Liu et al., 2011). In general, the functional density is large, and the homogeneous functional area is small in urban territories, while the opposite is true for rural territories. Specifically, the functional characteristics of urban and rural territories can be discussed from three perspectives: production, living, and ecology. (1) At the production level, rural territories are rich in cultivated land resources, mainly with agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery production functions, while industrial production functions are weak. In the urban area, construction land is abundant, mainly with manufacturing production and service production functions. (2) At the living level, human activities in rural territories are relatively mixed, with numerous social activities linked by blood and geography. Human activities in urban territories are relatively individual, and there are few social activities linked by consanguineous and geographical relationships. At the same time, because rural territories cannot reach the threshold of population and purchasing power to maintain the basic cost of public services and obtain predictable economic benefits, public infrastructure is scarce, public services are limited, and the general quality of services is low. However, urban territories have an agglomeration of population, more public infrastructure, wider coverage of public services, and much higher service quality than rural territories. (3) At the ecology level, the ecological functions of rural territories are prominent, including many natural elements such as mountains, lakes, forests, and grasslands. Rural residents can be in direct contact with nature in the ecological background. However, urban territories have weak ecological functions and few natural elements. It is more difficult for humans to interact with nature than it is in rural territories. Urban territories mainly realize the combination of humans and nature by planning and constructing gardens, parks, and green spaces. Garden cities in Europe, national parks in the United States, and classical gardens such as the Suzhou gardens in China are all efforts to compensate for the loss of rural functions in the urbanization process.

3 Functional division and “flow” connection of urban and rural territories

The differentiation of urban and rural territorial functions is an objective law. The difference between urban and rural territorial functions constantly promotes an element flow between urban and rural territories. This section mainly combs the functional division and basic pattern, as well as the “flow” relationship between urban and rural territories, and discusses the uniqueness of the interaction between urban and rural territories in China.

3.1 Functional division and basic pattern between urban and rural territories

The Theory of Regional Division of Labor shows that the formation of the division of labor is based on regional differences. It is the territorial manifestation of the division of labor (Yang and Liang, 1987). The Growth Pole Theory reveals that the core has a dominant effect, a multiplier effect, and a polarization-diffusion effect on other territories. The effects of growth poles with different development degrees are different (Lu, 2003). Urban territories and rural territories coexist on the earth’s surface, and functional differentiation exists objectively. Due to the different radiation effects on surrounding rural territories, the functional division of the two is markedly different. China’s urban-rural territorial division of labor is mainly divided into three typical types according to the city size (Qi et al., 2016) (Figure 2): (1) The urban and rural territories dominated by megacities are mainly distributed in urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, such as the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration, Changsha metropolitan area, and Wuhan metropolitan area. The agricultural production conditions in these areas are superior, and the secondary and tertiary industries are developing rapidly. Affected by regional development policies, foreign capital, and their development motivation, urban territories provide a strong external drive for rural territories, and the endogenous power of rural territories is sufficient. Urban territories mainly provide rural territories with employment and entrepreneurship spaces and advanced socio-cultural services, attracting the population of the whole country. Rural territories mainly provide basic services to surrounding urban territories. While developing modern agriculture and tourism, rural territories also carry industries transferred from urban territories. (2) The urban and rural territories dominated by medium cities are mainly distributed in the peripheral areas of urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, such as northern Jiangsu and northern Guangdong. Such territories have rich natural resources, superior terrain and climate conditions, and their level of industrial development is relatively high. Under the development of secondary and tertiary industries, urban territories have a strong radiation drive to rural territories, but the endogenous power of rural territories are insufficient. Urban territories provide high-level production and living space for the rural territories, an important incentive for the surrounding rural residents. Rural territories mainly improve land-use efficiency through land renovation and planning, cultivate new productive industries, and enhance development capacity and competitiveness. (3) The urban and rural territories dominated by small cities are mainly distributed in mountainous or hilly areas and in underdeveloped areas, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Such territories have fragile ecological environments, apparent contradictions between human and environment, and low levels of industrial development. Urban territories develop with significant limitations, and the carrying capacity for rural elements and the driving force for rural systems are limited. The limitations of natural conditions and location mean that rural territories have insufficient endogenous power. Urban territories can only provide limited employment opportunities and public services for those from rural territories. Rural territories mainly enhance ecological and cultural value by protecting and utilizing the natural environment and cultural landscape, thereby meeting the needs of those in developed areas for large-scale natural landscapes and traditional culture.
Figure 2 Links between urban and rural territorial functions in different territories

3.2 “Flow” connection between urban and rural territories

As an important research field in modern human geography, “flow” is the core carrier of research on the relationship between urban and rural territories (Fan et al., 2021). The differences in functions and comparative advantages constantly promote the flow of elements (Figure 3). Rural territories maintain urban territories in good operation by supplying resource elements such as labor, land, and agricultural products. In contrast, urban territories feedback modern resource elements such as talent, capital, technology, and information to promote the optimization and upgrading of rural territories. “Population flow,” “material flow,” and “information flow” are important components of element flow between urban and rural territories. (1) In terms of population flow, the early population flow was a one-way flow from rural to urban territories. The basic principles of population geography and economic geography show that the economic benefits are the main impetus for flow. The flow could provide extensive labor forces for urban territories, promoting the development of urban economics and accelerating the process of urbanization. In the later stage, the population flow has changed from one-way to two-way. The main driving force of the two-way flow is not only the pursuit of economic benefits but also diversified life values and lifestyle choices. At this stage, the flow from rural to urban territories can promote the further development of urbanization. The flow from urban to rural territories can solve the problems of talent and technology shortages and drive the development of the rural economy. At the same time, the middle and high income groups in urban territories go to the countryside for tourism, vacations, and cultural and ecological experiences. These activities stimulate the optimal transformation of rural industry (Zhu et al., 2020). (2) In terms of material flow, the material flow between urban and rural territories has been two-way, and the flowing material products are gradually diversified and advanced. In the early stage of industrialization, production technology was relatively backward. The effects of territorial functional differentiation and economic interests mean that rural territories mainly transport primary agricultural products to urban territories, while the latter mainly transport primary industrial products to the former. In the later stage of industrialization, with capital, technology, management, information and other elements flowing into rural territories, agricultural production gradually develops to the whole industrial chain production. Rural territories begin to deliver processed products, brands, and services to urban territories, and urban territories deliver information and technology to rural territories to promote the optimization and upgrading of the rural industrial structure. (3) In terms of information flow, the information flow between urban and rural territories has been two-way, and the intensity and impact gradually increased. The early information flow was mainly a simple flow of production information. Rural territories transmitted information about agricultural production to urban territories, and urban territories transmitted information on industrial production, goods, services, and trade to rural territories. The exchange of production information has laid a foundation for the redistribution of the labor force. The information age, the popularization of the internet, and other forms of information technology have increased the frequency and efficiency of information flow between urban and rural territories. The information and communication network has penetrated all aspects of production and life, thereby reconstructing the urban and rural economic and social space.
Figure 3 Flow between urban and rural territories

3.3 Uniqueness of interaction between urban and rural territories in China

The development and evolution of China’s urban and rural territorial functions are carried out under China’s unique historical and institutional background. The socialist market economy system with Chinese characteristics has an important impact on the development of urban and rural territories in China. Urbanization has accelerated the evolution of China’s urban and rural territorial functions (Lu, 2001). From 2000 to 2020, China’s urbanization rate increased from 36.22% to 63.89%. China has entered the stage of medium urbanization. The urbanization rates of eastern coastal provinces and cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong have reached more than 70%, entering the mature stage of urbanization (Figure 4). The urbanization rate of central and western regions has reached more than 50%, with a good development trend. Driven by urbanization, the interaction between urban and rural territories in China shows the following unique features: (1) In the process of urbanization, peri-urban areas appear in some of the suburban fringe areas, rural areas near metropolitan areas, and non-urban areas rich in tourism resources (Wu et al., 2013; Mortoja et al., 2020). Geographically, these areas are not urbanized areas, and rural management policies are implemented. However, from the perspective of function, these areas have relatively complete urban functions, including transporting, warehousing, public servicing, commodity trading. Most rural residents’ incomes come from non-agricultural industries, and the production and lifestyle of urbanization have become dominant. (2) In the development of China’s new rural construction and revitalization, an urban-rural “homogenization” policy is implemented, and the characteristics of rural territorial functions are not prominent. In Western developed countries, the distinctive territorial characteristics of urban and rural territories are vital. At the initial stage of new rural construction, China lacks consideration for the production and living characteristics of rural territories. Examples include “dismantling and consolidating villages” and “moving farmers upstairs,” leading to the weakening of the agricultural production function and the lack of rural territorial comparative advantages. (3) The two-way flow of urban and rural elements in China is different from that in the West because of the urban-rural dual-registered residence management system (Drysdale, 1991; Zhou et al., 2021). Migrants from rural to urban territories do not have equal access to public services, such as education and health care, making it difficult to achieve population urbanization. Conversely, the urban population with knowledge, professional skill, civilized experience, and industrial-commercial consciousness cannot settle down in rural territories (Stockdale, 2006). This leads to the degradation of rural territorial functions.
Figure 4 Urbanization rate of provinces from 2000 to 2020 in China

Note: This map is based on a map (GS (2019) 1673) downloaded from the website of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping, and Geoinformation of China. The base map has not been modified.

4 The equilibrium of the urban territorial system and the rural territorial system

The Territorial System Theory of Human-Environment Interaction reveals that urban territorial system and rural territorial system are urban and rural spatial systems with specific structures, functions, and interregional connections. They are territorial systems composed of economic, social, cultural, resource, and environmental factors which are interrelated and interact with each other (Wu, 1991; Liu et al., 2019). The difficulty and key point of urban-rural territorial system equilibrium is how to improve the value of the rural territorial system. Therefore, the upgrading of the rural territorial function has become the main concern of the urban-rural territorial system equilibrium. However, if the equilibrium process is separated from urbanization, the equilibrium between urban and rural systems cannot be realized. Based on the territorial functions and comparative advantages identified above, this section proposes ways to realize the equilibrium of urban territorial systems and rural territorial systems under the framework of the spatial equilibrium model (Fan, 2007).

4.1 Urbanization and non-agriculturalization: Still the main ways to realize urban and rural system equilibrium

The Territorial Function Theory demonstrates the spatial equilibrium model in detail (Fan, 2007; Fan et al., 2019a). Its core point is that with the evolution of territorial development patterns, the comprehensive value (including economic, social, and ecological values) of different functional zones, such as urbanization zones, agricultural zones, and ecological zones, gradually converges and finally realizes the equality of comprehensive values among different zones. Urban and rural territories mainly correspond to urbanization zones and agricultural zones, and their equilibrium process follows the basic scientific judgment of the spatial equilibrium model. The equilibrium of urban and rural territories is that the comprehensive value tends to be equal; that is, although the functional positioning of urban territories and rural territories is different, the overall evolution trend will converge to the equilibrium of comprehensive value. Under the framework of the urban-rural spatial equilibrium model, the key to realizing the equilibrium of the two systems is that the high-level urban territorial system drives the low-level rural territorial system. As an inevitable trend of economic and social development (Chen et al., 2019), urbanization is one of the most important ways to promote the upgrading of rural territorial system. By absorbing the rural surplus labor force, urbanization continuously improves the labor production efficiency in rural territories and increases the income of rural residents. It improves the economic benefits of the whole rural territorial system, narrows the comprehensive benefit gap between urban and rural territorial systems, and effectively promotes the equilibrium of the two territorial systems. The monitoring and survey report on migrant workers by the National Bureau of Statistics of China shows that the number of migrant workers is enormous. The grand total of migrant workers in China was 286 million at the end of 2020, an increase of 17.9% over 2010, accounting for about 20.25% of the national population (Figure 5). From the perspective of the input area, migrant workers still flow into the eastern coastal areas, urban agglomeration areas, and central cities and towns. Cross-regional flow still occupies the main position. It is clear that remote urbanization is still the mainstream of China’s current and future urbanization.
Figure 5 The total number and growth rate of migrant workers in China from 2010 to 2020

Note: Data sources are from the Monitoring and Investigation Report on Migrant Workers.

Promoting urbanization emphasizes not only humanism, harmonism, inclusiveness, and sustainability (Chen et al., 2019) but also emphasizes multi-mode driving. Realizing the former requires the simultaneous development of population urbanization and social urbanization with economic growth and the rapid evolution of the territorial landscape. Multi-mode driving is the dual-drive development of traditional “remote urbanization” and new “situ urbanization.” Situ urbanization means that the rural population can realize the transformation of non-agricultural employment and citizenization without the need for “seasonal migratory migration” (Zhu et al., 2021). The county and central town are required to improve the industrial and population carrying capacity through land capitalization, industrial structure upgrading, local elite investment, and the injection of external capital to play the role of the link and strategic node in the process of urban and rural integration (Zhu et al., 2021). In the future, the urbanization and non-agricultural development model dominated by remote urbanization and situ urbanization will still be the main way to realize the equilibrium of urban and rural territorial systems in China. After urbanization and non-agricultural development, the economic development level of rural territories can be effectively improved, the infrastructure construction can be synchronously improved, and the business environment in rural territories can be greatly improved, thereby creating favorable conditions in the future for rural territories to benefit from the radiation of urban territories.

4.2 Rural territories: Cultivating compound production and living functions

The Territorial System Theory of Human-Environment Interaction Relationship reveals that territorial functions have apparent attributes such as spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability (Wu, 1991). Rural territories have long been exporting production elements to urban territories. However, given the need to improve rural economic benefits, rural territories should provide agricultural products and labors to urban territories and actively undertake some functions transferred from urban territories. Meanwhile, over the past 30 years, the Engel coefficient of urban residents has decreased from 55.14% to 27.94%, and that of rural residents has decreased from 58.23% to 30.22% (Figure 6). With the continuous improvement of living standards, people’s needs have gradually shifted from meeting basic needs to pursuing a high quality of life and self-realization. People engage in tourism and leisure activities, experiential learning, social contribution, and environmental protection (Bass, 2020). New development and consumption demand mean that cultivating the compound functions of production and living in rural territories can efficiently combine internal resources and external resources, thereby realizing optimal resource allocation (Long, 2014) (Figure 7). This could promote the transformation from resource to economy, and promote the upgrading and transformation of rural territorial system to realize the equilibrium of urban and rural territorial systems.
Figure 6 Engel coefficient of urban and rural residents

Note: Engel’s coefficient is the ratio of food, tobacco, and liquor expenditure to consumption expenditure. Data sources are from the China Statistical Yearbook.

Figure 7 The schematic of rural resource utilization and compound function construction
The construction of compound production functions requires the rural territories to become the spatial carrier of various functions, such as agricultural production, industrial development, ecological conservation, and cultural protection. Rural territories can build production functions by activating traditional industries and actively cultivating new formats (Tu et al., 2018). First, as a traditional industry in rural territories, agriculture should be expanded to the R&D and service ends of the smile curve in the process of activation to increase added value, such as the development of ecological agriculture, leisure agriculture, organic agriculture, and scientific and technological agriculture, promoting value with agricultural characteristics. Second, the cultivation of new formats can rely on new technology, the insertion of new functions, and the utilization of natural and cultural resources. The former is mainly combined with “internet plus” to introduce low pollution, low energy consumption, and highly stimulating e-commerce industries in rural territories. A good example is the construction of Taobao villages (Zhu et al., 2016). The latter is to use characteristic ecological and cultural resources to promote the development of the pension industry, health care industry, ecotourism industry, cultural tourism industry, and innovative and creative industries.
The construction of compound living functions in rural territories requires the establishment of a reasonable village-town spatial system to promote the integration of rural organizations and protect the characteristic ecological and cultural landscape, thereby enhancing ecological and cultural value (Long, 2014). First, the rational establishment of the spatial system of villages and towns requires planning and integrating rural settlements to promote the appropriate agglomeration of the rural population (Long, 2014). After reaching the threshold for infrastructure and public services, rural territories should improve the quantity and quality of the infrastructure to the level of urban territories and effectively improve the quality of rural human settlements. Second, rural territories should protect the ecological and cultural landscape and encourage the enhancement of the characteristic ecological landscape and the local cultural features. For the characteristic ecological landscapes, the rural territories should fully protect and utilize them, and combine living space and ecological space horizontally and vertically. For the local cultural features, the rural territories should preserve and make use of traditional buildings to maintain texture; in addition, local traditional craftsmanship and festivals should be fostered to protect the cultural landscape.

4.3 Urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas: Creating a new model of urban and rural territorial system equilibrium

Under the Growth Pole Theory and Pole-Axis System Theory (Lu, 1995; Qi et al., 2016), China’s urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas dominated by megacities have become national and regional socioeconomic growth poles. In urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, relying on the engine function of the central city, reconstructing rural economic, social, and ecological space, and continuously improving the comprehensive benefits of rural territories are important ways to accelerate the upgrading of rural territorial system and realize the equilibrium of urban and rural territorial systems (Lu, 2007). Some urban agglomerations in China have the conditions to develop villages into cities and to promote agriculture with industry. As one of the three key urbanization zones (Fan et al., 2019a), the Pearl River Delta is close to the world’s advanced economies in terms of industrial modernization and high-level urbanization. By the end of 2020, the GDP of the Pearl River Delta was 8952.393 billion yuan, and the per capita GDP was 115,459 yuan. The proportion of the three industrial structures was 1.75:39.96:58.29, and the general public budget expenditure was 1.70 times as much as the average level of all provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan). Non-agricultural production and high-level public facilities construction have created conditions for realizing the equilibrium of urban and rural systems in the Pearl River Delta.
In the future, promoting the equilibrium development of urban and rural territorial systems in urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas needs to pay attention to the networking, hierarchy, mobility, equality, and complexity of urban and rural spatial organizations (Zhan and Lu, 2003). Networking requires transportation, pipelines, communications, and other infrastructure to be connected through different types of “corridors” to open up the channel of two-way flow between urban and rural territories, promoting the network development of the two systems (He et al., 2019). Hierarchy refers to the diffusion effect of the growth poles in the urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas. It requires strengthening the cultivation of sub-central cities, cultivating multiple sub-centers, and gradually transmitting through the path of large, medium, and small cities, towns, and villages. Mobility emphasizes the strengthening of policy guidance, the establishment of a unified and coordinated mechanism in the regions to promote the two-way flow of labor, capital, technology, management, land, and other elements in urban and rural territories. Equality highlights the idea of spatial equity. It aims to achieve equilibrium in the spatial layout and mechanism system of public services, such as educational and medical services. When the quantity and quality of rural public services are improved to the urban level, the restrictions of the registered residence management system should be broken, so that migrant workers could enjoy high-level public services. Complexity requires rural territories to combine their comparative advantages and develop diversified production and living space to carry out specific activities, including modern agriculture, urban tourism, logistics, and internet transactions.

5 Theoretical discussion and political thinking

The equilibrium of urban and rural territorial systems is the way and goal of China’s modernization. Under the background of regional coordinated development, the disequilibrium development of the urban-rural territorial system has seriously hindered the process of China’s modernization, making it difficult for China to break through the “middle income trap” and enter the second half of the inverted U curve. The equilibrium development of urban and rural territorial systems requires that the urban system and rural system follow the idea of “different types but equal value,” and each system realizes the equal comprehensive benefits of economy, society, and ecology. In the process of equal development, land resources are the largest assets in rural territories, and the reform of the land system is the key policy “valve” in narrowing the comprehensive benefit gap between urban and rural territorial systems. Based on the above ideas, this section attempts to explore the path to realizing the future system equilibrium development of urban and rural territories from three aspects: the disequilibrium development of urban and rural systems and regional coordination, the equilibrium development of urban and rural systems and urban and rural equivalence, urban and rural equivalence and land system reform.

5.1 Urban-rural territorial system disequilibrium and regional coordination

China has adhered to the coastal development strategy of prioritizing efficiency, leading to the sharp increase in the regional development gap, especially the gap between the east and the west of the country (coastal and inland areas). However, with the implementation of regional development strategies such as western development, the regional economic gap has been decreasing. The ratio of per capita GDP in the eastern and the western regions has decreased from 2.48 in 2005 to 1.67 in 2020. In 2019, China’s per capita GDP reached 70,078 yuan, equivalent to 10,158 US dollars. In the inverted U curve of the regional development pattern, the inflection point in the regional development gap from expanding to narrowing typically occurs at about 10,000 US dollars per capita GDP, indicating that China will enter the stage of narrowing the regional development gap. This process is not only the embodiment of the objective law but also the revelation of the timing of the regulation policy “valve.” When regional development reaches the inflection point stage, the policy should refocus on narrowing the regional development gap. If the overall economic level of the country cannot be continuously improved and stagnate at the development stage of about 10,000 US dollars per capita GDP for a long time, the problem of the regional economic development gap will never be solved, and the country will enter the “middle income trap” (Fan et al., 2019a). Consistent with the evolution law of the regional development gap, China will also enter a new stage of narrowing the development gap between urban and rural territories. By 2050, to realize thorough socialist modernization and to enter the ranks of moderately developed countries, China must further adjust urban and rural development policies to promote the coordinated development while narrowing the regional development gap, thereby crossing the “middle income trap.”
The policies of “Coordinating urban and rural development,” “Constructing a new socialist countryside,” “Promoting agriculture with industry,” “Elevating rural territory with urban territory,” “Poverty alleviation,” and “Rural revitalization” have caused the rapid development of China’s rural economy, and farmers’ incomes have increased steadily. The urban- rural development gap presents the following characteristics: (1) The overall urban-rural gap is decreasing (Figure 8). From 2005 to 2020, the urban-rural disposable income ratio decreased from 3.08 to 2.56. Simultaneously, the territorial difference of disposable income ratio between urban and rural households in China measured by the Theil index was also decreasing (Figure 9). The territorial differences in urban-rural disposable income ratio in each region indicate that the decline in the western region is more significant, and the change in the eastern region is stable. The decomposition of the results of the Theil index show that the inter-group difference contributes a large share of the total difference, with an average annual contribution rate of 64.93% and the overall trend is downward, indicating that the decrease in urban-rural disposable income ratio difference between different regions is the main reason for the reduction in the overall national difference. (2) Regions with a larger income gap between urban and rural territories are often spatially coupled with key ecological function zones. Superposition analysis of the pattern of the urban-rural income gap in the past 20 years reveals that the regions with large gaps are distributed in ecological security shelter zones, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau zone, the Loess Plateau-Sichuan- Yunnan zone, the northern sand prevention belt, and the southern hilly and mountainous areas. (3) The basic pattern that the gap between urban and rural territories is larger in regions with more backward economic development has not changed substantially. In 2020, the provinces with a large urban and rural disposable income ratio included Ningxia, Tibet, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Gansu, all located in the inland regions of western China with relatively backward economic development levels. The superposition of the regional gap and the urban-rural gap intensifies the development conflict between regions and between urban and rural territories in China. Therefore, the coordination of urban and rural development has become one of the most important issues to be solved urgently in China.
Figure 8 Distribution of urban-rural disposable income ratio in China in 2020

Note: (1) The urban-rural income ratio is the ratio of per capita disposable income of urban households to per capita disposable income of rural households. Data sources are from the China Statistical Yearbook. (2) This map is based on a map (GS (2019) 1673) downloaded from the website of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping, and Geoinformation of China. The base map has not been modified.

Figure 9 Regional differences in China’s urban-rural disposable income ratio from 2000 to 2020

Note: The division of the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions refers to the division method of the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

In view of China’s actual situation, to promote the coordinated development of urban and rural territories, we should first drive the transfer of surplus rural labor force through urbanization and continuously improve labor productivity in rural territories. This is still the main channel for coordinated urban-rural development. Second, urban and rural territories should give full play to the different functional advantages to drive coordinated development through the rational layout of new industrial forms and the flow of production elements between urban and rural territories (He, 2018). This is also the core task of new-type urbanization and new countryside construction. Finally, peri-urbanization should be a supplementary form of urbanization in relatively poor areas. Rural territories should give full rein to the resource advantages of tourism, energy, and minerals, as well as agricultural and related product resources, turn the disadvantages of remote location into late-mover advantages in professional market development and logistics development, and promote the main employment forms, income structure, public services and infrastructure condition, lifestyle, and community culture to approximate to urban territories.

5.2 Urban-rural element flow and territorial system equilibrium and urban-rural equivalence

Under the framework of the spatial equilibrium model, urban territorial system and rural territorial system have their own comprehensive benefits formed by economic benefits, social benefits, and ecological benefits. The equilibrium development of urban and rural territories requires that the comprehensive benefits of the two territorial systems tend to be consistent; that is, they achieve “different type but equal value” development. With the evolution of urban and rural territorial functions, the differences in functions and comparative advantages directly promote the flow of urban and rural elements. In terms of “population” flow, with the construction of new production and living spaces, the urban population will not only engage in travel and leisure but also live their working and retirement lives in rural territories. Meanwhile, in urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas, the urban and rural populations will engage in commuting activities. The population flow from urban to rural territories can gradually reach a balance with that of rural to urban territories driven by urbanization. In terms of “material” flow, with the cultivation of the composite production function, rural territories will provide not only low value-added products but also green, organic, and ecological products with high added value for urban territories. The material flow between urban and rural territories will change from different value level flow to different types but the same value level flow. In terms of “information” flow, with the penetration of information technology into economic and social spaces, the two-way flow ensures effective communication and greatly meets cross-regional cognition and communication needs. The information flow will expand from physical connections to emotional connections to achieve a multidimensional information exchange between urban and rural territories. The rational element flow strengthens the interactions and connections between urban and rural territories. This is conducive to promoting the “equivalent” development of urban and rural territories.
The equivalent development of the comprehensive benefits of urban territorial system and rural territorial system is an important way of achieving equilibrium development of urban and rural territorial systems. The main misunderstandings in promoting equivalence in China are “similar” equivalence and “synchronous” equivalence. (1) Similar equivalence does not consider the respective comparative advantages of urban and rural territorial systems, and a “homogenization” development strategy is implemented. For example, some villages in the urban agglomerations and metropolitan areas vigorously develop the production and processing industries transferred from urban territories at the expense of ecology, resources, and the environment, resulting in land destruction and contamination. The reduction of ecological and social benefits caused by this development mode beyond the carrying capacity of rural territories outweighs any increase in economic benefits. (2) Synchronous equivalence means that rural territories are required to develop synchronously with the speed of urban development without considering the rural productivity level. In the process of the rural territorial system supporting the urban territorial system and agriculture supporting industry, the strengthening of production activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and aquaculture has increased the pressure on the ecological environment in rural territories. Rural territories use many pesticides and chemical fertilizers to improve production efficiency. In 2020, the use of agricultural chemical fertilizer, plastic film, diesel oil, and pesticide in China was 52.51, 2.39, 18.48, and 1.31 million tons, respectively. This rate is significantly higher than the standard application of chemical fertilizers in ecological counties and ecological villages and towns designated by the national environmental protection department.
We should start from the economic, social, and ecological aspects emphasized in the system equilibrium model to achieve equivalence development of urban and rural territorial systems in China. (1) At the economic level, in addition to relying on urbanization and non-agriculturalization to solve the problem of the rural labor force, rural territories should clarify the positioning of industrial development based on their respective comparative advantages in economic development, such as specialized agricultural production, characteristic industrial product processing, tourism and leisure, warehousing and logistics, internet trading, artistic creativity, and financial services. Under different industrial positioning, rural territories should actively build composite production spaces to meet the needs of industrial development. (2) At the social level, urban territories and rural territories should realize the equalization of basic public services, and constantly improve the living environment and the welfare of people in rural territories. Rural territories can also take full advantage of the material culture, such as landscape pattern, village fabric, and characteristic buildings, and the intangible culture, such as folk festivals, traditional skills, and characteristic foods to improve social benefits. (3) At the ecological level, urban and rural territories should fully implement the concept of ecological civilization and green development. Rural territories should seek the optimal combination of ecology, economy, and society from the clarity of resource and environmental carrying capacity, the improvement of the utilization efficiency of means of production such as pesticides and fertilizers, and the in-depth exploration of the environmental governance model and the ecological compensation mechanism.

5.3 Urban-rural equivalence and land system reform

Land is the spatial carrier of human social and economic activities (Long, 2014; Long and Qu, 2018). Land-use transformation and reconstruction is an important representation of the urban-rural transformation of territorial functions and territorial systems in the geographical pattern. As the most important resource element in China, land is the largest policy tool in China’s implementation of regional development, new-type urbanization, and rural revitalization. In the urban territorial system and the rural territorial system, land is the key factor for residents to weigh cost and benefit. Equal exchange, equilibrium allocation, and full development of urban and rural elements can fundamentally solve the dilemma of the current disequilibrium of comprehensive benefits between the two systems (Liu et al., 2021). In China’s rural territories, land is the largest asset. As one of the most valuable land elements, rural housing land not only covers a large area but also accounts for a high per capita area. Statistics show that the area of rural housing land accounts for 44% of the area of collective construction land. In China, 99.5% of farmers have houses, of which 12.5% have two or more houses. The phenomenon of one household having multiple houses is common. However, about 10.7% of the housing land is lying idle. Since 2000, there has been an additional 594 million square meters of idle rural houses every year due to the transfer of the rural population. The equivalent market value is about 400 billion yuan (RDI, 2019; Guo et al., 2020). The revitalization of land assets through land system reform and the promotion of the free flow of production factors between urban and rural territories are key to achieving urban-rural spatial equity and realizing the coordination of urban and rural regional systems.
The land system has become an important factor affecting the coordinated development of urban and rural territories. In practice, the rural land system reform is related to the coordinated development of urban and rural territories. At present, the difficulties faced by China’s rural land system reform are as follows: (1) The rural housing land carrying the new living space is affected by geographical location conditions, market maturity, and other factors, leading to prices showing significant territorial differences. It is difficult to achieve fairness in system reform. In areas near urban territories, especially in the suburbs of first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, rural residents can obtain relatively high incomes by transferring and leasing housing lands. However, away from urban territories, especially in rural territories in remote areas, housing land can only meet the survival needs of local farmers, and its economic value is low. (2) The rural collective operational construction land carrying the composite production function is small in amount and scattered. The total amount of rural collective operational construction land carrying the composite production function is small and scattered. It is difficult for system reform to improve the economic benefits. Statistics show that the area of rural collective operational construction land in China accounts for about 10% of the area of collective construction land, which is mainly concentrated in township enterprises, vacant schools, and villages on the fringes of urban and rural territories. This kind of land has little impact on the local employment due to extensive use, low benefit, and low labor absorption (Dong et al., 2016).
In the future, to promote the equilibrium development of urban and rural territories, China’s rural land system reform should be as follows: (1) In view of housing land lying idle after migrant workers move to the city, we should adhere to the principle of benefiting the migrant workers to the greatest extent. A scientific, reasonable, and relatively fair housing land price evaluation mechanism should be established. The government could purchase housing land at market price to allow migrant workers to obtain the basic cost of living in urban territories by transferring housing land use rights. (2) In view of the dilemma that it is difficult for farmers to achieve prosperity by leasing collective operating construction land, the form of compensated use of rural collective operating construction land should be increased except for leasing; besides, we should establish a feedback mechanism whereby rent increases gradually with social and economic development so that villagers can share development achievements. (3) Given the current shortage of construction land in urban territories, for the land in urban territories that could absorb a large-scale rural labor force, we can consider replacing part of the construction land index in rural territories with urban territories. For example, the construction of labor-intensive enterprises could achieve a linkage between the rural labor force and rural collective construction land index.

6 Conclusion

This paper constructs the main research line of equilibrium development of urban and rural territorial systems and forms a theoretical analysis framework to support the urban-rural coordinated development. First, under the theoretical framework of the urban-rural spatial equilibrium model, the possibility and law of equilibrium development of the two systems in the future are found through the study of functional evolution in four stages and the study of the transformation from value difference to value equivalence of urban and rural element flow. Second, the former division of labor between the two systems was carried out at different levels of value. However, the social and economic development stage, the status of natural ecological features in human well-being, and people’s future consumption orientation make the respective comparative advantages of urban and rural systems increasingly distinct. Their respective disadvantages, especially the rural disadvantages, have undergone fundamental changes. This means that the division of labor between urban and rural territories can be conducted under the condition of relative equilibrium value. It is because of this process of equivalent exchange that the flow space completely different from the past has been constructed between the two systems, which is more conducive to the urban-rural equilibrium development. In this process, increasing the flow intensity and reconstructing the flow space become necessary conditions for coordinating the two territorial systems in the new development stage. Finally, the threshold condition for rural territories to enter a higher territorial function level becomes the constraint factor to be achieved in the urban-rural equilibrium. This paper holds that land system reform based on land value is the most important way to realize the equilibrium of the two systems. However, land system reform is challenging and complicated because of the current land ownership in China, the huge spatial differences in land income, and the situation whereby many rural populations are locked by land. The process of land system reform directly determines the process of urban-rural equilibrium development in the future. Therefore, future rural land system reform should become the most important urban and rural coordinated development topic. Geographers should pay attention to the difficulty of land reform exacerbated by the value differentiation caused by the geographical location and the regional differentiation of the land system reform mode.

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